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Message |
    
peteglider
Citizen
Username: Peteglider
Post Number: 1675
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Monday, January 2, 2006 - 7:22 pm: |     |
My PC died in August, bought a new PC that has been great. New PC has a CD burner, although I have not used it (no real need, although I guess I can figure it out)
Anyway -- I've been using a Zip Drive 100 for many years -- primarily to back up my home finances from Quicken.
The Zip drive is now dead -- a quick look at the Iomega web site - seems Zip drives are kind of passe, now its mostly about external hard drives, at relatively cheap prices. (although they have some factory refurb 750 Zips units for $80)
SO -- do I really need an external drive anymore? Can I just "burn" CD's? (ok, so how exactly do I do that -- must be a program on the PC for that, right?)
THANKS -- Pete |
upondaroof
Citizen
Username: Upondaroof
Post Number: 483
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Monday, January 2, 2006 - 7:39 pm: | |
"The Zip drive is now dead"
How do you know this? Have you re-installed the drive in the new PC?. My Zip (100MB)has been going since '98 and still going strong and been installed in 3 different PC's. Granted, the Iomega "Works" software may not be compatible with XP, but it still shows as a drive in Windows, and I use it daily for backups. (Quicken included) |
peteglider
Citizen
Username: Peteglider
Post Number: 1676
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Monday, January 2, 2006 - 7:55 pm: | |
The Zip drive won't eject anymore, and the PC can't "access" the drive.
I did get it out manually, but when inserted, same thing happens.
Pete |
Bailey
Citizen
Username: Baileymac
Post Number: 131
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Monday, January 2, 2006 - 9:26 pm: | |
Zip drives die.. google "click of death".
They're not very reliable for long term storage.
CD's are a good option, but they can scratch etc. I'm sure your pc came with burning software - nero or something like that, but then you have to store the cd's.
It's important to note that hard drives die too.. then all your data is lost.
If you buy music online, or if you store digital photos or other important data on your computer, I think your best bet is an external hard drive, and back up all your important stuff regularly.
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Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 11690
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Monday, January 2, 2006 - 10:05 pm: | |
If you need to retrieve stuff from your zip disks, I think we have a zip drive here you can borrow or buy. It's my wife's so she would make the call on giving it away or selling it. But she hasn't used it in years. Do you want me to ask her for you?
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monster
Supporter
Username: Monster
Post Number: 1801
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Monday, January 2, 2006 - 10:18 pm: | |
Got Zips here too, external drives, I keep them on hand for just this type of thing.... |
Just The Aunt
Supporter
Username: Auntof13
Post Number: 3443
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Monday, January 2, 2006 - 11:24 pm: | |
Pete-
My friend just got all my data off a very old (1992) computer I hadn't turned on in about 3 years. A few months ago I decided I'd finally transfer the data but, the computer wouldn't do anything but turn on. He might be able to rescue your data. (My computer was so old the whole hard drive fit on a gig thumb drive) |
Smarty Jones
Citizen
Username: Birdstone
Post Number: 135
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 3, 2006 - 8:15 am: | |
Pete- Scrap the Zip drive and take the 3 minutes to learn the CD burn feature. You can save so much data on CD's SOOO easily that way. We made the switch to burning CD's last year, and have no regrets doing so. |
Gatica
Citizen
Username: Katracho
Post Number: 217
Registered: 11-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 3, 2006 - 9:04 am: | |
Pete,
I have a 100MB, internal IDE, ZIP drive that I am willing to part with for a small fee. PL me if interested. |
peteglider
Citizen
Username: Peteglider
Post Number: 1677
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 3, 2006 - 10:15 am: | |
Thanks everyone.
In the next few days I'm going to try to burn the backup on a CD -- and try to go that route for back ups. When the computer was brand new in August, there was a demo on CD burnig, I'll try to access that.
I don't think there was much, if anything else, on that Zip drive, other than my Quicken backup. I have a few older Zip drive disks -- but considering I don't remember whne I last used them, I'm not too concerned. Tom & Gatica, let me see how I do with the CD route first, then I may contact you.
(of course, if the hard drives crashes before I can burn a CD -- ouch!) ;-)
Pete |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 11699
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 3, 2006 - 10:21 am: | |
There are differences in blank CD quality. Don't go for the cheapest! And don't put CD's on the table or each other. Get at least paper sleeves for them. Home-burnt CD's are not very durable. They are not made the same way as factory-made CD's.
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Politicalmon
Citizen
Username: Politicalmon
Post Number: 71
Registered: 9-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 3, 2006 - 2:25 pm: | |
Blank CD quality is a major factor to insure date recovery. Stay away from any bargin or no name CDR. My last purchase was 100 TDKs from Costco and they skipped at a higher rate then store bought music CDs & the data verification fails more times then not. I had a similar problem with blank Sony DVDs I purchased from CompUSA - where almost every other failed to not generate a write error. After switching to Memorex DVD-R I've had virtually no problems. The other factor is the software you should use for burning - Go with Nero - it's easy and reliable. |
monster
Supporter
Username: Monster
Post Number: 1807
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 3, 2006 - 7:55 pm: | |
If you want the best quality, give Taiyo Yuden discs a try.
Look around for the best deal,
Supermedia Store deals:
DVD media, http://tinyurl.com/bgpsj
CD media, http://tinyurl.com/artna |
Joan
Supporter
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 6882
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, January 6, 2006 - 8:21 pm: | |
Pete:
Was the computer you are now using ever able to access the zip drive? If not, it may not have been installed properly. If this is a recent problem, have you checked to determine whether the zip drive connection has come loose?
I have been running an internal Zip 100 drive with Windows XP Professional for over a year with no problem so compatability isn't likely to be an issue. |
mtierney
Citizen
Username: Mtierney
Post Number: 897
Registered: 3-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, January 22, 2006 - 4:49 pm: | |
Dumb question #1: Is a U-Drive the same as a zip drive?
I plan on getting a G5 Mac desktop (decided against a laptop - question on another thread) and I want to transfer my old Performa files onto my current 9.0 IMac.
I connected the U-Drive. It accepts my floppy disk, but doesn't appear on the desktop, so I can't access it.
My U-Drive is connected via a USB hub which also hold my scanner & printer. Is that where the problem lies?
If I had the courage to toss the I-Mac along with the Performa, as both are virtually obsolete, I would still have the problem of how to transfer data to the new G5 from both old computers. 
If Monster has the solution, could he please write in Luddite language? I read many of his responses and am just awe struck! |
The Libertarian
Citizen
Username: Local_1_crew
Post Number: 1393
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, January 22, 2006 - 5:34 pm: | |
there are some good websites that let you transfer and store files through their servers. very secure and reliable. |
monster
Supporter
Username: Monster
Post Number: 1909
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, January 22, 2006 - 8:22 pm: | |
By U-Drive I am guessing that you are referring an external floppy drive, I don't think it would accept Zip cartridges too.
I thought that Iomega had a dual external drive a few years ago that a accepted both floppy and Zip drives, or maybe it was Zip and Jaz drives.
You could transfer all of the files from the Performa to the iMac if you connect them both on the same network, enable file sharing, share the drive, mount the drive, drag and drop the files.
You could just connect the two with an ethernet cable (a crossover cable if it is a G3 iMac)
Does your Performa have an ethernet card?
Does it have a AAUI-15 port (it would be marked like this, <_____>, if so I believe I have a AAUI-15 Transceiver that would allow for the connection to the standard ethernet (RJ-45) port on the iMac.
The hard drive could always be taken out of the Performa and put in an external USB or Firewire case and the files could be transferred, of course this depends on whether or not the Performa has a IDE HD in it and not a SCSI drive.
Which Performa do you have?
If the iMac has Firewire Ports, You can use the Migration Assistant to transfer the files during setup.
Once all the files are on the iMac, and you have the new G5, during setup of the G5 you will be asked if you want to transfer files over from another computer (make sure the iMac is connected to the G5 (Does the iMac have Firewire?), if you choose to transfer files just follow the instructions.
More info can be found here, http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/setup/
Here are the requirements and supported Macs that this will work with, http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58583
Now to the question of why the floppy wasn't recognized, when you go to Apple System Profiler does the iMac show it, is it recognized, if not then that is why the floppy isn't mounted, try connecting it directly to the USB port on the iMac, not the hub.
If it is seen, what happens when you put in a new floppy?
When is the last time you actually used these floppies, and where have they been stored, floppies can go bad?
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Eponymous
Citizen
Username: Eponymous
Post Number: 19
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Monday, January 23, 2006 - 1:27 am: | |
mtierney,
iMacs aren't obsolete! Even first-gen ones do fine with most ordinary tasks, though the harddrives can be a bit small. They are however easily upgradeable by someone who knows how. (I've done a bunch.) Depending on which Performa you have and how its tricked out, your best bet may be to simply email yourself the relevant files, preferably after compressing them (StuffIt will do it.) If it has ethernet, do as Monster suggested.
Peteglider,
Go with an external harddrive instead of the CD burner. Much cheaper and more reliable. I have literally hundreds of blank CDs I'll probably never use. Even a USB thumb drive can probably serve as back-up for most or all of your non-image, non-music files. If you've got a lot of money in either images or music, it's worth it to buy one or two harddrives. You can get 160GB on sale for $50 or less, if you watch the Sunday circulars. (sorry for the late suggestions) |
mtierney
Citizen
Username: Mtierney
Post Number: 898
Registered: 3-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 12:17 pm: | |
Dear Monster: Thank you for responding in language I almost understand. I've printed out your comments so that I may study the questions at leisure and see if I can come up with the answers.
I went up to the Apple store in the SHM yesterday. A salesperson who I would guess was only slightly older than my Performa was of some help. She said if I could schlepp my IMac and performer hard drive to the store at the time I purchased my new G5 Imac, 17" screen with Intel chip ($1299) they would write over files I select to the new computer. Sounds generous though the logistics of doing so seem daunting.
Incidentally the store has both the current G5 Imac and the new intel chip version for exactly the same price! When I asked about the wisdom of buying the new one (touted as twice the speed) when it had just hit the market, the salesperson said it might be wiser to wait a couple of months to catch any glitches.
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Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 12023
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 12:25 pm: | |
That is generous of the Apple store to make that offer. It's really easy for them to do. They connect the old system to their network, do a little setup, and then drag and drop files, which magically copy from one computer to the other.
I bought an imac a few months ago and am very impressed. I've become a total Apple convert. We now have four Apples at home.
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