Using Zip^® Disks

Use only genuine 250MB* and 100MB* Zip^® disks with your Zip drive. This section describes some of the things you can do with Zip disks. The help files contained in your IomegaWare^™ software include additional information on using Zip disks.

NOTE: For maximum performance and reliability, use genuine 250MB* Zip^® disks. You can also use genuine 100MB* Zip disks. The Zip 250MB drive features backward compatibility that allows you to read and write 100MB Zip disks. However, because of the higher capacity of the Zip 250MB drive, performance when writing to a 100MB Zip disk is significantly reduced.

* 250MB and 100MB where 1MB=1 million bytes. The capacity reported by your operating system may vary.

Backing Up with Zip^® Disks

It's important to always keep current backups of your valuable data—whether the primary data is stored on your hard drive or Zip^® disks! You can use Zip disks to back up both. (See Copying Zip Disks for information on how to make backup copies of your Zip disks.)

The easiest way to back up important data files stored on your hard drive is to use your system's standard procedures to copy them to your Zip^® drive. For example, if your operating system is Windows 95/98, you can use My Computer or Windows Explorer to select files or folders from your hard drive and drag-and-drop them on your Zip drive. One advantage of copying files directly to your Zip drive is that you can access them easily any time you need them without having to run a restore procedure.

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Copying Zip^® Disks

The simplest way to copy your Zip^® disks is with Iomega's Copy Machine application. Copy Machine will duplicate Zip disks using a single Zip drive. See help in IomegaWare software for instructions on how to use Copy Machine.

NOTE: Copy Machine cannot copy any files that are open or in use at the time the copy is made.

If you do not want to use Copy Machine, you can duplicate a Zip^® disk by following these steps:

1. Copy the contents of your Zip^® disk to a folder on your computer's hard drive (C:).

2. Eject your Zip^® disk.

3. Insert a new Zip^® disk.

4. Copy your files from the hard drive onto the new Zip^® disk.

CAUTION! When copying Zip^® disks on a PC system, do not use the Microsoft CopyDisk utility that is available when you right click on the Zip drive icon under Windows 98, or the DOS program DISKCOPY.EXE, which is included with Windows 98. These utilities only work correctly with floppy drives.

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Formatting Zip^® Disks

Zip^® disks are available preformatted. You can format your Zip disks to quickly erase all of the files on the disk, change the format type (PC or Mac), or to repair a disk that has developed bad sectors.

CAUTION! Formatting a disk erases all data on the disk. Do not format any disk that contains information you want to keep!

To Format Zip^® Disks:

1. Insert the disk you want to format into your Zip^® drive.

2. Right click on the Zip^® drive icon (on your Windows Desktop or in My Computer).

3. Select Format from the drive shortcut menu.

4. Choose the format type:

• Use Short Format if you want to quickly erase all data on a disk so you can reuse it.

• Use Long Format* if you are formatting a disk where you have forgotten the password, or if you need to repair a disk that has developed read/write errors due to bad sectors.

• Use either option to change the format type from Mac to PC.

5. Click Start to start formatting the Zip^® disk.

*Only the Short Format option can be used when formatting a 100MB Zip^® disk in a Zip^® 250^™ drive.

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Installing Applications to Zip^® Disks

On a PC, some applications and games will only install to, or run from, a fixed disk such as a hard drive. In order to install these programs to a Zip^® disk, use Make Nonremovable in IomegaWare software to make the Zip disk appear as a fixed disk to the system. After the software installation is complete, use the Make Removable feature to restore disk removability. Note that you may need to use the Make Nonremovable feature whenever you run the program from your Zip disk.

NOTE: The Zip^® disk will not eject when you push the eject button if the Zip drive is in Make Nonremovable mode.

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Read / Write Protecting Zip^® Disks

IomegaWare software includes a special read/write protect feature that allows you to:

• Write Protect a disk through the software instead of with a mechanical write protect switch.

• Write Protect a disk and assign a password so that no one can add, edit, or delete files without entering the password first.

• Read/Write Protect a disk so that it cannot be read from, or written to, unless the user enters the password you assign. If you use this feature, make sure IomegaWare is open and running.

To Set Zip^® Disk Protection on a Windows PC:

1. Insert the disk you want to protect into your Zip^® drive.

2. Open My Computer and right click on the Zip^® drive icon.

3. Select Protect from the drive shortcut menu.

4. Choose the protection option you want to use. Click the Help button if you need information on any of the options.

NOTE: Although Zip^® disk protection options are set and removed using Iomega software, the actual protection mechanism is secured in the Zip drive hardware. This means the disk protection cannot be by-passed using other software programs.

Handling Zip^® Disks

Always store Zip^® disks in their protective cases when they are not inserted in your Zip drive. Avoid exposing your Zip disks to direct sunlight, extreme temperatures, moisture, or magnetic fields (such as from monitors or speakers).

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