Backing Up with Zip Disks | Copying Zip Disks
Formatting Zip Disks | Read / Write Protecting Zip Disks
 Using Zip Disks Cross-Platform

 

Use only genuine 250MB or 100MB* Zip® disks with your FotoShow™ Zip drive. This section describes some of the things you can do with Zip disks.

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

NOTE! If you have a Zip® 100 drive, please keep in mind that Zip 100 drives use only 100MB Zip disks. Zip 250MB disks do not work in any Zip 100 drive.


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® USB drive. For example, if your operating system is Windows®, you can use My Computer or Windows Explorer. to select files or folders from your hard drive and drag-and-drop them to 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 the Iomega CopyDisk tool. This tool is not available for Mac® OS systems; however, you can manually copy files from one Zip disk to another using the instructions below.

Windows® PC Users

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

  2. Right click the Zip® drive icon in My Computer or Windows Explorer.

  3. Select Copy Disk from the drive shortcut menu.

  4. Select the drive and directory you want to copy information to and from.

    NOTE: CopyDisk erases any files on the target disk if the capacity of the source disk is the same as the capacity of the target disk. CopyDisk adds a folder to the target disk if the capacity of the source disk is smaller than the capacity of the target disk.

  5. Click the Start button.

NOTE: The Iomega Copy Disk tool cannot copy files that are open or in use at the time the copy is made.

If you are using a Macinstosh® operating system, or if you do not want to use CopyDisk, 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: or Mac hard disk).

  2. Eject your Zip® disk.

  3. Insert a new Zip® disk.

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


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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 (Mac or PC), or to repair a disk that has developed errors.

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

NOTE: Your FotoShow™ Image Center can only format disks when it is attached to a computer. You cannot use your FotoShow Image Center to format when attached to a TV.

Formatting Instructions for Mac® OS Users

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

  2. Open the IomegaWare™ folder on your Mac® hard disk, then open the Tools folder and double click the Tools icon.

  3. In the main Tools window, click on the icon for the disk you want to erase.

  4. Select the Erase Disk tool.

  5. Select the erase type:

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

    • Use Long Erase if you need to repair a disk that has developed errors, or if you are formatting a disk where you have forgotten the password.

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

  6. Click Erase to start formatting the Zip® disk.


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Formatting Instructions for Windows® PC Users

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

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

  3. Select Format from the drive shortcut menu.

  4. Select 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 need to repair a disk that has developed errors, or if you are formatting a disk where you have forgotten the password.

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

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


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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 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.

Setting Zip® Disk Protection under Mac® OS

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

  2. Open the IomegaWare™ folder on your Mac® hard disk, then open the Tools folder and double click the Tools icon.

  3. In the main Tools window, click on the icon for the disk you want to protect (or unprotect).

  4. Select the Disk Protection tool.

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

Setting Zip® Disk Protection under Windows®

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

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

  3. Select Protect from the drive shortcut menu.

  4. Select 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 IomegaWare™ software, the actual protection mechanism is secured in the drive hardware. This means the disk protection cannot be by-passed using other software programs.


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Using Zip® Disks Cross-Platform

Mac® OS and Windows® PC systems use different disk formats. If you use your Zip® drive on both PC and Mac systems, here are some important points you need to know:

NOTE: Your FotoShow™ Image Center will only recognize PC-formatted disks when used with a TV. When connected to a computer, your FotoShow Zip® drive can use both Mac- and PC-formatted disks.


On Mac® OS Systems

  • You can use PC-formatted disks on a Mac® OS system that has File Exchange 3.0 or higher installed. It is recommended that you use PC-formatted Zip® disks for file transfer only. You may lose file resource information if files you use on a Mac OS system are stored on a PC-formatted disk.

  • You can change a PC-formatted disk to a Mac®-formatted disk by using the Iomega Tools application on a Mac OS system to erase the disk.

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

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On PC Systems

  • PC systems cannot read a Mac®-formatted Zip® disk unless special software is installed on the system. If you try to use a Mac-formatted Zip disk on a PC that does not have disk exchange software installed, you will see a message indicating that the disk is not formatted.

  • You can change a Mac®-formatted disk to a PC-formatted disk by using IomegaWare software on a PC to erase the disk. (Observe the CAUTION above!)

Transferring Files Between PC and Mac®

If you need to transfer files between a PC and a Mac®, you can use a PC-formatted Zip® disk if File Exchange 3.0 or higher is loaded on the Mac. You can use a Mac-formatted Zip disk if the PC has disk exchange software installed.

NOTE: The Zip® drive does not convert file formats. When using files cross-platform, the file format and application must work on both PC and Mac® platforms.


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