Re: ZIP on GS (was: question on Standards for files)

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

Pim Blokland writes ...
> 
> In article <20000113211218.01287.00000213@ng-fx1.aol.com>,
> ljsilicon@aol.com (LJSILICON) wrote:
> 
> > I do have an occassional problem with the drive getting ready
> > for use. If you have the zip hooked to a power strip and if you turn the
> > entire
> > system on at the same time; unplug the zip as soon as you start the
> > system and
> > then replug it. Don't know why, but some Zip drives are finky that way.
> 
> I usually wait for the harddisk to come to speed before powering up the
> computer... And the Zip is on as well. You mean I should power up the
> computer and then the Zip? Hm, that's a novel idea. I always thought it
> was best to have the peripherals up and running before starting the
> computer, so that the computer can recognize them.
> But lets give it a try. Switch off the Zip, switch on the computer,
> switch the Zip back on...
> 
> Aaah! Can you believe it! Will you look at that!
> It works!
> 
> Ehm. hm. If insert a disk, the GS asks me if I want to eject or
> initialize it. Three times. And then it mounts the disk. Hm.
> And if I drag the disk to the trash, it disappears off the desktop, but
> it doesn't get ejected.
> Or, vice versa, if I eject the disk (using the drive button), it does
> not get dimmed on the desktop.
> Do you have similar results?
> Oh, it's a HFS disk, by the way. Haven't done any formatting or
> partitioning yet.
 ....

     New PC Zip disks are usually formatted; but, to use as ProDOS or HFS
volumes on a IIgs, they need to be partitioned-- which takes about 30 seconds
or so.

     Don't know about Zip disks pre-formatted for Mac. Although they may be
ready to go as HFS on a Mac, it seems likely that you will need to partition
them for IIgs ProDOS or HFS (even if you have just one HFS partition).

     Regarding power-up, Our Zip drive is connected via a RamFAST and must be
powered ON before the computer in order to be recognized as present by RamFAST.

     At least for a RamFAST, if the Zip is your only write-able medium on the
SCSI chain, a IIgs Zip disk with RamFAST setup parms should be inserted into
the drive after it is powered ON and before powering ON the computer. (If
RamFAST can not find the setup parms on a SCSI device during startup, it will
use the defaults. Most likely, this will mean that you will need to run
RamFAST.system and enter the correct parms as well as go to the RF SCSI utils
in order to activate all of the partitions on a Zip disk you insert.)

     Since we normally boot from a Focus 'Hard Card' drive (an IDE drive not on
the SCSI chain), the normal power-ON procedure is to power-ON the Zip first,
insert a Zip disk, and power-ON the computer. Everything works fine and there
is no problem recognizing partitions, swappin in other Zip disks, etc..

     For the drive or disk icon to dim when a disk is ejected via a button on
the drive is the normal, correct response of GS System. (You will need to drag
the dimmed icons to Trash to get rid of them.)



Rubywand