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Apple II FAQs Zip Drive & Tape
The comp.sys.apple2 Usenet newsgroup Apple II FAQs originate from
the Ground Apple II archive, 1997-1999. Administrator: Steve Nelson
Csa2 FAQs-on-Ground ref: Csa2ZIPTF.txt rev018 8/27/1999
Zip Drives & Tape
001- What is a "Zip drive"?
002- What is a "Zip disk"?
003- What do I need in order to use a Zip drive?
004- What kind of SCSI interface card do I need?
005- How do I install a Zip drive?
006- How do I get started using the Zip drive?
007- How does Zip Drive speed compare with a hard disk's speed?
008- Can I mount Zip disks formatted on Macintosh on my IIgs?
009- Will forgetting to set the termination switch cause damage?
010- How does Zip Drive perform with an Apple HS SCSI card?
011- Is a CMS SCSI card adequate for connecting a Zip drive?
012- Which SCSI interface works best with a Zip Drive?
013- Will I be able to format and partition a Zip disk?
014- Should I let the Finder handle formatting of new Zip disks?
015- Can I format a Zip disk for HFS?
016- The disk in my Zip Drive is not recognized. How come?
017- I added SCSI; now, my 3.5" drives often fail to work. Why?
018- Why do I get this "Ramfast/SCSI is searching SCSI bus" msg?
019- What's a good utility for doing tape backups on the GS?
020- What's needed to add a SCSI Tape backup unit?
021- What about tape backup on a IIe?
022- Does Apple's Hi-Speed SCSI card allow swapping Zip disks?
023- What can I do after the Zip on my Apple SCSI "sleeps"?
024- What is the "Click of Death" reported by some Zip drive users?
025- What is a "Qic" tape? A friend needs to read a Qic-80 tape.
026- How do I restart my HS SCSI + Zip when the Zip deactivates?
Zip Info from the 1996 II Alive review by Eric Dietrich (Q&A 001-008)
001- What is a "Zip drive"?
A Zip drive is a 100MB removable media system. Cobalt blue in color, the
drive is compact and light-- about the same size as the newer external
modems. There are two models. The 100p "Parallel Zip" connects through the
parallel printer port of PC's and compatibles. The 100s "SCSI Zip" connects
to any computer with a SCSI port.
The Zip drive is made by Iomega. Price is around $140. This includes the
drive, cable, information sheets, one disk with "Zip Tools", and a 3.5"
installation diskette. (The material on the zip disk is PC/Mac compatible and
the diskette is for MS-DOS. This stuff will come in handy should you wish to
be able to use your Zip drive on a PC with a SCSI port or on a Mac. None of
the software is required for using the Zip Drive on an Apple II.)
----------------------------
002- What is a "Zip disk"?
A Zip drive disk is a cartridge just a bit larger and thicker than the
familiar 3.5" floppy diskette with a smaller shutter and no physical
write-protect mechanism. It is rated as among the more rugged
moderately-high-density removable disks.
The 100MB disk has become the standard. (There's also a 25MB disk; but,
you will seldom see these advertised.) On average, the 100MB disks go for
$10-$15 each.
----------------------------
003- What do I need to use a Zip drive?
You need an Apple IIgs or Enhanced IIe and a SCSI interface card.
----------------------------
004- What kind of SCSI interface card do I need?
There are three 'popular' options: The Apple Revision C, The Apple
Hi-Speed, and the RamFAST. The Revision C is older and a bit slower because
it does not utilize direct memory access (DMA), a feature that the Hi-Speed
and RamFAST have. The Apple cards are no longer made or supported; but, you
may be able to buy one at a swap meet.
The Sequential Systems RamFAST has DMA plus an on-board cache of either
256kB or 1MB, making it the fastest interface available. RamFAST has a full
set of utilities in ROM, so, it's easy to set up, too. Both Sequential and
Alltech sell RamFAST and can answer user questions.
----------------------------
From: Willie Yeo
Apple Hi-Speed SCSI card users need to remember that these cards
normally do not supply termination power. (RamFAST does; but, not the Apple
Hi-Speed SCSI card.) To work properly with the GS, a Zip drive connected to
the Apple Hi-Speed SCSI card requires either another device that can supply
termination power, or requires a hardware hack on the Apple Hi-Speed SCSI
card to provide the termination power.
Note: The Apple Hi-Speed SCSI card termination power modification is detailed
in the Hard Drive and SCSI FAQs (file csa2HDNSCSI.TXT).
----------------------------
005- How do I install a Zip drive?
The main Zip installation step is plugging it in. The drive uses DB-25
connectors and, so, most likely, the cable will plug directly into your
interface card with no need for an adaptor. In case you need an adaptor for
an older 50-pin plug, these can be obtained from Alltech.
If you already have other SCSI devices, the one currently plugged into
the interface can plug into the Zip. Or, the Zip can be plugged into a hard
disk, CD-ROM, etc. at any point in the chain of SCSI devices.
Set SCSI ID Number- Every hard disk, CD-ROM drive, etc. on your SCSI chain
needs its own ID number (0-7). While most devices are flexible and will allow
you to choose any available ID, Zip gives you a choice of two: 5 or 6. If you
are using an Apple Hi-Speed card and you already have a hard disk, you'll
have to set the Zip to 5 in order to continue to boot off of your hard disk
(which needs to be 6). The RamFAST is somewhat more flexible in that it
doesn't take ID 7 for itself and will allow you to boot from any SCSI device.
Set Termination- Another consideration is termination. If all you have
connected to your SCSI card is the Zip Drive, then you should set the switch
on the back to turn ON the termination. If you have other devices that come
after the Zip, then you should set it to OFF. (Actually, the Zip presents a
light termination load and can be left with termination ON whether or not it
is the last device.) The last device in the chain (the one farthest from the
interface) should always have termination set ON.
Hardware-wise, that's it. In all likelihood, your setup will work fine.
If not, you can get help from experts at Sequential or Alltech, post a
question on comp.sys.apple2, or, even, read the documentation that came with
your SCSI card (when all else fails ...).
----------------------------
006- How do I get started using the Zip drive?
Once your drive is connected, its time to start your machine and prepare
a Zip disk for use. The Advanced Disk Utility (on a IIgs) or the utility that
came with your SCSI card can do formatting and set up partitions (i.e. create
named "Volumes"). Usually, with new for-PC Disks, just partitioning is
required for use under ProDOS. Each 100MB disk can hold three max-size (32MB)
ProDOS partitions.
If your interface is a RamFAST rev. D 3.01f or later model, you will be
able to treat Zip disks much like large floppies. They will mount and unmount
properly in the GS Finder, etc..
Most other interface cards will want to treat your Zip Drive and disk
like a hard disk. This is because the cards were designed before removable
high-density R/W media became popular. You may be able to swap in a disk
after booting; but, the new disk is likely to be treated as though it is the
disk which was present during power-up. This could lead to messed-up
partitions, lost files, and other problems. With such interface cards, the
safe way to swap Zip disks is to turn OFF the computer.
----------------------------
007-How does Zip Drive speed compare with a hard disk speed?
Iomega claims 29ms average access time, which is slower than modern hard
disks but, still, very speedy.
----------------------------
008- Can I mount Zip disks formatted on Macintosh computers on my IIgs?
Yes. However, Macs put a driver on the disk as well as a partition map.
Both look like partitions to the IIgs. Since the IIgs can't read them, it
will ask you to format or eject. Here's a trick you can try: When you insert
a Mac-formatted Zip, just click "eject" until the disk mounts. The IIgs will
then ignore the extra Mac stuff, and mount just the legitimate volume(s). (E.
D.)
____________________________
From: Rubywand
009- Sometimes I forget to set the termination switch correctly
after using my Zip drive on another machine. Will this damage
anything?
If you normally connect your Zip drive somewhere in the middle of your
Apple II SCSI chain and forget to turn OFF termination, it probably does no
harm. The Zip is said to have rather "weak" termination-- i.e. its
termination resistors present a relatively light load. This may explain why
GS users report no data loss problems on Zip or other devices when Zip is
located in the middle of a SCSI chain with termination set to ON.
If your Zip drive is normally connected at the end of your Apple II SCSI
chain and you forget to set it to ON, there is a decent chance of Zip drive
Read and Write errors.
____________________________
From: The Mangler
010- How does Zip Drive perform with an Apple HS SCSI card?
I had many problems when I first started with the Iomega Zip on my GS and it
isn't the most reliable thing - But it works.
1.) Make sure that the Zipdrive is hooked directly to your HS Apple SCSI
card.
2.) Chain your Zipdrive to the external HD which you will be using.
3.) Attach a terminator adapter to the back of the remaining port on your
external HD - The Zipdrive has a weak termination and requires another
terminator source.
As for getting your GS to recognize the Zipdrive in all applications:
1.) Turn on your Zipdrive
2.) Turn on your external HD
3.) Turn on the GS
4.) Put the Zipdisk in the drive before GSOS is booted so that it may be
scanned and recognized.
Last, if you are working on the GS for a long time and suddenly the Zipdrive
Icons don't pop up when you load Finder, simply eject the zipdisk and push it
back into the drive.
____________________________
From: Scott G
011- Is a CMS SCSI interface card adequate for connecting a Zip drive?
No way. The CMS card is awful and won't get you anywhere (it chokes on
removable drives). You'll need either a RamFAST or Apple HS SCSI card.
(Contact Alltech http://www.allelec.com/ or Sequential Systems
http://www.sequential.com/ ).
----------------------------
From: David Empson
I would strongly discourage it. The CMS card is designed to work with CMS
hard drives, and not much else. I don't know if it can handle removable SCSI
devices (the original Apple SCSI card's firmware cannot, and the CMS card is
about the same level of antiquity). It might not be able to handle more than
64 MB either, so even if you can get the card to work with the ZIP drive, you
may not be able to access all of the disk.
Another problem is that the CMS card doesn't support the standard
partitioning scheme used by other Apple II SCSI cards. It uses a set of
jumpers on the card to configure the partition sizes, and doesn't support the
partition map mechanism at all. In other words, it uses "hard partitioning".
See if you can get hold of an Apple or RamFast SCSI card, which follow all
the standards as far as partitioning goes.
Note that the problem with non-support of removable devices only applies to
the original Apple SCSI card, not the high-speed one, and even then it only
applies under ProDOS-8. You just need to be careful not to switch disks
without rebooting, because it won't realize that a new disk (potentially with
different partitioning) is in the drive.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
012- Which SCSI interface works best with a Zip Drive?
Your best choice is the version 3.01f RamFAST. Along with good speed,
Direct Memory Access support, and on-ROM utilities, you also get an interface
which permits ejecting a Zip disk and mounting a new Zip disk from the System
6 Finder. (There is no need to turn OFF the computer and restart the system
in order to swap disks.)
The RamFAST 3.01f also supports a variety of CD-ROM drives and hard disk
drives.
----------------------------
From: Supertimer
The same can be said of the Apple High Speed SCSI. With a partitioned
Zip disk (or CD-ROM), you have to lasso or shift-click to highlight all the
partitions and drag them to the trash to eject the disk. (As long as one
partition remains on the desktop, the disk stays in.) There is no need to
turn off the computer to swap disks. The interface is a bit slower than
RamFAST. However, it actually supports MORE hard disk drives than the
RamFAST.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
013- Will I be able to format and partition a Zip disk using the
standard 6.0.1 tools disk?
Yes.
If you have a RamFAST, you also have the option of using the RamFAST
utilities. These are on ROM on the RamFAST board. They should be copied to
disk or hard disk and run from there. RAMFAST.SYSTEM will handle ProDOS
partitioning and low-level formatting.
Since Zip disks are already formatted, you will, mainly, be concerned
with setting up partitions. On a 100MB Zip disk, the best partitioning is
three 32MB ProDOS volumes. Setting up partitions takes less than a minute. A
low-level reformat of a 100MB Zip disk may take 10 minutes or more.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
014- Should I just let the System Finder handle formatting of
new Zip disks?
If you are at the usual System Desktop display and insert a new, "blank"
Zip disk, you will be told that the disk's format is not recognized and asked
if you want to have it formatted. Assuming you want ProDOS volumes or
multiple HFS volumes, you should answer "NO":
A new Zip disk is already formatted; what you need is to have it
partitioned-- good, because partitioning takes about 30 seconds whereas a
format takes 9-10 minutes.
ProDOS is limited to 32,768kB ("32MB") per partition. The Finder does not
know how to correctly format and partition a 100MB ProDOS disk.
Reminder: If you want a disk to be able to boot ProDOS or any version of
GS/OS (as in System 6.0.1), at least the first partition must be formatted
for ProDOS.
----------------------------
From: Supertimer
I say "Yes", _if_ you want one big HFS-formatted Zip disk. (Unlike
ProDOS, HFS allows volumes larger than 32MB.) Letting the Finder format the
Zip disk for HFS gives you a 96MB (partition-table-less) "diskette" that's
faster than one that has been partitioned, even if the partition = the whole
disk.
The "partitionless" HFS volume generated by formatting PC Zip disks from
the Finder behaves just like a floppy and ejects and mounts like one (but
with a hard disk icon).
____________________________
From: Rubywand
015- Can I format a Zip disk for HFS; and, can HFS and ProDOS
volumes exist on the same Zip disk?
Yes. System 6 with HFS.FST in the SYSTEM/FSTS folder supports Read,
Write, Formatting, and Partitioning of HFS disks. The standard Apple Advanced
Disk Utilities (ADU) program lets you set up a Zip disk as a single 100MB HFS
volume or divide it into partitions.
Note: A "partition" is a "volume". In most respects, partitions on a Hard
Disk or Zip disk are treated like separate disks. Each partition has its own
volume name and appears on the System Finder display with its own icon.
You can, if you like, have ProDOS and HFS partitions on the same Zip
disk. One easy way to do this is to set up, say, three ProDOS partitions and,
then, have ADU "Initialize" a partition as HFS. If you want to be able to
boot from the Zip disk, at least the first partition must be ProDOS.
----------------------------
016- Often, when I power-ON my computer, the disk in my Zip Drive
is not recognized. What's the problem?
Almost immediately after power-up, your SCSI interface begins checking
for devices. Most likely, the problem is that your SCSI interface checks the
Zip Drive before it is ready and decides no disk is present.
The cure is to put your Zip Drive, CD-ROM drive, etc. on a separate
power line. These devices should be switched ON 5-10 seconds before
powering-ON the computer. If you depend up reading SCSI setup information
from your Zip Drive-- like, if it is the only write-able device on the SCSI
chain-- then a Zip disk on which the setup info has been saved should be
inserted after the drive is switched ON and before powering-ON the computer.
----------------------------
017- Sometimes the 3.5" drives on my GS do not function correctly.
This started after adding a SCSI interface card. Is there
a fix?
This problem seems to crop up from time to time when a SCSI interface is
present, especially when no device is connected and recognized on the SCSI
chain. Evidently, something (e.g. a register or softswitch) in the usual GS
power-up routine relating to on-line devices gets messed up.
Inserting a 3.5" diskette into Drive 1 before or just after power-up
usually forces recognition of 3.5" diskette drives and enables correct
functioning.
____________________________
From: LJ Silicon
018- I get this message 'Ramfast/SCSI is searching the SCSI bus for
devices..etc.' Never had this problem before-- only does it
on a cold boot.
When you reinstalled the software, the RAMFast set itself for a long
search. This is an option that you can change using the RAMFast utility. What
it is doing is giving your scsi devices a chance to spin up. If you want a
fast check, go to the options menu on the utilities and reset the Short
Timeout option there to "YES".
____________________________
From: Dan Brown, KE6MKS
019- What's a good utility for doing tape backups on the GS?
Here follows an unpaid testimonial: The Tim Grams GS desktop SCSI
backup utility called "GSTape" works great! I got it for an old Apple Tape
40SC, did several backup/restores, and then ran across a 2GB DAT drive. Yep,
it worked with no problems, too! (-:
----------------------------
From: Devin Reade
As one of those very satisfied customers, I testify that for someone
with a SCSI tape drive, GSTape is very much worth the money. It is reliable
and simple to operate in both backup and restore mode. It has an appropriate
script capability and, although I have not used this feature, it allows timed
backups (so that you don't have to be present).
It is _much_ better than the RAMFast built-in tape backup program. I
currently use it to backup both SCSI and Vulcan (IDE) hard drives.
____________________________
From: Phil Abel
020- I have a IIgs ROM01 with system 6.0 and I am trying to add a
SCSI Tape backup unit. I have an Apple Hi-Speed SCSI card
and 2 drives connected currently. The tape drive is off an old
unix box. I have the ID set to 3. I loaded the system 6.0 SCSI
tape driver but nothing showed up on the desktop. What's wrong?
I have recently gone thru this dilemma myself... First of all, I believe
that the GS driver is partial to the 3M mechanism as found in the Apple SC40
tape unit. I tried a Tecmar drive (whatever mechanism that is) on my GS, and
though it recognized the drive on boot as a SCSI device, when I went into
archiver to try to back something up it didn't acknowledge the drive's
presence, although the SCSITAPE device showed up in GS/OS. I later found a
good deal on an SC40 and hooked it up and it works perfectly, though I am
still curious about making the Tecmar work, though I doubt it will.
#1. I have read that you should set the SCSI ID on a tape drive to 0 (lowest
priority) if this will help any... this seemed to eliminate annoying
searching of the tape drive on boot.
#2. Another thing-- The tape drive will NOT show up on the System desktop. It
does not work like a regular drive. You need a special program (aka Archiver
in GSOS or I believe there are some 8 bit programs, too) that knows how to
store files on the tape.
Open Advanced Disk Utilities when in GSOS and see if the SCSITAPE unit
is present-- then you will know the drive was identified ok. Then the next
test-- see if you can backup. Open archiver, set your "backup to..." device
as SCSITAPE and hit start.
When the thing says "insert first backup tape" you insert a tape and hit
OK. If it starts giving you errors or repeating the message, then GS/OS
doesn't like your tape unit. If it works... then go out for a pizza or
something while the thing whiles away at your files. Try recovering selected
files after the backup to make sure the archive went ok so you can begin
trusting in your tape backups.
----------------------------
From: Bill Harris
The device number (other than being unique) should not be relevent to
backing up to tape. I've always used something in the middle range of
numbers for my tape, typically id 3 or 4. This included when I was still
using the RF prom for backup.
----------------------------
From: Rubywand
RamFAST has a Backup function you can get to via Ramfast.system.
You need to have the "HD Backup" option under the [O]ptions menu set to
"No" in order to use tape (instead of something like a Zip Drive) for backup.
Then, you can select [B]ackup from the main menu bar.
Regarding the SCSI device number setting, 3 may be fine on a RamFAST.
Probably, you would want to remove any Apple drivers named "SCSI ..." from
the DRIVERS/ folder to eliminate possible conflicts with the Ramfast driver.
----------------------------
From: Charles T. Turley
Go to ftp://24.96.48.134:6502/Cabi_Archives/Utilities/SCSI.STUFF/ .
____________________________
From: Glynne Tolar
021- What about tape backup on a IIe?
The RamFAST has built-in volume image backup software (in background).
The only backup software I know of for the //e for tape drives is by Tim
Grams and it only works with an Apple Rev. C SCSI and the Apple Tape Backup
40SC (3m MCD-40). This software is no longer supported though.
----------------------------
From: Charles T. Turley
You can find all you need concerning P8 tape backup software from the
following url ...
ftp://24.96.48.134:6502/Cabi_Archives/Utilities/SCSI.STUFF/ .
____________________________
From: Supertimer
022- I've heard that Apple's Hi-Speed SCSI card does not
allow swapping Zip disks without turning OFF the computer.
Is this true?
No. The Apple Hi-Speed SCSI interface allows ejecting and swapping
removable disks. With a partitioned Zip disk (or CD-ROM), you have to lasso
or shift-click to highlight all the partitions and drag them to the trash to
eject the disk. (As long as one partition remains on the desktop, the disk
stays in.) There is no need to turn off the computer to swap disks.
____________________________
From: Gareth Jones
023- What can I do after the Zip drive connected to my Apple SCSI
goes into Sleep Mode?
A solution is "goosing" the drive by manually ejecting and reinserting
it. Apparently, using the SCSI driver for the Apple Card that was sold by
Tulin Technologies solves a lot of troubles with the Apple card and a Zip
drive. You can get the Tulin SCSI driver from Mr. Wing Chung
(104465.3171@COMPUSERVE.COM) for $20.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
024- What is the "Click of Death" reported by some Zip drive users?
Your drive starts to make a clicking sound and soon fails. Disks in a
drive which Clicks may be corrupted and, if placed in a good drive, may cause
a good drive to start Clicking.
The clicking sound is what you hear when the drive head hits a
mechanical stop when it fails to detect and stop at track Zero. Repeated hits
lead to misalignment or, even, a broken head and disk tearing.
If your Zip drive starts to click, the standard recommendation is that
you immediately eject the disk or, if this is not possible, turn OFF power to
the drive (or pull out the power connector on the side of the drive). This
may save the drive if the disk is bad or save the disk if the drive has gone
bad.
The "Click" has been laid to one or more of several possible causes:
1. Misalignment due to bumping while being carried around
2. Exposure to magnetic fields from monitors and (internal Zips) un-shielded
power supplies
3. Faulty or 'weak' drives which got past quality control
4. Use of non-Iomega drivers for accessing and/or formatting Zip disks.
Regarding use of non-Iomega drivers: SuperTimer, I, and other users have
done low-level formats and partitioning of several Zip disks on drives
connected to the IIgs and used the disks with no problems.
____________________________
From: Scott Alfter
025- What is a "Qic" tape? A friend needs to read a Qic-80 tape.
QIC-80 is a format, not a brand or a specifier of capacity.
Uncompressed capacity for tapes in this format range from 60 megs (DC2120) to
250 megs (TR-1 Extra). It was preceded by QIC-40 and has since been
superseded by QIC-3010, QIC-3020, and QIC-3095 (the latter format delivers 4
gigabytes (uncompressed) on a TR-4 tape, and is available in SCSI and IDE
flavors for fast operation).
I'm not sure what format the 40-meg tape drive Apple used to sell
used...it might've been QIC-80 with a shorter tape (they use DC2000 tapes),
but it was probably different. I've never had one. For my GS, the tape drive
I currently use is an Archive Viper 60S (QIC-24 format, SCSI interface, puts
60 megs on a DC600 cartridge).
____________________________
From: Supertimer
026- How do I restart my HS SCSI + Zip when the Zip deactivates?
The problem is with the Apple SCSI driver. The Zip drive normally
deactivates itself after a period of time to conserve energy. The Apple SCSI
driver fails to reactivate the Zip when the IIGS tries to access it. If this
happens in some programs, data can get corrupted. If it happens in the
Finder, the Finder will ask you if you want to format the Zip disk.
You can reacivate your Zip by hitting the eject button and pushing the
Zip disk back into the drive after it has ejected. People call this "goosing"
the Zip drive. It works and reactivates the Zip.
One complete fix is to replace the Apple SCSI driver with the Tulin one.
Some former Tulin employee on Compuserve sells it for $20.
_________________________