ZIP 250 problem

[Alain Wolff]

I have a problem with ONE of my ZIP 250 disks: the ZIP 250 drive just won't
read it- the problem seems to have occurred from one moment to the next!
Worse, when I insert the disk, the computer hangs.
I have for the time being lost all the data on that disk.
Does anyone know how i can hope to retrieve my data??

[Rick]

Post by Alain Wolff
I have a problem with ONE of my ZIP 250 disks: the ZIP 250 drive just won't
read it- the problem seems to have occurred from one moment to the next!
Worse, when I insert the disk, the computer hangs.

Define "hangs." If you leave it, does the computer ever recover? Any
error messages?

Post by Alain Wolff
I have for the time being lost all the data on that disk.
Does anyone know how i can hope to retrieve my data??

Short of professional (expensive) data recovery...? If this is only
happening with one disk that may be your only option.

You didn't mention what operating system you are running. In any event,
take a look at http://www.grc.com in the section about Zip & Jaz drives.
If you are running Win 9.x or higher there is a freeware program at the
sight to assess the situation - TIP.EXE - but it won't really help on
that particular disk if your system is completely locking up when trying
to access it. However, it might be worth running to assess the general
status of your Zip system with a working disk.

[Saruman]

Post by Alain Wolff
I have a problem with ONE of my ZIP 250 disks: the ZIP 250 drive just won't
read it- the problem seems to have occurred from one moment to the next!
Worse, when I insert the disk, the computer hangs.
I have for the time being lost all the data on that disk.
Does anyone know how i can hope to retrieve my data??

I too had a similar problem with a Zip 250 USB POWERED Iomega drive
dated 08/08/2002. I used it constantly for 9 months with no problems,
then suddenly came up with the message that the media was not
formatted. Tried to format the 250MB media in Windows2000 FAT32, using
Windows Explorer and seemed to format allright but at the end came up
with the message that the media was corrupt.

Foolishly thinking that the MEDIA was at fault, I obtained another
250MB disc, which worked in a colleagues ZIP250 drive (purchased at
the same time). Formatted the disc with the same result. Now I have
two disc which will not read in any other drive and a dead ZIP drive
which is out of warranty.

My suggestion is don't try using new MEDIA until the drive is checked
out.

Good Luck

[Rick]

Post by Saruman

Post by Alain Wolff
I have a problem with ONE of my ZIP 250 disks: the ZIP 250 drive just won't
read it- the problem seems to have occurred from one moment to the next!
Worse, when I insert the disk, the computer hangs.
I have for the time being lost all the data on that disk.
Does anyone know how i can hope to retrieve my data??

I too had a similar problem with a Zip 250 USB POWERED Iomega drive
dated 08/08/2002. I used it constantly for 9 months with no problems,
then suddenly came up with the message that the media was not
formatted. Tried to format the 250MB media in Windows2000 FAT32, using
Windows Explorer and seemed to format allright but at the end came up
with the message that the media was corrupt.
Foolishly thinking that the MEDIA was at fault, I obtained another
250MB disc, which worked in a colleagues ZIP250 drive (purchased at
the same time). Formatted the disc with the same result. Now I have
two disc which will not read in any other drive and a dead ZIP drive
which is out of warranty.
My suggestion is don't try using new MEDIA until the drive is checked
out.
Good Luck

Whoa! Using non Iomega format routines can trash a disk to begin with.
There is no advantage to using FAT32 on a disk as small as 250MB anyway.
Non Iomega format routines can overwrite proprietary regions of the disk
that the routine doesn't expect to see - like the spare sector pools and
Iomega's "z-track" regions. If the format overwrites the z-tracks kiss
the disk goodbye. No format routine will be able to recover the disk at
that point.

[Saruman]

Post by Rick
Whoa! Using non Iomega format routines can trash a disk to begin with.
There is no advantage to using FAT32 on a disk as small as 250MB anyway.
Non Iomega format routines can overwrite proprietary regions of the disk
that the routine doesn't expect to see - like the spare sector pools and
Iomega's "z-track" regions. If the format overwrites the z-tracks kiss
the disk goodbye. No format routine will be able to recover the disk at
that point.

Where do you find the Iomega format routine?
The IomegaWare help has the following.

begin quote:
"Formatting Disks for Windows 2000/XP

Iomega disks are preformatted. You can reformat your disks to quickly
erase all of the files on the disk, change the format type, or to
repair a disk that has developed bad sectors. Use the format tool to
format your Iomega disks.

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

To access the format function:

Insert the disk you want to format into the Iomega drive.

Right click the appropriate drive icon in My Computer or Windows
Explorer.

Select Format from the drive shortcut menu.

Type a name for your disk in the Disk Name field.

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
errors. This option may not be available with certain Iomega drives.

Click Format to begin formatting the disk."
end quote.

When following the above instructions to format, I was presented with
choosing either FAT or FAT32 only.

Cheers!

[Edward Knobloch]

The Iomegaware software will provide the format routines for Zip drives:
http://www.iomega.com/software/ioware402pc.html

If you've already formatted with FAT or FAT32, it's probably too late to
recover the disks.

Regards,
Ed Knobloch

Post by Saruman

Post by Rick
Whoa! Using non Iomega format routines can trash a disk to begin with.
There is no advantage to using FAT32 on a disk as small as 250MB anyway.
Non Iomega format routines can overwrite proprietary regions of the disk
that the routine doesn't expect to see - like the spare sector pools and
Iomega's "z-track" regions. If the format overwrites the z-tracks kiss
the disk goodbye. No format routine will be able to recover the disk at
that point.

Where do you find the Iomega format routine?
The IomegaWare help has the following.
"Formatting Disks for Windows 2000/XP
Iomega disks are preformatted. You can reformat your disks to quickly
erase all of the files on the disk, change the format type, or to
repair a disk that has developed bad sectors. Use the format tool to
format your Iomega disks.
CAUTION! Formatting a disk erases all data on a disk. Do not format
any disk that contains information you want to keep.
Insert the disk you want to format into the Iomega drive.
Right click the appropriate drive icon in My Computer or Windows
Explorer.
Select Format from the drive shortcut menu.
Type a name for your disk in the Disk Name field.
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
errors. This option may not be available with certain Iomega drives.
Click Format to begin formatting the disk."
end quote.
When following the above instructions to format, I was presented with
choosing either FAT or FAT32 only.
Cheers!

[Rick]

Post by Saruman

Post by Rick
Whoa! Using non Iomega format routines can trash a disk to begin with.
There is no advantage to using FAT32 on a disk as small as 250MB anyway.
Non Iomega format routines can overwrite proprietary regions of the disk
that the routine doesn't expect to see - like the spare sector pools and
Iomega's "z-track" regions. If the format overwrites the z-tracks kiss
the disk goodbye. No format routine will be able to recover the disk at
that point.

Where do you find the Iomega format routine?
The IomegaWare help has the following.
"Formatting Disks for Windows 2000/XP
Iomega disks are preformatted. You can reformat your disks to quickly
erase all of the files on the disk, change the format type, or to
repair a disk that has developed bad sectors. Use the format tool to
format your Iomega disks.
CAUTION! Formatting a disk erases all data on a disk. Do not format
any disk that contains information you want to keep.
Insert the disk you want to format into the Iomega drive.
Right click the appropriate drive icon in My Computer or Windows
Explorer.
Select Format from the drive shortcut menu.
Type a name for your disk in the Disk Name field.
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
errors. This option may not be available with certain Iomega drives.
Click Format to begin formatting the disk."
end quote.
When following the above instructions to format, I was presented with
choosing either FAT or FAT32 only.
Cheers!

If Iomegaware is installed you should have an Iomega icon for the drive
instead of a standard icon. Right clicking on the icon should do it. If
Iomega is providing a FAT32 format option for Zip discs that's news to
me. It doesn't sound like the software is installed.