Customer Reviews

Iomega 31197 Zip 100 Portable USB Drive (PC/Mac)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have had my zip drive for a while now. I purchased the external type so I could swap it between my laptop and desktop. I use it to backup data along with having the capability to read disks that are sent to me by clients and workmates.

So far I have not had any major problems I could not work out with the zip drive. The one drawback I have found is that Iomega's Web site is not very clear at times.

Otherwise for me on both a Windows 98 and 2000 system it has been simple plug and play!

Very neat device! Works well with Win95/98/Me.You may have a slight installation problem with WinNT and Win2000 but fear not latest drivers are available on the manufactures website. Excellent for large data transfers between computers. CDR's and RW's are neat for music and data backup but Zip drives go a long way when transferring files.

Wow, I have been wanting one of these for quite a while, as a back-up/file transfer drive. The installation could not have been easier, with the USB connection. Using the drive is simple too, with just a copy and paste I was able to transfer many files from my hard drive in minutes. Definitely worth the price!

I needed to be able to have a way to expand my hard drive, and the cheapest way was to get zip drive. It is fast and easy to install, it took me about two minuets. It works great!

I've never found Zip drives to be very speedy, despite the name, but this particular drive is quite slow and quite loud.

However, in its defense, it is extremely reliable even though I've dropped it and knocked it over several times. It doesn't take up much space on my desk. It is so lightweight and flat that I can throw it in the pocket of my laptop case and take it anywhere.

The Zip disk has been a good solution for me in terms of sharing files between my desktop and laptop, and this drive is an adequate, reliable, affordable way to do that.

This unit is identified by its sleek rounded dark blue case. It has a separate power supply. The Model Number is ZIP100USBNC. It can operate either horizontally or vertically (like a floppy drive). This model is treated as a USB Mass Storage Device so you must use Windows Me or later. You must select the icon to "Unplug or Eject Hardware" to remove this device. The IOMEGA software should be installed on Windows 2000. If the unit does not have an eject button on the drive you must select the EJECT command from the Properties menu. It is good to do this all the time because of the disk caching system.

The "User's Manual" warns against using the Operating System to copy a disk. Use the Iomega "Copy Machine" program. Right click on the ZIP drive to select the Iomega "Format" function. Use "Short Format" to delete all data on an Iomega disk. The "Long Format" repairs a drive with errors, converts from another format, or removes all passwords. "Write Protection" protects against writing over data, a password can protect against both reading and writing files. You can also flag the ZIP drive as "non-removable" so it appears like a hard drive. The manual has the details.

Computers have a limited number of IDE devices and drive bays so a separate storage device is practical. Replaceable 100 MB ZIP disks provided vast storage in the past but are no longer the latest in storage technology. But the 100 MB ZIP disk is almost as universal as the floppy disk when you have a parallel port drive for older systems. The ZIP disks reuse deleted space unlike a CD whose space is consumed when you replace files. Falling prices for CD discs solve that problem. A ZIP disk has no compatibility problems between different systems and computers. A CD written on one system may not be updated by a different system.

a very useful thing to have, it works beautifully and was very easy to install, a must have it you are intending to format your computer and have to move all your precious files to disk!

good for home, but requires an electrical supply, so it's not very good for notebook computers and the mobile user.

The product was unserviceable. The first time I inserted a card, it would not do anything. When I tried to eject it, it got locked inside and would not release it. I had to tear it apart to release the card. I would not buy from these people again.

The price is right and it owrk.s what else is there to say?