Let's talk about Zips!

9-13-00 - Let's face it. Working with zip disks can be like banging your head against the wall because it feels so good when you stop. Yes, they are the most useful little disks when they work, but the sheer nastiness when they don't work is beginning to drive me mad (again).

I have been seeing a large increase in the number of disks brought to me for directory repairs. Many times a student will have a PC formatted disk that has suddenly stopped working in the Macs (which can normally read PC formatted disks very nicely). We've seen the mysteriously appearing/disappearing file list, the "file cannot be saved because it cannot be found" error, the "This disk cannot be read..." format error, and now, the "crash the whole computer when you double-click-me" error.

What more can a girl ask for…

Are you, the average C.O.D.Labs user, likely to see these errors? Maybe. You will have an increased likelihood of seeing these errors if you use PC formatted disks to transfer files between Macs and PCs, and almost no chance if you only use Mac formatted zip disks with your Mac and PC zips with your PC.

Luckily, I have found ways to minimize the occurrence of these errors.

I will start by re-emphasizing the importance of always backing up your files. And I don't mean two copies of the same file on the same zip or floppy. I mean several copies of several versions on a couple of different disks AND your home computer. If you don't have a back-up, you are literally risking your important academic work on a $13 piece of magnetic media that can be lost, stolen, or dropped. End of back-up rant.

1. Use zip disks to transfer data from one computer to another. Do not work directly from the zip disk; copy the files that you will need to a folder on the hard drive. Work from the copy on the hard drive (I would even eject your zip until you need it again). Do this regardless of whether you are working on a Mac or PC.

2. Make sure that you update your Iomega tools/drivers from time to time. Iomega releases patches and updated drivers fairly regularly. I have seen problems in the past with a computer failing to recognize a disk (Do you want to reformat?) because the student had a problematic version of the Iomega driver on a home computer.

3. The dancing file list is a result of directory corruption. The directory is not corrupt enough to become completely unusable, but things are definitely not right, and you run the risk of total corruption. This can be fixed by selecting all of the files and copying the data to the hard drive, then reformatting the disk. I usually see this directory problem when students have been moving files between the Macs and PCs frequently, or working directly from the zip disk. It looks a little something like this animation:

4. Finally, there is the end-all-be-all of zip problems - the disk that brings the whole computer to its knees. "Immense Directory Problems" have been known to lock up a computer and destroy data if not properly fixed. It happened this morning! I can fix this, (sometimes) so come get me if I am in the labs, or leave the disk with the lab monitor. If it's a Mac disk, I can run Norton. If it's PC, I can run scandisk. I may not be able to retrieve all of your data, but I can usually save some of it. Be prepared for the worst, and have a back-up disk.

So, the moral of this story is…? Repeat after me, "I will back up my data and use zip disks responsibly." Keep this advice in mind, and your zip problems will move down to a comfortable level.

-J

Jennifer Nieland is the lab coordinator for the College of the Design student computer labs. Now you know how we got that large dent in the wall in 446.