Whoever imagined connecting an old Zip Drive and accessing files with theit iOS Device

[pm-r]

WOW!!! Who would have thought it possible...???

Niles Mitchell set out to discover this for himself by connecting an Iomega Zip drive to an iPhone running the beta of iOS 13.

Video: accessing stuff on an Iomega Zip drive through Apple’s much-improved Files app
Video: accessing stuff on an Iomega Zip drive through Apple's much-improved Files app


- Patrick
======

 

[Lifeisabeach]

WOW!!! Who would have thought it possible...???


Video: accessing stuff on an Iomega Zip drive through Apple’s much-improved Files app
Video: accessing stuff on an Iomega Zip drive through Apple's much-improved Files app
======

The bigger surprise is that someone has a still-functioning Zip drive.

 

[KennyC]

I also still have and use a zip drive. I guess I'm behind on some things. Being a creature of habit, I've been using it for doctor/ medical notes, bank statements, things I don't want saved on mac/pc. It just so easy to used and rewrite to and I have about 10 disks and I hate to waste stuff.

 

[RadDave]

The bigger surprise is that someone has a still-functioning Zip drive.

I also still have and use a zip drive. I guess I'm behind on some things. Being a creature of habit, I've been using it for doctor/ medical notes, bank statements, things I don't want saved on mac/pc. It just so easy to used and rewrite to and I have about 10 disks and I hate to waste stuff.

BOY! I had several of those Iomega zip drives in the Jurassic era of external storage - The most that I remember is the so-called 'Click of Death' when the discs failed - Dave

 

[pm-r]

The most that I remember is the so-called 'Click of Death' when the discs failed - Dave

I was just about to mention that and I'm surprised to read that some users are actually still using them. I guess the click of death has been kept at bay somehow. Quite amazing. But they were certainly handy when they worked.

But I sure wouldn't use them as the only backup source unless they are at least doubled up. Maybe time to replace Or double them up with a USB Flash drive.


- Patrick
======

 

[chscag]

I too am surprised that Kenny still has a working Zip drive and disks. I had a SCSI model Zip drive for some time when I still had a Windows machine. But after a while the "click of death" got to some of the disks and completely ruined them. Once the click of death ruined a disk, there was no way to retrieve the data from them. I tossed that drive years ago.

If I remember correctly, iOmega also had Jazz drives that were popular back then.

 

[pm-r]

If I remember correctly, iOmega also had Jazz drives that were popular back then.

Yup, and Apple even added the Zip drives to some beige tower models, but maybe just as an option, and maybe because Steve Jobs was certainly impressed with the technology.


- Patrick
======

 

[RadDave]

I too am surprised that Kenny still has a working Zip drive and disks. I had a SCSI model Zip drive for some time when I still had a Windows machine. But after a while the "click of death" got to some of the disks and completely ruined them. Once the click of death ruined a disk, there was no way to retrieve the data from them. I tossed that drive years ago.

If I remember correctly, iOmega also had Jazz drives that were popular back then.

Yep - I can confirm the above - sitting in my office in the mid-1990s (history Zip intro quoted below), and the 'click of death' occurred on my zip drive (used for backing up my X-ray pics and lectures) - called Iomega support and their response was exactly Charlie's comments above - dumped that drive and one that I had at home which was still working - just no trust anymore in the technology. Dave

The Zip drive is a removable floppy disk storage system that was introduced by Iomega in late 1994. Considered medium-to-high-capacity at the time of its release, Zip disks were originally launched with capacities of 100 MB, then 250 MB, and then 750 MB. (Source)

 

[krs]

I don't actually use ZIP disks as a storage device any more, but I had about 50 of them with data on them.
Bought a USB powered ZIP-250 and was surprised that most of them can still be read with no problem.
The issue is usually that the data was saved with some application that no longer exists - for those the Mac reports the type of file as "document"and invited me to select the appropriate application to open it.
But of course I often have no clue which application to try....

 

[Slydude]

I still have one of these drives as well (later model maybe 250 MB). Haven't used it for a while. I need to pull it out and see if the drive still works. Been meaning to do that for a while now.

I might still have one of the Jazz models around though I certainly haven't used it in a while.

 

[pm-r]

I still have one of these drives as well (later model maybe 250 MB). Haven't used it for a while.

I have both a Iomega Zip and a Jazz drive in our basement that I can't recall the last time they were used but I think needed the G3 DT or MDD Mac for connections and drivers. But even our still working Power Macintosh G3 233 Desktop had a built-in Zip drive under the 3.5" Rigid Floppy drive.

I wonder if any of them will ever get used again??? I rather doubt it!!!

I also had some Jazz cartridges, some still in their celophane wrapping I gave to an old Mac user quite a number of years ago, and I didn't even bother asking the fellow what he was planning to use them for or why he wanted them. I think he's dead know, and maybe the disks and drives joined him.

Heck, there might be one be an old audio cassette tape somewhere in the basement that was specifically drilled and formatted for use as a hard drive for the Adam computer my son actually used through his early school years, and it was actually the reason for getting our first Mac, a color LC. when the Adam was getting unreliable and too finicky to keep it running.


- Patrick
======