Iomega Zip 100 Portable USB Drive (PC/Mac)
Hard Disk Interface | USB 1.1 |
Connectivity Technology | USB |
Brand | Iomega |
Special Feature | Portable |
Hard Disk Description | Mechanical Hard Disk |
Compatible Devices | Desktop |
Installation Type | Plug In |
Specific Uses For Product | Personal |
Read Speed | 10 Gigabytes Per Second |
Item Weight | 0.8 Pounds |
About this item
- USB interface
- Mac and PC compatible
- Plug and play
- Unlimited capacity
- Each disk holds up to 70 floppies
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This Item Iomega Zip 100 Portable USB Drive (PC/Mac) | Recommendations | dummy | dummy | dummy | dummy | |
Try again! Added to Cart | Try again! Added to Cart | Try again! Added to Cart | Try again! Added to Cart | Try again! Added to Cart | Try again! Added to Cart | |
Price | $139.00$139.00 | $299.00$299.00 | -8% $16.99$16.99 Typical: $18.56 | $25.39$25.39 | $449.99$449.99 | $19.27$19.27 |
Delivery | Get it Mar 29 - Apr 3 | Get it Mar 27 - 28 | Get it as soon as Monday, Mar 25 | Get it as soon as Monday, Mar 25 | Get it Mar 29 - Apr 4 | Get it as soon as Monday, Mar 25 |
Customer Ratings | ||||||
Value for money | 4.1 | — | 3.8 | 3.8 | — | — |
Sold By | infoweb llc | Comet Enterprises | strange house | Chuanganzhuo-US | Glen Goodies | tintoo "dot" net |
storage capacity | 0 GB | 0.25 GB | 1.44 MB | 1.44 MB | 100 MB | — |
hardware interface | usb | usb | usb | usb | usb | usb |
compatible devices | Desktop | Desktop | PC, Desktop, Laptop | PC, Laptop, Desktop | Desktop | Desktop |
form factor | 5.25-inch | Portable | Portable | 3.5-inch | — | — |
Product information
Product Dimensions | 7 x 5.25 x 1.5 inches |
---|---|
Item Weight | 12.8 ounces |
ASIN | B00000J3Q7 |
Item model number | 11030 |
Customer Reviews |
4.2 out of 5 stars |
Best Sellers Rank | #4,317 in USB Flash Drives |
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | Yes |
Date First Available | June 11, 1999 |
Manufacturer | Iomega |
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Product Description
Amazon.com
Introducing the new 100MB External USB Zip(r) drive from Iomega - for Power Macs with a built-in USB connection and PC systems with a built-in USB controller running Windows 98! The new, sleek translucent ice-blue 100MB External USB Zip drive is simple to connect, hot swappable, and compatible with over 100 million 100MB Zip disks.
From the Manufacturer
A Zip drive works like your hard drive, letting you easily access files and applications. And with a Zip drive sold every five seconds, you're sure to find millions of users worldwide to share your files with.
Review
The Iomega Zip drive is the low-cost removable storage leader--and Iomega's two latest offerings, the Zip 250 (a SCSI device) and a USB version of the Zip 100, should help maintain its popularity. The USB drive is designed for Win98; you install the drivers and IomegaWare software first, then reboot your system. We got it installed and performing without a hitch.
We tested the SCSI version of the Zip 250. The 250 MB disks will sell for about $100 for a six pack, about the same as a 10 pack of Zip 100 disks. The drive works with the 100 MB disks, but sacrifices some speed in doing so.
We compared both drives' performance against an internal IDE Zip 100 drive (0.32MBps). The Zip 100 copied our files at 0.25MBps. The Zip 250's SCSI interface helped it achieve good speeds (0.52MBps) with a 250MB disk for which it's optimized. The performance of the Zip 250 drive earns it a spot on our WinList. -- From Winmag®
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers like the appearance, condition and ease of recovery of the computer drive. For example, they mention it's well made, durable and reliable. That said, they say it'll allow you to recover all your old documents and read old disks. As for value, they like the instructions and performance. One downside is the ability to eject disk.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers like the performance of the computer drive. They say it works well, serves a useful purpose, and is compatible with their computers. Some customers also mention that the drive is old technology, but it still serves able purpose.
"...Under Ubuntu 10.10, this Zip drive is also recognized and fully functional, without having to install any drivers or software, and no need for any..." Read more
"...It plugged right into my Mac Book and ran fine. While I can read and write files to disks, I can't see my old files...." Read more
"This item worked just fine. I used to have a computer with a built in Iomega Zip 100, but it crashed and burned ...." Read more
"...Major flaw.IT DOES NOT WORK IN WINDOWS 8, ACER COMPUTERS.I have applied for a refund...." Read more
Customers are satisfied with the condition of the computer drive. They mention that it is well-made, durable, and reliable. Some say that it works well and has no flaws. Overall, most are happy with their purchase and recommend it to others.
"...but for my uses, Zip disks have been, are still are, a reasonably-reliable and definitely-easy file-transfer method...." Read more
"...I am guessing the product is as well made as the instructions were well written." Read more
"...It was shipped promptly and in excellent condition. It saved my life on this occasion." Read more
"...I however, continue to use them for their simplicity, durability, and potability. So I am buying up iomega zip drives and disks...." Read more
Customers find the instructions for the computer drive to be great. They mention that the installation was plug and play, with no driver needed. Customers also appreciate the USB drive's simplicity, durability, and potability.
"...Installation was plug and play so I didn't even have to install the software (that wasn't included anyway)." Read more
"...to download the install but I have to tell you the instructions for this product were GREAT! Everything was covered, with icon drawings included...." Read more
"...No driver needed; pure plug-n-play! Of course, Zip drives eventually all develop the click-death syndrome, so I can only rate this 4 stars!" Read more
"Drive worked exactly as expected with no installation problems and read my old disks which have been stranded as there were no longer any drivers..." Read more
Customers are satisfied with the appearance of the computer drive. They mention it has a very beautiful blue casing, and it looks new.
"...as this one and this one you can see through it and it is a very beautiful blue casing . Thank you very to the Pacific Coast Store and Amazon...." Read more
"...I wasn't sure what I would get on the internet. It looks new and performs like I hoped it would. Right now I am very happy with Amazon.com." Read more
"...It has been a real joy to view the images stored on the Iomega 100 discs. My youngest son was wondering..." Read more
Customers are satisfied with the ease of recovery with the computer drive. They mention that it allows them to recover all their old documents and add them to their new ones. They also appreciate the ability to examine their archives, edit as necessary, and read their old disks that have been stranded.
"...Good idea. With this purchase, I was able to recover all my old documents and add them to my new computer with ease. Jackpot!" Read more
"...worked exactly as expected with no installation problems and read my old disks which have been stranded as there were no longer any drivers for the..." Read more
"...Somehow the original drive was broken and this replacement allows me to examine my archives, edit as necessary, and one-by-one bring my files into up..." Read more
Customers are dissatisfied with the ability to eject disk. They mention that the drive does not work, they can only ejected the disk from within the operating system via software ejection command, and the zip drive doesn't release the disk once it is inserted.
"Arrived as expected but the zip drive doesn't release the disk once it is inserted. Must forcefully open drive to get disk out." Read more
"Media eject button on drive does not work, can only eject disk from within Operating System via software eject command." Read more
"Very disappointed! Would not work with my computer. Would not eject my disk with proprietary files on it...." Read more
Customers are dissatisfied with the software that comes with the hard drive. They mention that it's only for Windows and didn't come with mac software that they could use. Some customers also say that the software for this drive took down Win 8 and they had to do a reset to get it to restart Windows.
"...The software for this drive took down Win 8, and I had to do a reset to get it to restart Windows. Major flaw...." Read more
"...However...The software supplied is only for Windows...." Read more
"Didn't come with mac software that I could use. I was extremely disappointed." Read more
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So if you've ever owned one of the original Iomega Zip drives from back in the late 1990s, that's the same kind of nice sound that this one makes.
Also, when you eject a disk from this drive, the disk doesn't go flying out of the drive like on some of the newer models - it only ejects far enough for you to reach it. Perfect.
This Zip drive's case is sturdy and solid, seems well-built, not flimsy like some newer models.
The quietness quality is exactly why I bought this Zip drive - to replace newer noisy ones that were waking up my neighbors (seriously). I've owned two of the noisy newer ones, and I'd had quite enough of them, so I am very happy to finally get ahold of another old-style traditional quiet Zip drive. (One of my noisy flimsy newer ones got accidently dropped onto a concrete floor and stopped working, and the other noisy newer one I will keep for a spare for future years' use, just in case.)
At least in my case, the Zip drive being reviewed here, works perfectly in both Microsoft Windows XP Pro and Ubuntu 10.10 (Linux). No bugs, no glitches, just good solid performance. The PC that I have this Zip drive hooked up to, dual-boots to both Ubuntu and XP Pro, and the Zip drive works fine with both of those OS's.
I use Zip drives for occasional file transfers between a fairly-modern low-end PC (for internet and coding) and an antique Mac (which is used for image editing). The ancient Mac has no USB capability, but it has its own separate SCSI Zip drive built-in, which makes it easy to use the exact same Zip *disks* on both the PC and the Mac (the Mac reads/writes to PC-formatted disks). Due to the huge difference in ages of the operating-systems I run, for me to try to do something fancy like "network" the machines would be beyond my meager technical abilities (or lack of), and the old Mac isn't suitable for online/internet use anymore, so I depend on Zip disks for an occasional (once a week or so) small file transfer between machines. I will probably still be using Zip disks for years to come, given the financial investments I have in legacy high-end software (which only runs on the old hardware). Zip disks keep me from having to spend $10,000.00 on an entirely new equivalent system+software+peripherals, and the old stuff still works just like new.
Under Windows XP, for the Zip drive being reviewed here, you can optionally install the Iomega software (comes on a CD included with the Zip drive, or at least it does if you're buying one of the new factory-sealed drives - however, used/second-hand models might or might not have the CD but you can probably download the software from Iomega or someplace) or you can ignore the Iomega software - Windows XP can use the Zip drive without any extra drivers (the drivers are apparently already built into Windows somehow). Although if you want to do stuff like long format+verify of your Zip disks (good to do once a year or so, as preventative maintenance), you would have to install the Iomega software to do that, because Windows doesn't do the normal *thorough* Iomega 8-minute format+verify on Zip disks. But it does everything else just fine.
Under Ubuntu 10.10, this Zip drive is also recognized and fully functional, without having to install any drivers or software, and no need for any command-line wizardry either. I haven't tried hot-swapping the Zip drive; I plugged in this Zip drive first, then booted (started) the computer, and the Zip drive is instantly recognized and ready for use. However, I don't know if there's any way to do the 8-minute long-format-and-verify of Zip disks in Ubuntu. My Zip disks are PC-formatted, but Ubuntu reads/writes to them just fine. NOTE: Seems that if your Zip disks are *Mac* formatted, Ubuntu 10.10 has permissions problems and mounts the disks as read-only - it can read the files but not modify/add/delete files - there might be some workaround for that but I'm not technically knowledgable enough (nor sufficiently motivated) to figure that out. Anyway, Ubuntu works fine with *PC-formatted* Zip disks, and since the old Mac also can read/write PC-formatted Zip disks (via, in my case, the Apple "PC Exchange" control panel (see footnote below) in Mac OS 8.1, and the Mac's own *separate* SCSI Zip drive), the Zip *disks* serve as a nice simple fuss-free way to transfer files to/from a USB-equipped modern PC and a non-USB antique Mac. If you're trying to set up something like this, don't forget that you'll need *two* Zip *drives* - a USB Zip drive (like the one I'm reviewing here on this page) for the modern computer, *and* a separate non-USB Zip drive (most likely SCSI for antique Macs, I-dunno-what for antique PCs) for the antique computer.
This Zip drive being reviewed here, was manufactured during the era where I assume it is probably USB 1 or one-point-something, but it works just fine with my USB 2.x PC - USB is pretty excellent with handling "backward-compatibility" things like that. The write speed should theoretically be slower but I haven't really noticed any difference. Let's face it, these Zip disks only hold 100 MB anyway, actually more like 95 MB or so after formatting, so it's not like you're going to be putting gigantic files on 'em anyway. So the difference in speed, between USB 1 and USB 2, isn't really a noticeable issue with Zip drives.
One other note:
I have been a regular user of Zip drives and Zip disks since the late 1990s and, for some reason I have never experienced (knock on wood) the infamous Iomega "click of death" that some people have experienced. I don't know why. Maybe because I long-format my Zip disks at least once a year just as prevention, or maybe because they aren't in a dusty or hot environment, or maybe because they're only used between two Zip drives and not bounced around between dozens of 'em, or maybe because they only get ejected/inserted a few times a week at the most (thus not wearing out the mechanism), or maybe just luck. Although I wouldn't recommend using any single media-type as your only backup (redundancy is always good, for backups, just in case one method fails), but for my uses, Zip disks have been, are still are, a reasonably-reliable and definitely-easy file-transfer method.
Of course, if *all* your computers have USB, just use USB thumb-drives instead of Zip drives. :)
Oh, one other thing, in case other people haven't already mentioned this (I haven't yet read *all* the other reviews here, will do that later) - this particular Zip drive has (or at least, is *supposed* to have) its own separate power-supply that you plug into a regular A/C outlet, so the drive has its own power, rather than being USB-powered. This is probably a good thing because if you already have tons of stuff plugged into your USB ports (using multiple low-cost non-powered USB hubs), this way you don't have to worry about putting too much electrical drain on your USB ports. No need for a "powered usb hub" or anything. I happen to be running this particular USB Zip drive off of a USB hub that has other things plugged into it too, although I read someplace once that sometimes you have to plug certain things directly into a port on the computer, instead of using a hub... works good either way for me, though.
____
* FOOTNOTE:
With regards to the Apple "PC Exchange" control panel on antique Macs, in my case there was a conflict between it and (ironically) the Mac version of Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 web-browser. The workaround, since the old Mac isn't used for internet/online stuff anymore anyway, was just to disable most of the IE-related extensions in the System Folder, and that solved the problem. Now the old Mac can read/write PC-formatted disks again, including Zip disks - on its own separate SCSI Zip drive, not the one being reviewed here, but Zip *disks* can be transferred to any Zip drive on any computer, including the Zip drive being reviewed here. This is relevant to this review because of the legacy aspects of all this equipment, including Zip disks and their usefulness for transferring files between old and new computers of different types. :)
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** EDITED to reflect the fact that the Zip drive I'm reviewing here, was new factory-sealed in the original box (pretty amazing considering that I purchased it in April 2011), had not been previously used, and all the parts were there that were supposed to be there. I don't know if that matters *except* when it comes to things that (in my case) were included with this particular Zip drive, such as the power supply (REQUIRED) and the CD (optional). Trying to future-proof :) this review, if you choose to buy one of the various used/second-hand models instead of one of the new-in-original-box models (depending on what's available), you might or might not get those other items such as power-supply and CD - ask whichever seller you're buying from, if it isn't already specified on the Amazon page... these things tend to change fairly quickly.
The software for this drive took down Win 8, and I had to do a reset to get it to restart Windows. Major flaw.
IT DOES NOT WORK IN WINDOWS 8, ACER COMPUTERS.
I have applied for a refund.
Update: I tried to load it after the fail on Win 8, on a laptop I have with Win 7. After loading the software, Windows would not start, and still will not. I would not try it on Win 7 unless you know what to do when it won't start. I have to have mine repaired, and minimum repair is $70. That's a high price to pay for just trying a product that was defective.
This seller (AEEC) went out of his way and to some expense to see that I received a properly working zip drive. I think that does not happen every day. At least not to me. I give him a 6 stars for service and a thumbs up.