Downloading to iomega 250 zip drive

[EricSignGuy]

I'm running OSX 10.11.3 now, having recently left the ancient PowerPC Macs. Is there any way to download files from my current Mac to an Iomega zip drive 250? I can get files from it but I can't download to it.
Thanks for any help you can give, Eric.

 

[chscag]

If the Iomega Zip drive is a USB drive, you should be able to read and write to it. What format is the drive using? If I remember correctly, Iomega drives were shipped formatted to FAT-32. However, since the drive is 250 GB it probably is formatted as NTFS. Your Mac can read and copy from NTFS but without a special driver can not write to it. (Not download... that's incorrect terminology.)

 

[EricSignGuy]

Thank you for the quick response, ok, my bad, it is a USB drive, I cannot WRITE to it, which I need to do to communicate with an ancient system 7 Mac. How or where do I buy a special driver to do that?

 

[chscag]

I'm afraid your ancient system 7 Mac is out of luck. The driver (Paragon NTFS) will only work with OS X 10.6.X and later. If you have access to a PC, reformat the Iomega Zip drive to FAT-32, and then your older Mac should be able to write to it.

 

[RadDave]

I'm running OSX 10.11.3 now, having recently left the ancient PowerPC Macs. Is there any way to download files from my current Mac to an Iomega zip drive 250? I can get files from it but I can't download to it.
Thanks for any help you can give, Eric.

Hi Eric - just being the 'Devil's Advocate' here but why are you wanting to deal w/ Iomega Zip Drives? This was a technology introduced a quarter of a century ago and is obsolete - I owned several back then and both ended up w/ the click of death and were rendered useless - there are plenty of much better storage options now available, e.g. external HDs, SSDs, USB flash drives, so why not get your files off, stored elsewhere, and then use the newer storage media for your needs? Sorry, if I don't understand your needs about the ancient Windows 7 machine, but please explain. Dave

 

[pm-r]

Excuse me and my possible ignorance here, but how on earth is one even able to connect and use a iomega 250 zip drive with and between both an ancient PPC system 7 Mac and a new Intel Mac running OSX 10.11.3.

I didn't think System 7 even supported USB and the Intel Mac sure won't support any SCSI connection.

I'd need some more info and details… or I'm just stupid.
(OK, so I left myself open for some rebuttal remarks… )

 

[chscag]

I didn't think System 7 even supported USB and the Intel Mac sure won't support any SCSI connection.

His Iomega Zip drive is USB and will have no problem connecting to a newer Mac. The problem is getting a system 7 PPC Mac to read a NTFS formatted zip drive.

 

[EricSignGuy]

I didn't make myself clear, I apologize. The ancient mac also has a zip drive thru it's scsi port, it uses an old sign cutting program and drives a large plotter, I'm trying to avoid the considerable expense of replacing that. I design with the latest illustrator, when I have to cut letters or designs, I can save that as a 3.0 file to transfer to the ancient. As a last resort, I'll buy an old non-intel Mac, transfer to that from new mac with a thumb drive, then write to a zip drive which can be read by ancient mac. I was hoping for a more elegant solution. btw, thanks for putting up with me this far.

 

[EricSignGuy]

All that aside, my problem is how do I write to a Zip 250 from OSX 10.11.3? I can read from it just fine, is there a third party program out there to do that?

 

[chscag]

Yes, Paragon NTFS from Paragon Software $19.95. Download their trial version first to make sure it works for you.

 

[pm-r]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I gather there are TWO iomega 250 zip drives involved here, one using a SCSI connection and one using a USB connection and one 250 Zip disk/cartridge being shared between the two drives and connected Macs.

If so, I think there will still be a problem, no…???

PS: I'm still not sure what format the zip disk is presently in, and I guess I missed that.

 

[EricSignGuy]

Thank you, CHSCAG, currently waiting for a serial # so I can try it, just didn't want to seem ungrateful by leaving you hang.
Eric

 

[EricSignGuy]

I've been doing it for years with an earlier Power PC, which died the blue screen death.

 

[chscag]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I gather there are TWO iomega 250 zip drives involved here, one using a SCSI connection and one using a USB connection and one 250 Zip disk/cartridge being shared between the two drives and connected Macs.

Where did you get that from? Seeing double?

 

[pm-r]

Where did you get that from? Seeing double?

Well, for one… and just for the record…

I didn't make myself clear, I apologize. The ancient mac also has a zip drive thru it's scsi port, … … …

Followed with my assumption, and I broke my first rule here — never assume nutt'n', that the newer Mac would be connected to as using a USB zip drive.

PS: Not sure if the OP got everything working and sorted out or not…

 

[chscag]

LOL, well Patrick it looks like we both missed something. Could it be our age is catching up with us? Naw, never happen!

 

[pm-r]

Well chscag, I'm just wondering what I may have missed and still waiting and wondering what the solution is for the OP. They seem to have disappeared.

Age??? Naw, that just brings knowledge and experience no??? What??? I didn't get what you said. Just a sec while I change the batteries in my hearing aids, I think they just died again…

Gheese, forget that, I just remembered that I changed them on Wednesday last and they're good for about a week.

Now what was it you were saying about having an age race or something catching up with us…???

 

[EricSignGuy]

I didn't go away completely, Paragon keeps asking for a serial number even tho it's a 10 day trial, so I contacted their support and am waiting for an answer, probably after the weekend.

 

[pm-r]

What format is the zip disk in now???
Disk Utility should be able to show that info.

And why bother with any Paragon formatting stuff??

If it was formatted as HFS and APM (Apple Partition Format), NOT GUID format, both old and new Macs should be able to read and write to that zip disk without any problem AFAIK.

BTW: I'm thinking that might have to be Mac OS Standard for System 7 to use, Mac OS Extended would need System 8.x or higher.

My old brain is stumbling a bit over old System 7 stuff, and even some of the latest now I think about it.




- Patrick
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[MightyGem]

Must admit that I'm also wondering why, if the drive has been used with a Mac already, that it would be formatted NTFS?