ATAPI2 Zip Drives
Special Issues



This information came from Iomega's ATAPI Drive A: Installation & Configuration manual which is apparently intended for OEMs. The manual which is included in the retail package with the ATAPI2 Zip does not contain most of this information - perhaps because of the problems which could arise if the average consumer tried to use the drive A: jumper settings.

To identify an ATAPI2 Zip drive, view the label on top of the drive. Beneath the diagram of jumper settings, you should see a part number which begins with P/N. Following that number, it will say ATAPI2 if it is one.

You can find a diagram of jumper settings for the ATAPI2 Zip here.

The rest of the information on this page applies when the ATAPI2 Zip is jumpered for drive A: mode which allows it to be designated as drive A: (or B: if there is already a floppy assigned to A:). Otherwise, I think it'll work like a regular ATAPI Zip (except that its jumper settings are still a bit different).

Currently (according to the manual), the following BIOS revisions support having the ATAPI2 Zip jumpered for A: mode:

They say that future BIOS revisions will be able to set the drive's firmware for A: mode without the need for hardware jumpers.

The following operating systems support the ATAPI2 Zip in A: mode:

With Win98, no Iomega software is required. But Win95 and WinNT do require that the Iomega Tools software be installed (for use in A: mode), and it must be OEM Tools software version ME5600 (or later) or IomegaWare v1.0 (or later).

A Zip drive in A: mode cannot be made "nonremovable"; the option for this will be greyed out on the right-click menu for the drive. This means that some programs will not install to a Zip drive in A: mode.

When in A: mode, the drive should be functional in Win9x's DOS mode without loading any drivers. Do not use Guest.exe with the drive when it's in A: mode. If you need to use Guest.exe for other Iomega drives in your system, make sure you use a version of Guest.exe that came with a version of Iomega's software which supports the Zip in A: mode (or I think you could edit Guest.ini to prevent it from loading ASPIIDE.SYS and ASPIATAP.SYS with older versions).




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