Anyone use a Zip Drive instead of a 3.5 floppy as a startup drive??

Sonicflood · 07-22-02, 01:38 PM

I was wondering if anyone here uses an internal Zip drive instead of having a 3.5 floppy drive as the startup drive in a system.

I really don't have a use for a 3.5 floppy that I can think of.

Any reasons why I SHOULD have a 3.5 drive? Seems like a waste of $20.00 to me.

BTW I'm building a new computer. This will be my primary system with a second system on the same network. The second computer does have a 3.5" drive that I guess I could access if necessary via the network.

Any responses appreciated!

Sincerely,

Sonicflood

goLUCKY · 07-22-02, 01:54 PM

Never tried, but sounds like a good idea. I haven't used a floopy disk in months.

asabase · 07-22-02, 02:04 PM

As long as windows lets you make boot disks and emergency repair disks on a ZIP and your BIOS supports ZIP booting, I don't see why not.

Sonicflood · 07-22-02, 03:00 PM

I'm building my new computer with the following:

MoBo:

SOYO Dragon Ultra KT333 MB with USB 2.0,Sound, LAN Retail. Specifications: Supports AMD Socket-A type Processor, Duron, Athlon, XP Three 184-pin DDR SDRAM 2.5V DIMM sockets support up to 3GB (DDR 200/266/333) On board CMI 8738 Audio chip to provide 6 channels audio On board 10/100 Mbps Ethernet function by Realtek 8100B Two independent channels for eight IDE devices(two for raid) Supports up to PIO Mode 5 and UDMA 66/100/133 Four layers, 30.5 cm x 23 cm (12" x 9.05") Sigma Box featuring compact front USB ports

Processor:

AMD ATHLON XP 2200+/266 FSB PROCESSOR CPU -
Specifications:
CPU: 1.8 GHz
Type: XP 2200+ Thoroughbred
Cache: 256K
BUS: 266MHz
Socket A (PGA)

Hard Drive:

Maxtor 80 gig 7200rpm

Ram:

MUSHKIN DDR 512MB PC-2700 - AMD, VIA, ALI, SiS Approved, PC2700 = 333MHz FSB, Rated 2.5-3-3; 6ns DDR333; 6-Layer PCB; Unbuffered.

CD-RW Drive:

SONY CD-RW ModelCRX195E1-10/X 40x12x48 - Buffer Memory: 2 MB. Speed: Random Access Time: 150 ms.

DVD Drive:

PIONEER INTERNAL ATAPI 16X DVD-ROM MODEL 500M - , DRIVE ONLY TRAY type 16X DVD/40X CD-ROM, 256k buffer 95ms DVD-Rom High-Speed Average Access Time 80ms CD-ROM access time. Reads single and dual layer DVD-ROM/Video, -R/RW, CD-ROM, Audio CDs, CD-R/RW, Video CDs, Photo CDs, Hybrid CDs, CD-Extra (CD-Plus) and CD-Text Discs

Video Card:

ATI ALL-IN-WONDER RADEON 7500 64MB AGP RTL Powered by the RADEON™ 7500 GPU,64MB DDR memory,Stereo TV-tuner,TV-ON-DEMAND™ Time shifting ,Integrated Interactive Program Guide,Easily capture and edit MPEG-2 video into your own creations,Radio-frequency remote control ,DVD video playback.

Audio:

On-board CMI 8738 providing 6-channel audio solution / optical and SPDIF output included.

Operating System:

Windows XP Profesional

I am thinking about going with an internal Zip drive in lieu of a 3.5 floppy. I'll have to check on whether or not I can utilize a zip drive as a boot drive via my Bios setup. Anyone know off hand?

Thanks for all the replies so far. It's not that big of a deal, I just don't want to spend the $$$ for a "useless" 3.5 drive if it's not necessary!

Sonicflood

huzefa · 07-22-02, 03:28 PM

From www.soyousa.com:

SY-KT333 DRAGON Ultra (Platinum Edition):

BIOS Description
Award PCI BIOS with ACPI function
Supports multiple-boot from E-IDE / SCSI / CD-ROM / FDD / LS120 / ZIP
2 Mbyte Flash ROM

and this one too:

SY-KT333 DRAGON Ultra (Black)

BIOS Description
Award PCI BIOS with ACPI function
Supports multiple-boot from E-IDE / SCSI / CD-ROM / FDD / LS120 / ZIP
2 Mbyte Flash ROM

Almost all newer model mobo's support a wide variety of boot-up options.

einTier · 07-22-02, 03:56 PM

I don't have a floppy in my current "hoss" computer.

Well, I do, but it hasn't worked since the day I put it in two years ago. Never really needed it, and I just moved my entire collection of floppies (which were flaking out anyway) to CD-ROM about a year ago. Sadly, the entire cardboard box full of diskettes fit on one CD-ROM.

I recommend doing it that way, and keeping an old machine around that can handle floppies when needed. Perferably, this machine either has a burner or is connected to the household lan.

mikehunt · 07-22-02, 07:18 PM

I still have a 5.25 in drive
not in my main computer though
hey, with a zip 250 drive you could do a full install of some versions of windows depending on the options
hmm, wonder if that would work, to install windows on a zip 250 drive and try to boot normally into windows?
I realize it would be slower than running it off a HD but it might be useful if it worked

jrobinson · 07-22-02, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mikehunt
I still have a 5.25 in drive
not in my main computer though
hey, with a zip 250 drive you could do a full install of some versions of windows depending on the options
hmm, wonder if that would work, to install windows on a zip 250 drive and try to boot normally into windows?
I realize it would be slower than running it off a HD but it might be useful if ti worked

I don't see why you can't do this... I have a SyQuest EZ135 drive IDE & parallel... I have Windows 95 installed on one of the disks... can boot Win 95 no problems...

but I don't use those drives anymore... I had the choice, EZ135 or ZIP100... I picked the wrong drive... but I do have two ZIP100 drives, never use them.

belboz · 07-22-02, 10:06 PM

I'd love to be able to ditch the floppy drive in all my machines. I've actually tried to do it in the past, but at some point or other, I've always ended up having to install one. You rarely need a floppy drive, but the problem is that when you do need one, you need it pretty badly. And installing and uninstalling them on an as-needed basis is too unwieldy.

My hope is that one day motherboard manufacturers will realize that a really nice BIOS feature to include would be support for bootable USB floppies. That way, I can have one drive for all my machines that I plug in only on an as-needed basis. My friend works at Phoenix and he says they've got the option available if any of the vendors want to use it, but apparently none of them see the need.

Sonicflood · 07-22-02, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jrobinson

I don't see why you can't do this... I have a SyQuest EZ135 drive IDE & parallel... I have Windows 95 installed on one of the disks... can boot Win 95 no problems...

but I don't use those drives anymore... I had the choice, EZ135 or ZIP100... I picked the wrong drive... but I do have two ZIP100 drives, never use them.

Man, I forgot about the Syquest EZ135! I still have one and about 10 discs in storage. I may have to dig it out just for fun.

Sonicflood

jrobinson · 07-23-02, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sonicflood

Man, I forgot about the Syquest EZ135! I still have one and about 10 discs in storage. I may have to dig it out just for fun.

Sonicflood

did you ever seem to have problems with the disks failing? as I believe they were built of hard drive technology... and were suceptible to damage easier than a floppy disk or zip disk...? I always had them failing. They were expensive too!

Dead · 07-23-02, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by belboz
You rarely need a floppy drive, but the problem is that when you do need one, you need it pretty badly. And installing and uninstalling them on an as-needed basis is too unwieldy.

I've found that this tends to be the case for me too. So I make sure that each box has a floppy drive if possible.

BTW Sonicflood, if you're getting charged $20 for it, I'd look around some. That's about twice what I would pay for one... you might even consider looking for a used one.

Sonicflood · 07-23-02, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jrobinson

did you ever seem to have problems with the disks failing? as I believe they were built of hard drive technology... and were suceptible to damage easier than a floppy disk or zip disk...? I always had them failing. They were expensive too!

No, I never had any problems with mine or the disks. I used mine back when I used to sell a program that I cowrote/marketed/installed for real estate agents. It was much handier than lugging a laptop around back then!

That old drive made me a bunch of $$$ so I guess the cost of the disks was insignificant @ the time. I'm going to hook it up today & see how it performs.

Sonicflood

Sonicflood · 07-23-02, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dead

I've found that this tends to be the case for me too. So I make sure that each box has a floppy drive if possible.

BTW Sonicflood, if you're getting charged $20 for it, I'd look around some. That's about twice what I would pay for one... you might even consider looking for a used one.

Dead:

I just threw that price out there. I know that I can get them for much less than that. It's just a waste of even .49 if I really don't need one.

I may try a internal Zip drive in lieu of the floppy. My manual for the MoBo does not say that I can use one, but the post from huzefa as per the Soyo web site indicates that it's possible.

I'm still getting in the components for the new machine as the $$$ allow! I've got the Mobo, HD, CDRW Drive & Lian Li Case in so far. I'll probably purchase the AMD processor last as I've noticed a gradual price drop in it since the 1st of the month. It's about $211 right now as opposed to $225.

I want it ALL right now!!!

07-22-02, 01:38 PM	#1
Sonicflood DVD Talk Platinum Edition Join Date: May 2001 Location: In my Home Theater- Foley, AL Posts: 3,496	Anyone use a Zip Drive instead of a 3.5 floppy as a startup drive?? I was wondering if anyone here uses an internal Zip drive instead of having a 3.5 floppy drive as the startup drive in a system. I really don't have a use for a 3.5 floppy that I can think of. Any reasons why I SHOULD have a 3.5 drive? Seems like a waste of $20.00 to me. BTW I'm building a new computer. This will be my primary system with a second system on the same network. The second computer does have a 3.5" drive that I guess I could access if necessary via the network. Any responses appreciated! Sincerely, Sonicflood __________________

07-22-02, 01:54 PM	#2
goLUCKY DVD Talk Ultimate Edition Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Austin, Texas XboxLIVE Gamertag: Golucky Timezone: Central (CST) Posts: 4,899	Never tried, but sounds like a good idea. I haven't used a floopy disk in months. __________________ Dvdtalk Xbox Gamertag List part III here! Greetings, Starfighter. You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the frontier against Xur and the Ko-Dan armada.

07-22-02, 03:00 PM	#4
Sonicflood DVD Talk Platinum Edition Join Date: May 2001 Location: In my Home Theater- Foley, AL Posts: 3,496	I'm building my new computer with the following: MoBo: SOYO Dragon Ultra KT333 MB with USB 2.0,Sound, LAN Retail. Specifications: Supports AMD Socket-A type Processor, Duron, Athlon, XP Three 184-pin DDR SDRAM 2.5V DIMM sockets support up to 3GB (DDR 200/266/333) On board CMI 8738 Audio chip to provide 6 channels audio On board 10/100 Mbps Ethernet function by Realtek 8100B Two independent channels for eight IDE devices(two for raid) Supports up to PIO Mode 5 and UDMA 66/100/133 Four layers, 30.5 cm x 23 cm (12" x 9.05") Sigma Box featuring compact front USB ports Processor: AMD ATHLON XP 2200+/266 FSB PROCESSOR CPU - Specifications: CPU: 1.8 GHz Type: XP 2200+ Thoroughbred Cache: 256K BUS: 266MHz Socket A (PGA) Hard Drive: Maxtor 80 gig 7200rpm Ram: MUSHKIN DDR 512MB PC-2700 - AMD, VIA, ALI, SiS Approved, PC2700 = 333MHz FSB, Rated 2.5-3-3; 6ns DDR333; 6-Layer PCB; Unbuffered. CD-RW Drive: SONY CD-RW ModelCRX195E1-10/X 40x12x48 - Buffer Memory: 2 MB. Speed: Random Access Time: 150 ms. DVD Drive: PIONEER INTERNAL ATAPI 16X DVD-ROM MODEL 500M - , DRIVE ONLY TRAY type 16X DVD/40X CD-ROM, 256k buffer 95ms DVD-Rom High-Speed Average Access Time 80ms CD-ROM access time. Reads single and dual layer DVD-ROM/Video, -R/RW, CD-ROM, Audio CDs, CD-R/RW, Video CDs, Photo CDs, Hybrid CDs, CD-Extra (CD-Plus) and CD-Text Discs Video Card: ATI ALL-IN-WONDER RADEON 7500 64MB AGP RTL Powered by the RADEON™ 7500 GPU,64MB DDR memory,Stereo TV-tuner,TV-ON-DEMAND™ Time shifting ,Integrated Interactive Program Guide,Easily capture and edit MPEG-2 video into your own creations,Radio-frequency remote control ,DVD video playback. Audio: On-board CMI 8738 providing 6-channel audio solution / optical and SPDIF output included. Operating System: Windows XP Profesional I am thinking about going with an internal Zip drive in lieu of a 3.5 floppy. I'll have to check on whether or not I can utilize a zip drive as a boot drive via my Bios setup. Anyone know off hand? Thanks for all the replies so far. It's not that big of a deal, I just don't want to spend the $$$ for a "useless" 3.5 drive if it's not necessary! Sonicflood __________________

07-22-02, 03:28 PM	#5
huzefa DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Downers Grove, IL Posts: 10,471	From www.soyousa.com: SY-KT333 DRAGON Ultra (Platinum Edition): BIOS Description Award PCI BIOS with ACPI function Supports multiple-boot from E-IDE / SCSI / CD-ROM / FDD / LS120 / ZIP 2 Mbyte Flash ROM and this one too: SY-KT333 DRAGON Ultra (Black) BIOS Description Award PCI BIOS with ACPI function Supports multiple-boot from E-IDE / SCSI / CD-ROM / FDD / LS120 / ZIP 2 Mbyte Flash ROM Almost all newer model mobo's support a wide variety of boot-up options. __________________ "But this is HDTV; it's got better resolution than the real world!" ¥ H ¥

07-22-02, 03:56 PM	#6
einTier DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 6,514	I don't have a floppy in my current "hoss" computer. Well, I do, but it hasn't worked since the day I put it in two years ago. Never really needed it, and I just moved my entire collection of floppies (which were flaking out anyway) to CD-ROM about a year ago. Sadly, the entire cardboard box full of diskettes fit on one CD-ROM. I recommend doing it that way, and keeping an old machine around that can handle floppies when needed. Perferably, this machine either has a burner or is connected to the household lan. __________________ $665.95 - retail price of the beast. Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name....

07-22-02, 02:04 PM	#3
asabase DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Jul 2000 Posts: 5,649	As long as windows lets you make boot disks and emergency repair disks on a ZIP and your BIOS supports ZIP booting, I don't see why not.

07-22-02, 07:18 PM	#7
mikehunt DVD Talk Hero Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Bartertown due to it having a better economy than where I really live, Buffalo NY Posts: 29,148	I still have a 5.25 in drive not in my main computer though hey, with a zip 250 drive you could do a full install of some versions of windows depending on the options hmm, wonder if that would work, to install windows on a zip 250 drive and try to boot normally into windows? I realize it would be slower than running it off a HD but it might be useful if it worked __________________ USS Ben Sisko's Mother F**ing Pimp Hand - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT2Xpfm7Iq8&feature=plcp Vote for freedom not political parties. .... MOΛΩN ΛABE If they had a philosophy. If they weren't too busy gnawing on your insides. Last edited by mikehunt; 07-23-02 at 09:33 PM.*

07-22-02, 10:06 PM	#9
belboz DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Feb 1999 Location: HB, CA Posts: 2,592	I'd love to be able to ditch the floppy drive in all my machines. I've actually tried to do it in the past, but at some point or other, I've always ended up having to install one. You rarely need a floppy drive, but the problem is that when you do need one, you need it pretty badly. And installing and uninstalling them on an as-needed basis is too unwieldy. My hope is that one day motherboard manufacturers will realize that a really nice BIOS feature to include would be support for bootable USB floppies. That way, I can have one drive for all my machines that I plug in only on an as-needed basis. My friend works at Phoenix and he says they've got the option available if any of the vendors want to use it, but apparently none of them see the need.