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jsh5

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Norton Utilities and Zip Tools Disk problem

I've been running Speed disk on the Zip Tools Disk (which is still under 1 yr warrantee) to optimize the disk. It cannot proceed and says there is an extents directory invalid or unknown error.  I then run Disk Doctor which finds the major problems (MDB and volume bit map) and fixes it.  I run DD again to be sure the problem is fixed and it finds no problems.  I then go back to SD to optimize, and it finds the same extents dir.problem.  I run DD which finds the same problems again and fixes it. But when I go back to SD to optimize, the same thing happens again! I have also run disk tools Disk First Aid in addition to DD.

So is this a defective Zip tools disk that will be replaced?  Iomega charges you for a tech support call if there is no defect, so I can't call them.
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weed
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Try this: Copy the contents of your zip disk to your HD. Select the zip disk and choose "erase disk" from the special menu. Then copy the contents of the zip disk (now backed up on your HD) BACK to the zip disk and try norton and SD. that usually kills any file directory disk problems. if it doesnt work tell me and ill boot the other half of my brain for a little dual processor thinking.
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rifty

Weed, I think s/he might need to use the Iomega Tools to re-format the zip disk, not just the standard one on the desktop menu you'd use to initialise the floppy. (use the full initialisation, not the 15 second one!)

....which leads me to the question I would like to ask jsh5 - what version of Iomega Tools are you using, and what version of Norton's?

Rifty
the regular erase disk works fine on zip disks..it just doesnt give it the nifty icon. Sometimes i wonder what iomega tools actually does differently than the normal erase.
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rifty

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Weed - your comment came in while I was typing mine, apparently. I think what you said is true for sys 7.6 or 7.5? but I have the feeling the lower systems couldn't initialise a zip disk. (I'm prepared to be corrected on that....) As you know I have just installed the higher system and am still finding out things about it.

For the sake of satisfaction I would suggest to jsh5 to go through the procedure I outlined in my answer.

Cheers,

Rifty.
good point..im figuring hes workin with 7.6.1 which could very well be wrong.
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I've got Norton 3.2.1, System 7.5.5, and Zip 4.3 for macintosh.  I forgot to mention that I have successfully run DD and SD on 3 other zip disks.  It's only the zip tools disk (the one that comes with the drive) that has this problem.  I have not set a password on any of these disks. I wanted to avoid reformatting the disk because I don't have the HD space (only 160 MB there). But I guess its the only option, so I'll try it.
(BTW, rifty is right in saying lower system versions 7.5.5 do not erase disks from the special menu)
Just before you commented, jsh5, I realised that you were actually writing to the zip tools disk, so it couldn't have been write protected (duh-h-h!). But I also know that there was at least one set of peculiar disk tools disks went out that were formatted for Mac but had only 50 megs of space on them, even though they were standard 100 meg disks. I re-formatted mine almost immediately and it formatted perfectly to 100 megs. You might have got one that was not properly formatted also.

I see your problem about backing up to the hard drive. 160 megs isn't much to play round with when the system these days takes up so much of the drive. But if you have space left on the other zip disks, then you could back it off in say 20 meg portions one at a time to the hard drive, transferring it to the other zip disks from there. That wouldn't take long at all.  

I am sure you are doing the right thing to reformat it. In any case, if Norton's detects some sort of problem like the one you mentioned, you can't entrust the zip disk with your valuable data till it's working properly.

Good luck.

Rifty.
YIKES!!...that could very well be your problem!!...DD! Ive found that does STRANGE things to disks and abandoned it years ago in favor of just stuffing items individually. Try getting rid of DD for that particualr disk.
I think DD stands for Norton's Disk Doctor, not (as I suspect you are thinking of, Weed), Disk Doubler.

NOBODY abandons Disk Doctor!!   :)

Rifty
ohhh right...fergot about that...heh..never heard it referred to as DD...usually NDD so if threw me off..
what is your computer type? please give details on all. :)
re: reason for zip tools

i know this comment was made earlier in the thread, but i thought i should throw in a thought or 2 about zip tools.

i have run a zip drive off of multiple macs, from maciici (7.5.2) to powertowerpro 225(7.5.3l) without ever using zip tools. fwb's hdtoolkit works just fine on just about any external media, and even the oft-maligned scsi probe will access zip on just about any mac.
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Reformatting with zip tools worked and Norton no longer finds these problems.