ZIP format

[Miha Andrejasic]

Hello!

I posted this message in few NG's since I don't know in which one to
post.

I have a question:
How would I format ZIP disk (Iomega 100MB) on my internal unit using
Linux (this means which format and a command to use, please) that this
disk will work on SGI external ZIP unit.

I need this disk to transfer files to SGI.
I use Pentium 200MMX with RedHat 6.1.
SGI sistem is IRIX 4.0.5.

Thanx for your answers.

CCCao
--
Miha Andrejasic

[Michael Lee Yohe]

> I need this disk to transfer files to SGI.
> I use Pentium 200MMX with RedHat 6.1.
> SGI sistem is IRIX 4.0.5.

When you format a Zip/Jaz disk, you will be formatting the "fourth"
partition on the disk - this is the way Iomega structures its fault
tolerant information to make sure the data is somehow protected from
minor faults.

You will need to format the disk in something that the SGI can
understand. I have no idea what file system support your SGI box has,
but I can probably guess that it supports a rudimentary FAT file system
at the least (which is the default format of the Zip disk, anyway).

mkfs -t vfat /dev/sda4 (or the proper device entry for your Zip drive).

--

Michael Lee Yohe (myohe+...@redhat.com)
Software Developer, Engineering Services
Red Hat, Inc.

QUIPd 1.00: (110 of 539)
-> The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with
-> another must wait till that other is ready.
-> - Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

[Paul Sutton]

I think you use mk2fs to make a ext2 file system, then create a mount
point, and mount, I think also zip drives are scsi devices so you may need
to use

mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/zip or /media/zip (if using suse), try reading the zip
drive how to as I am not sure on the above - corrections and comments
welcome.

HTH

Paul

"Miha Andrejasic" <miha.an...@ijs.si> wrote in message
news:3C42D68E...@ijs.si...

[dav...@yahoo.com]

In comp.os.linux.misc Paul Sutton <psu...@uklinux.net> wrote:
> mount /dev/sda1

You need to use /dev/sda4 to address the entire disk.

Davide

[bill davidsen]

In article <3C42D68E...@ijs.si>,
Miha Andrejasic <miha.an...@ijs.si> wrote:

| I have a question:
| How would I format ZIP disk (Iomega 100MB) on my internal unit using
| Linux (this means which format and a command to use, please) that this
| disk will work on SGI external ZIP unit.
|
| I need this disk to transfer files to SGI.
| I use Pentium 200MMX with RedHat 6.1.
| SGI sistem is IRIX 4.0.5.

The part you didn't supply is what format the SGI will read, which you
need to know before creating the media.

To create a DOS format you need to do the following:
1 - check the format with fdisk, as "fdisk /dev/sda". The entire disk
should be in the 4th primary partition, ex. sda4. If it's not, delete
all partitions and create just primary partition 4.

2 - be sure the partition type is DOS type (still with fdisk). I don't
have a standard disk handy, but I believe they're type 4 (16 bit FAT).

3 - format the partition, "mkdosfs /dev/sda4" or similar.

4 - mount the partition, and copy your data to it.

Other:
- steps 3 and 4 might also be done with MFORMAT and MCOPY from the
dosutils package.
- If you were going to Windows you would do all this as vfat and get
long filenames.
- You can always use the disk as a raw device for file transfer, just
tar up the files you want and write to the whole disk (sda, not sda1).
You might have to fall back on that.

Provide more info on what the non-Linux machine can read!

--
bill davidsen <davi...@tmr.com> CTO, TMR Associates, Inc
Programming without software engineering is like sculpting with a chain
saw. The very talented can produce a work of art, the mediocre wind up with
a misshapen lump in a pile of rubble, and in neither case does the end
result have more than a passing resemblance to the original intent.

[John-Paul Stewart]

bill davidsen wrote:
>
> In article <3C42D68E...@ijs.si>,
> Miha Andrejasic <miha.an...@ijs.si> wrote:
>
> | I have a question:
> | How would I format ZIP disk (Iomega 100MB) on my internal unit using
> | Linux (this means which format and a command to use, please) that this
> | disk will work on SGI external ZIP unit.
> |
> | I need this disk to transfer files to SGI.
> | I use Pentium 200MMX with RedHat 6.1.
> | SGI sistem is IRIX 4.0.5.
>
> The part you didn't supply is what format the SGI will read, which you
> need to know before creating the media.

IRIX 4.0.5 is almost certainly wanting EFS. Current linux
kernels provide experimental, read-only support for such
filesystems. Writing EFS volumes doesn't appear possible.
I don't know how well IRIX 4.0.5 supports other
filesystems. Using FAT or (Mac) HFS may be possible if the
SGI will read it. (Never had occasion to try it on my SGI.)

I'll also note that the SGI FAQs mention that Zip drives are
semi-supported in IRIX 5.2 (with EFS or HFS filesystems but
not FAT) and are not fully supported until 6.4 and 6.5. Is
the Zip working at all with IRIX 4.0.5?

To the OP: is there no way to transfer the files by network
(NFS, FTP, etc.)? That would likely be better than trying
to share ZIP disks.