Zip Drive IDE is compatible?

[emersonwsm]

Somebody already tried to use or knows if the IDE Zip Drive is compatible with CFFA interface?

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: emersonwsm on 2004-01-10 19:44 ]</font>

[rich]

Hi emersonwsm,

My guess is that a IDE Zip drive will not work with the CFFA card. I am assuming that Zip drives use ATAPI, which my firmware doesn't support. It is worth noting that someone could modify the firmware to add the needed support if they were ambitious enough.

ATAPI is an extra layer above the ATA interface already supported. It is also the basis for CDROM support in IDE drives.

[VidGameKing]

ATAPI is the Packet interface for ATA. Thats Advanced Technology Attachment Packet Interface. Programing the firmware to support such a standdard would not be hard at all.

It should be mentioned though, that not all CD-ROMs are ATAPI compatible. In fact, most 1 - 4X speed CD-ROMs are NOT ATAPI compatible!

So, that being the case, one could use a CD Drive with your card... but... The hard partitioning will really screw things up! I could imagine, you only being able to see the first 32MB of a CD!!! or worse! most CDs mad on a Mac are HFS+ aside from not being compatible with the IIgs, they certainly not ProDOS so there would be no chance of using a CD as a start up device.

As for a ZIP drive, a 100MB zip drive would get partitioned, if the proper drivers, and firmware were written and then one could use a ZIP drive as one's main boot-up drive. It would allow for VERY easy managment of the system. Downside is though, that I think that under Mac OS it can only see one partition in the zip drive, so you'd end up with the same problems you have with trying to remove a CF card from the IIgs and then try to edit it on the Mac.