Hi everyone... I was curious as to what people's experiences have been with the Iomega Jaz 2 GB drives and with Iomega support. I just got a Jaz 2 GB drive and had a disk go bad on me. On calling Iomega support, the representative was pretty terse and unfriendly and told me that I shouldn't be doing things to the disk, things which are made very much available via their IomegaWare software (i.e. doing a long format).

As the rep was processing my RMA for the bad Jaz disk, he inquired whether any of my other disks were bad, to which I responded that TechTool Pro and Disk First Aid all reported no problems with them. He flat out told me that those programs should never be used on Jaz disks, as those programs and the likes of Norton Utilities treat Jaz disks as hard disks and can do harm to the disks. Is this correct?

If Jaz disks aren't hard disks (albeit removable), what are they, and how else are users to diagnose and fix problems should any arise with the disk? This whole experience makes me curious as to whether other Jaz owners think of their drives and whether they've had problems with their equipment. Also, thoughts/anecdotes on Iomega support are welcome. I'm thinking I should go back to my trusty SyQuest SyJet!

Speaking of which... I'm using the Jaz with my PowerBook G3 1998 series, and transfer rates are slower than the SyJet. Tested with same exact files and timed the copy times. Any ideas on how I might improve performance? The Jaz is supposed to be faster than the SyJet if I'm reading the tech specs correctly. TIA!

[drfrank]

I have been using a Jaz drive for approximately 2-years. First a 1 GB drive, now a 2-GB drive. I have had to replace one 2-GB disk in that time and it was no problem. I called and was treated very well. I have the new disk in about 7-days.

I have no problems with the speed of transfer with the Jaz, it is connected to an ultra SCSI card on a G4. Prior to that, I had it connected to a G3 via a JazJet SCSI card. I did try ORB as a replacement but was disappointed with the driver software supplied for the Mac. Sometimes it would work and sometimes not. In addition, I had to replace the drive and two disks before it was 6-weeks old.

Since the G4 has a DVD-RAM built-in, I have been using DVD disks as back-up. They are larger (5.2GB double sided) and less expensive that either Orb or Jaz disks ($30) but a little slower when copying large files.

Frank

[drfrank]

Sorry, forgot to add that I use Iomega tools for formatting etc. of Jaz disks. That way is a problem occurs, (as in one case I mentioned) Iomega will replace the disk. BTW, you can ask for a replacement disk at their web site also.

Frank