Troubleshooting IomegaWare 1.1.3: another look

Back when it was first released, feedback on IomegaWare 1.1.3 was mostly positive. There were a few reports of startup crashes, but work-arounds were offered. For users with SCSI cards (mostly G3/BW users), problems copying files to Iomega drives and problems using the drive as a startup drive were also reported (although in most cases, the main source of the problem appeared to be the SCSI card, not the Iomega drive). More problems cropped up after updating to Mac OS 8.6. More recently, we've gotten reports of a further increase in hassles with using this software. Here are the highlights:

Iomega as the startup drive; startup crashes Several readers have reported that they are unable to use their Jaz drive as a startup drive after updating to IomegaWare 1.1.3 (which installs Iomega Driver 6.0.4). This is so even when SCSI cards are not involved. For example, Ives Gobau had this problem with Jaz drives connected to a PowerBook 1400 and a Mac IIvx. He found that if he downgraded to an older version of Iomega's driver (6.0.1), the problem vanished. He adds: "This was not a trivial task, because the Iomega driver is stored in a boot block on the Jaz cartridge itself. You have to configure the Iomega Driver Options control panel to 'Always update the driver on the disk.' Then you must reboot the Mac while the Jaz drive does not contain a cartridge. This will ensure that your Mac is using the Iomega driver that's in your System Folder, and not the driver which is stored on the cartridge itself. From now on, every cartridge you insert in the Jaz, will be updated with the Iomega driver from your System Folder." When he asked Iomega Tech Support about the startup problem, they replied that "we do not support booting from a Jaz drive."

Anthony Kassir similarly got a system crash at startup when attempting to startup from a Jaz cartridge using the 6.0.4 driver. He was using a PowerCenter Pro running Mac OS 8.5.1. Again, downgrading to an older version of the driver (5.0.3) resolved the problem. Anthony started a thread on this matter in the MacFixIt Forums.

Among the several replies was one that stated: "There is an incompatibility between HDT versions 2.5.3, 3.0, 3.0.1 and 3.0.2 and Iomega Driver 6.0.4. If at startup there is any media inserted containing version 6.0.4 -being a startup device or not, the Mac crashes."

A further reply from Anthony states: "I received a reply from Iomega about the 6.0.4 driver startup bug: 'This is a known bug. Our Engineers are working on a fix.'"

Carlos Rodríguez similarly got a crash at startup whenever a Zip cartridge with the 6.0.4 driver installed was present. It did not have to be the startup disk. There is also a thread on this symptom in the MacFixIt Forums. The consensus here again is that it happens if you also using HDT 3.0.2 (as the driver for your internal hard drive, for example).

A search of FWB's Knowledge Database revealed several interesting tidbits related to all of this:

#1071: The Iomega extension grabs control of Iomega drives, even if you want Hard Disk ToolKit drivers to control them. To avoid this conflict, remove the "Iomega Driver" extension from your Extensions folder in your System Folder and restart your system.

#1065: Hard Disk ToolKit supports Iomega SCSI Zip and Jaz drives, but it does not support ATAPI versions of these drives. Use the tools that come with Iomega ATAPI drives for support.

#1406: Should I use Iomega Tools or HDT on my Jaz/Zip drive? This decision is up to you. Each driver has its own special features. If you choose to use one, do not use the other on the drive. If you use the Iomega Tools software, do not use HDT to format cartridges or use FWB Tools extension and vice versa.

Format problem? After upgrading to IomegaWare 1.1.3, Dave Kupiec could no longer do a Long Erase of a cartridge using the internal Jaz drive of his PowerCenter 225 running Mac OS 8.6. He writes: "The erase almost immediately stopped with an 'Operation Failed' error message. The Jaz disk was unmounted by then and I had to restart to eject it. When I reinserted it, I got a Finder 'disk not recognizable' message which asked if I wanted to reformat the disk. I clicked yes, but I then got an 'Initialization failed' message. Thinking that this was probably a bad disk, I then tried a Long Erase with another Jaz disk. Same problem! Fortunately, Hard Disk Toolkit 3.0.2 saved the day and it was able to see and low-level reformat both disks. I then deleted all components of IomegaWare 1.1.3 and reinstalled my previous versions of IomegaWare (Iomega Driver 6.0.1). Now I could do a Long Erase with no problem."

Zip drive copy problems A thread in the MacFixIt Forums, titled Zip Drive copy problems, has about two dozen posts. The emerging consensus was that downgrading to the 5.0.1(!) version of the Iomega driver eliminated the problem. (Also note the item on copy problems in Troubleshooting Mac OS 8.5.1.)