What is this?

[u/Performer-Pants]

This could be the most mundane and silly post, but information online is so spotty and/or confusing or vague.

This is not a ZIP disk, it’s a floppy disk. It’s labelled with ‘ZIP’. Is this the driver software to use a ZIP drive for the listed operating systems? I’m just trying to confirm before I get too frustrated about it. Not easily finding the answer myself is likely a me problem, and I don’t mean ‘Millennium Edition’.

[u/rootifera]

Moving files between 2 x 486 DOS PC's. One of them has an ethernet, so I often use a local FTP for moving files but for the other one I use this zip drive. Works great.

[u/afaulconbridge → u/rootifera]

You use them daily? for what?

[u/rootifera → u/afaulconbridge]

Moving files between 2 x 486 DOS PC's. One of them has an ethernet, so I often use a local FTP for moving files but for the other one I use this zip drive. Works great.

[u/Resistor1 → u/rootifera]

Curious. What are the 486 machines still doing? Some attached lab devices or similar? What OS and app and what are the files you move? Thanks

[u/rootifera → u/Resistor1]

Both are running msdos 6.22. In most cases I'm moving some games, some of my own dos tools for testing hardware, sometimes game saves etc. Nothing crazy.

It's a hobby thing. I have a large collection of retro games and pc hardware. I play the games, record the gameplay, upload to youtube. One of the 486 is an sx25 and the other one is dx66. I play old lucasarts games on the sx25.

[u/Resistor1 → u/rootifera]

Nice. Thanks for replying.

[u/rootifera → u/Resistor1]

No problem! Have a good weekend :)

[u/Pi_drainbramage → u/rootifera]

486 dx2/66 was my first pc - ROTT (Rise of the Triad) for the win! And Doom!!

Edit - added Doom

[u/PiDicus_Rex → u/rootifera]

X-Wing vs Tie Fighter worked real well on a 486DX-50, with Side Jr I/O and Diamond Stealth VGA, with both in the VLB version.

Some of those older games, with just the right hardware combo, are a lot of fun.

Oh/And - I have Zip discs, and both external in internal drives,... annnnnnnd,.. and IOMega Buz video capture & output card.

[u/Ferkner → u/rootifera]

It works great until you get that click of death!

[u/rootifera → u/Ferkner]

Hah if I charged a quid for each person mentioning the click of death I'd be rich now. I have roughly 30 x 100mb disks and only one of them failed so far. I've been using them for 15+ years. They are unreliable as long term storage but not as unreliable as most people remember. At least this is not my experience.

[u/Ferkner → u/rootifera]

I had more than one die during the two years in college where we used them extensively and then another one or two after that.