Subject: REVIEW: Zip drive, ZipTools, and SquirrelSCSI
From: [email-masked] (Keith Barkley)
Date: 21 Feb 1996 17:37:19 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews

PRODUCT NAME

	This review covers 3 closely related products and how they
work together:

	SquirrelSCSI PCMCIA SCSI interface
	Version:  1.12 (As stated in the Readme file)

	Iomega Zip100 100MB Removable Cartridge Drive (SCSI Version)

	ZipTools, a WorkBench Commodity that provides disk utilities
	for the Zip.  Version: 1.5 (As stated in the Readme file)

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

	I am reviewing all three products together because, at least
for the A1200/A600, the real story is how well they perform as a
system, not just as each stands alone.  The SquirrelSCSI has already
been reviewed, but I felt that someone with no SCSI peripherals would
tend, like me, to buy all three at one time.  In some ways this goes
beyond the bounds of a review and leans towards a tutorial. But most
of the additional information can be considered what I had to do to
get good performance out of the system.

	The SquirrelSCSI provides a SCSI interface that plugs into the
seldom used PCMCIA port.  Indeed, now I know that mine actually works!
It is a full featured interface that supports most SCSI storage
devices, though scanners and printers may need additional drivers.

	The Iomega Zip100 Drive is a small (1.5in X 5.35in X 7.26in ),
light (1.05 lb.), inexpensive and relatively fast (1.4 MB/sec)
removable cartridge disk drive.  It uses proprietary beefed up disks
slightly larger than a 3.5" floppy.  Each disk stores 95MB of data.
25MB disks should also be available soon.  While the Zip Drive has no
Amiga specific support (from Iomega!), it is standard SCSI and can be
used like other SCSI removable.

	ZipTools, provided by the makers of the SquirrelSCSI, is a
WorkBench Commodity that lets you manipulate your Zip Disks in several
ways.  It allows you to mount, format, write protect, password protect
and eject your Zip Disk.

AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION

	SquirrelSCSI and ZipTools in the USA:

	Name:		Oregon Research
	Address:	16200 S.W. Pacific Hwy, Suite 162
			Tigard OR, 97224
			USA
	Telephone:	(503)620-4919
	FAX:		(503)624-2940

	E-mail:		[email-masked]

	SquirrelSCSI and ZipTools everywhere else:

	Name:		Hi-Soft
	Address:	The Old School
			Greenfield
			Bedford
			MK45 5 BR
			UK
	Telephone:	+44 (0)1525 718181
	FAX:		+44 (0)1525 713716

	Zip Drive:
	Name:		Iomega
	Address:	1821 West Iomega Way
			Roy, Utah 84067-9977 
              		USA 

	Telephone:	1-800-456-5522
			801-778-3000

	FAX:		801-778-5763 (Note: This is a voice line to order
			a number of informational faxes)

	E-mail:		[email-masked]
	World Wide Web:	http://www.iomega.com/

LIST PRICE

	Zip Drive:		$239.95 US
	100 MB Disk:		$22.95 US
	SquirrelSCSI:		$139.95 US
	ZipTools:		$29.95 US

	I paid $200 US for the Zip Drive, $60 for 3 extra Zip Disks,
$99 for the SquirrelSCSI and $19.95 for ZipTools.

SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

	HARDWARE

		There are no special hardware requirements except for
		a working PCMCIA port. As far as I know, it will work
		with any hardware that you can cram into the belly of
		your A1200.  However, I have heard that some
		accelerators use the PCMCIA reserved memory for fast
		RAM expansion beyond 4MB.  If you have problems and
		have more than 4MB of fast RAM, then look into this
		possibility.  I have also heard that some AmigaDOS 3.1
		upgrades for the A1200 do not support PCMCIA.

		A hard drive is not required.  In fact you can use the
		Zip Drive as your hard drive.  In order to do this you
		must create a boot floppy since the SquirrelSCSI does
		not allow a SCSI hard drive to be a boot drive.

	SOFTWARE

		SquirrelSCSI: No special requirements, though it is
		assumed that you will have AmigaDOS 2.04 or above.
		
		ZipTools: The back of the manual says "Compatible with
		all Amigas!" and "Compatible with all Amiga SCSI
		cards!"

COPY PROTECTION

	None.
	Hard Drive Installable.

MACHINE USED FOR TESTING

	Amiga A1200, 2 MB Chip RAM.
	GVP Turbo 40 MHz 68EC030, '882 FPU, 8 MB Fast Ram
	1 internal 880K floppy.
	Seagate 350 MB internal hard drive.
	AmigaDOS 3.0.

INSTALLATION

	The SquirrelSCSI plugs in to the PCMCIA slot on the left side
of the A1200, After some initial confusion deciding which end was up,
the card slid right in and seemed to make good contact.  If you have
any doubt, I suggest using a flashlight to check on the ears on the
SquirrelSCSI which slide in the slots on the A1200.  A glance
confirmed what I suspected, that the cable exits the SquirrelSCSI
toward the rear of the A1200.

	There is a problem connecting the Zip Drive to the Squirrel
when you have no other SCSI devices.  The Squirrel has an attached
cable with a Centronics 50 pin male connector which plugs right in to
almost every other piece of SCSI gear that exists.  The Zip Drive has
a DB-25 female connector which, until now, has generally been found
only on the SCSI host adapters.  Cables abound that will connect the
DB-25 to a *female* Centronics 50 pin connector but not to a *male*.
My first solution was to use an old 20 MB Apple hard drive that wasn't
much good for anything else.  Since it had two 50 pin Centronics
female connectors I could plug the Squirrel's pigtail into the hard
drive and a standard 50 pin Centronics male to DB-25 male on the Zip
Drive.

	Finally, I found a female 50 pin Centronics gender changer at
a local computer store that advertised in the yellow pages under
"Computer Cables."  With this adapter I was able to connect the pig
tail of the SquirrelSCSI to the standard 50 pin male Centronics to
DB-25 male.  (Usually found in the stores as a "Macintosh SCSI
cable.")  Not as clean as I would have liked, but it was cheaper than
most alternatives and, when I finally get my CD-ROM drive, it will
simply replace the gender changer.

	Software installation is simple.  Just run the Commodore
Installer and go.  I would suggest that you not install the CD32
support unless you need it, since it includes a lot of unnecessary
files and adds things to the startup-sequence that won't need to be
there.  You can always install it later if needed.  Since it modifies
the startup-sequence, the installer saves a copy of the old
startup-sequence in a directory named "Old" in the SYS: partition.
This is a nice thing to do, but was not documented.  (In case you
can't tell, I do not like installers changing my startup-sequence file
without my knowledge.)  Along with Old, the installer creates a CD32,
nonvolatile and SquirrelSCSI directory on your SYS: drive.  The
Installer also adds a SquirrelHDToolBox front end and icon for
HDToolBox which is a polite thing to do and saves me having to switch
tooltypes in HDToolBox.  The installer also adds several programs that
make SCSI life a little easier.  The SquirrelSCSI also comes with two
disks full of Public Domain Files that include CD filesystems, Disk
repair and reorganization tools and other SCSI utilities.

	Installing ZipTools is even easier.  There are only a few
files and the Commodore Installer puts them where you expect.  The
ZipTools program goes in the WBStartup drawer and several MountLists
are placed in the DEVS/DOSDrivers drawer.  It does not change
startup-sequence or User-Startup.  I do suggest that you have your Zip
Drive hooked up when you install the software.  It really wants to
Amiga format the disk supplied with the Zip Drive.

USE AS A BIG FLOPPY
	
	Once installed the software makes working with Zip Disks a
breeze.  They work with the system as easily as a floppy disk.  Even
if you start up the system without a disk in the drive, as soon as you
insert a Zip disk the icon shows up on the WorkBench.  The system
recognizes disk changes flawlessly and a tap of the hotkeys brings up
a commodity that shows the mounted Zip Drive(s) and provides 6
buttons:

	1.  Write Protect.  Allows you to make the Zip Disk
"read-only."  Optionally, you can use a password so that you are the
only one who can remove the protection.

	2.  Read/Write Protect.  Makes the entire contents unusable
unless you have the password.  The manual warns that if you forget the
password the only solution is to format the disk.  The Macintosh
software states that even Iomega cannot recover your data.

	3.  Eject.  Ejects the disk.  This option did not work
reliably for me.  Sometimes, I had to click it several times to eject
the disk.  However, since I could just press the button on the drive,
this is no big deal.  (Unlike the Macintosh!)

	4.  Unprotect Until Eject.  Removes any protection while the
current cartridge is still in the drive.  When the cartridge is
removed, protection reverts back to the original protection mode and
password on the disk.  This allows you to make several accesses during
a single session without entering your password all the time.

	5.  Remove Protection.  Permanently removes protection from a
disk.
 
	6.  Format.  Allows you to prepare a disk for use.  A separate
requester allows you to choose either "Quick" (Create a fresh new
AmigaDOS root directory) or "Format" which does a full format and
verify and will replace bad sectors.

	One thing to note is that the ZipTools commodity lives in the
WorkBench Startup directory and does not install itself if there is no
Zip Drive present. So, if you buy ZipTools before your Zip Drive, do
not expect to be able to even open the ZipTools window!  If you plug
in the SquirrelSCSI after WorkBench has started you may need to double
click on the commodity in the WBStartup directory to run the program.

	The software adds the exact functionality as the Iomega
supplied software for the Macintosh and is just as easy to use.  I did
not try any of the protection options.

	One problem is that a full format with verify takes about 10
minutes and during that time the Amiga is locked up and unable to do
anything else.  This is a big problem in my eyes. After all, the main
reason I bought an Amiga is that it multitasks!  Interestingly,
formatting a RigidDiskBlock prepared Zip Disk with the AmigaDOS Format
Disk command does *not* lock out other tasks.

	ZipTools is not required for day to day operation.  The Zip
Disk shows up as a standard drive on the WorkBench that can be used
like a floppy disk.  DiskMaster II, and all other disk utilities, can
use it with no problems.  While it is noticeably slower than a hard
drive, it is still much faster than a floppy.  I was able to download
files at 9600 BPS to the Zip Drive with no errors.

	I tried using the standard DiskCopy to make a duplicate of a
Zip Disk and got a "Not Enough Memory!" error.  However, getting an
error is better than 200 500KB-at-a-time swaps, in my opinion.

	ZipTools works fine with RigidDiskBlock prepared disks.  If
you insert such a disk after you boot, you will need to use something
like SCSIMounter (a custom registered version is included with
SquirrelSCSI) to tell the Amiga that the disk is there.  Once mounted
it can be used like a Zip Disk mounted with the ZIP0: DOSDriver.  If
you boot with the RDB prepared Zip Disk in the drive, it is
automatically mounted by the SquirrelSCSI.  At this point I should
mention that the SquirrelSCSI software has been changed.  Now the
default startup-sequence command scans each SCSI address for a device
and mounts it.  In the past there was a separate command to mount a
device at each address.  This does increase the boot time by a few
seconds.

	ZipTools comes with MSDOS MountLists for PC Formatted Zip
disks.  Since I could not attach my Zip Drive to a PC, I did not try
this option.  Oregon Research warns that CrossDOS bundled with the
Amiga is buggy and that better results are achieved with the
commercial version.  Since I did not have CrossMac, I did not try to
read a Macintosh formatted Zip Disk, either.

PERFORMANCE

	Here is a performance comparison chart.  I have included my
internal IDE Seagate and several flavors of Zip Disk for comparison.
I only included three File Create/Write/Read Buffer options in this
chart because of space considerations.  All tests were done with
DiskSpeed 4.2, and minimal loading on the machine.

                     Internal  Default    Tuned      RDB  Units
AmigaDOS Buffers:         130        5      100       30
MaxTransfer:         0xFFFFFF 0x100000 0xFFFFFF 0xFFFFFF

Directory Manipulation Statistics
File Create:               42       10       18       16  files/s
CPU Available for above:   73        0        0        0  %
File Open:                147       22       45       31  files/s
CPU Available for above:   30        0        0        0  %
Directory Scan:	          279       48       48       48  files/s
CPU Available for above:   30        0        0        0  %
File Delete:              292       48       86       54  files/s
CPU Available for above:   22        0        0        0  %

Seek/Read:                649       16      703       60  seeks/s
CPU Available for above:   10        0        0        0  %

262KB FAST Buffer Statistics
Create File:              656      311      523      522  KB/s
CPU Available for above:   55        0        0        0  %
Write to File:           1259      516      757      756  KB/s
CPU Available for above:   30        0        0        0  %
Read From File:          1311      595      933      941  KB/s
CPU Available for above:   43        0        0        0  %

4096 Byte FAST Buffer Statistics
Create File:              351      149      165      166  KB/s
CPU Available for above:   56        0        0        0  %
Write to File:            579      159      173      175  KB/s
CPU Available for above:   39        0        0        0  %
Read From File:           458      159      171      170  KB/s
CPU Available for above:   57        0        0        0  %

512 Byte FAST Buffer Statistics
Create File:              122       25       25       25  KB/s
CPU Available for above:   36        0        0        0  %
Write to File:            144       24       25       25  KB/s
CPU Available for above:   30        0        0        0  %
Read From File:           143       24       24       24  KB/s
CPU Available for above:   33        0        0        0  %

Average CPU Available:     39        0        0        0  %
(All Tests)

Notes:

	My "internal" drive is a Seagate ST9385AG 350 MB IDE 2.5"
drive configured as 4 partitions.  "Default" is the ZIP0: MountList
supplied by Oregon Research.  "Tuned" is a modified ZIP0: MountList,
with extra buffers and changed MaxTransfer.  "RDB" is a Zip Disk
formatted with a default SquirrelHDToolBox RigidDiskBlock.  All tests
performed on a freshly formatted Zip Disk with no other applications
running.

	DiskSpeed, through no fault of its own, is very sensitive to
many factors that are difficult to control.  One is that the
performance will change depending on how much data is already on the
disk.  That is why I always reformatted my Zip Disk before the test.
I found that MaxTransfer did not affect performance very much,
probably because the Zip has only a 32KB internal buffer.  AmigaDOS
buffers, set in the MountFile or by the AddBuffers command, always
improved the directory access, but did not affect the File
Create/Read/Write transfer speeds once you had more than 15 buffers.

	The big disappointment is that the SquirrelSCSI takes all the
available CPU time.

	SCSISpeed, included with the DiskSpeed4.2 archive, measures
the low-level ability of the device to provide data by using device
level I/O calls to read sequential blocks from the Zip Drive.  It
reports that my internal IDE Seagate transfers data at 1.73 MB/s with
23% of the CPU available.  The Zip Drive and SquirrelSCSI transferred
data at 1.05 MB/s with 0% of the CPU available.

USE AS A BACK-UP DEVICE

	With a Zip Drive instead of an 880K floppy, I no longer have
to put off back-ups like going to the dentist.  With QuarterBack 5.0.4
I can use one Zip Disk instead of 40 to 50 floppies. Backing up 46.8
MB of data in 1300 files to a single AmigaDOS file on the Zip Disk
with full 16 bit compression took 30 minutes, unattended.  The size of
the resulting file was 29.6 MB.  The verify pass took another 18
minutes.  I found that it was much easier to back up to an AmigaDOS
file so that I could store multiple back-ups to the same Zip Disk.
The Zip Drive also allows you to immediately get to any back-up
without having to wait for a tape to wind through half its length.
QuarterBack was also able to use the Zip Drive as a SCSI device which
created a custom Zip Disk that only QuarterBack could read and wasted
a lot of space.

	As a test, I restored a smaller (12 MB) partition backed-up in
an AmigaDOS file to a partition with enough space to handle it.  It
was quick and painless and had no problems.

DISASTER RECOVERY DRILL

	One of the main reasons I got the Zip Drive was to be able to
recover from a hard disk crash.  In order to prepare for the worst I
created a floppy boot disk that made the Zip Drive the SYS: disk.  I
had some trouble at first with the startup-sequence hanging during the
boot.  I finally traced it down to the SquirrelSCSI installed CD0:
device in the DEVS:DOSDRIVERS drawer.  For some reason, it hangs the
system during a floppy to Zip Disk startup, but not when started from
the hard drive.  I solved the problem by moving the CD0: mountfile to
the storage drawer.  I suspect that if I actually had a CD-ROM Drive,
this would not be a problem.

	I also copied my WorkBench: partition (12 MB) to a Zip Disk.
After installing Reorg and DiskSalv (both came on disks provided with
the SquirrelSCSI) I still had over 80 MB left on the disk for other
stuff!)

	After creating the boot disk, I rebooted the system with my
new boot floppy while disabling the internal hard drive with the boot
options screen.  (Another thing to love about the Amiga!)  Using the
Zip Drive as the system hard drive was not as bad as I feared.  The
response time was not that much slower than using the internal.  All
the programs I tried worked.  Since AmigaDOS keeps libraries around
until memory is tight, as long as you have plenty of RAM, the Zip
Drive is not accessed all that much.

	At least with QuarterBack, it was possible to restore from a
back-up file on a Zip Disk with no disk swapping due to SYS: being on
another Zip Disk.  The secret was to switch Zip Disks *after* hitting
the "Disks" button in the requester that lets you select the back-up
file.  After that point Quarterback no longer required the System
disk.

USE AS A SHAPESHIFTER MACINTOSH SYSTEM DISK

	One of my secondary reasons for getting a Zip Disk was to be
able to use it as a system disk with the Macintosh emulator,
ShapeShifter.  On my hard Macintosh, I used the Iomega-supplied
ZipTools disk and installed System 7.1 on it.  ShapeShifter recognized
the drive with no problems and as soon as I made the Zip Drive the
Startup Disk, ShapeShifter booted from the Zip Drive with no
complaint.  The Zip Drive functioned adequately as a Macintosh system
disk, but working with a relatively slow drive through an emulation
proved to be slower than I find acceptable.  The Macintosh accesses
the hard disk much more often than AmigaDOS which puts a heavy burden
on the system drive.  Even still, I was still able to run all the
applications and games I tried, I just had to wait a while for them to
load.

DOCUMENTATION

	The SquirrelSCSI comes with a 60 page spiral bound manual.  It
starts with a good though brief discussion of SCSI and continues with
information about the SquirrelSCSI and its operation.  It seems
written at a good level for the expert and beginner alike, and does a
good job explaining the set up of an external SCSI drive with
SquirrelHDToolBox.  In my opinion it is only deficient in explaining
the way the CD32 emulation works and what it does to your Amiga to
make it work.

	The Zip Drive comes with several booklets that describe the
set-up and operation.  Most of the information is PC or Macintosh
specific.  The most important one for Amiga owners is the Zip Owners
Guide that describes the drive itself.  The information is designed
for real beginners, with pictures of cute little guys plugging things
into computers and everything.

	ZipTools provides a 16 page booklet which is all it really
needs.  The manual is written clearly and should be useful for the
beginner and expert alike.  In fact, you can use the ZipTools manual
instead of the supplied documentation from Iomega.  The ZipTools
manual takes you through the Zip Drive hardware hookup and software
installation and will prepare the supplied Zip Disk for you.
(However, if there is ever a chance that you may want to use your Zip
Drive on a Macintosh or PC, you should *not* erase the supplied disk.
It is expensive to replace!)  There is also a little SCSI tutorial
based on the "What is SCSI?" section of the SquirrelSCSI manual.  My
only complaint with the ZipTools manual is that it does not contain
any detailed technical information.  A discussion of the ZIP0:
mountfile, how to tune it up for accelerators/faster SCSI interfaces
and how ZipTools works with RigidDiskBlocks would be helpful.

LIKES

	I am pleased with all 3 products and how they work together.
The system meets all the requirements I have for archival storage,
internal hard disk back-up and disaster recovery.  It will even
function as a system hard drive in a pinch.  Do not be alarmed by the
fact that the "LIKES" section is shorter than the "DISLIKES" section.
Like any good storage device, the Zip Drive just does its job
competently and invisibly until you run across some little thing that
could be improved.

DISLIKES AND SUGGESTIONS

	The MountList supplied with ZipTools is not optimal.  I added
95 AmigaDOS buffers and changed the MaxTransfer which increased the
speed of the drive by 40% according to DiskSpeed4.2.  (100 buffers is
about 50K of RAM)

	Information on how to use a ZipTools formatted Zip Disk as a
System disk would be helpful.  By trial and error I discovered that
the ENV: directory in RAM: must be created first and then the drive
must be MOUNT ZIP0: 'ed.  Then the assigns to the Zip Drive can take
place.  An example startup-sequence would be nice.  This is one place
where the RDB format excels over a MountList.

	The other problem is that the squirrelscsi.device is a CPU
hog.  I never got more than 0% CPU available.  I had hoped that the
POLLEDIO option, documented in the README file, would do something to
alleviate the resource drain even at the expense of Zip Drive
performance.  Alas, I saw no difference at all between the two.  One
simple thing that could be done (I think!), would be to lower the
priority of the ZipTools commodity during the full format.  I would
much rather have the format take a little longer than to lose access
to a multitasking machine.

	The Macintosh software tools disk provides a utility to
perform a Zip Disk to Zip Disk copy using as much RAM and hard disk
space it can grab to minimize disk swaps.  I feel that this would be a
nice utility to have in order to make back-ups of back-ups.

	Minor nit #1: An option for a ZipTools appmenu item or appicon
would be nice.  Hot keys are fine, but I can never seem to remember
them.

	Minor nit #2: A custom WorkBench icon for the Zip Drive would
have been cool.  Since it seems that Oregon Research worked with
Iomega to write ZipTools, they could have probably gotten permission
to create a disk icon based on the Iomega "i."

COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS

	The Syquest EZ drive is similar to the Zip100 Drive.  It is
physically larger, stores 30 MB more (on reportedly more fragile
disks) and is faster, however at this time there is no software
package similar to ZipTools.  I've heard that HDToolBox is able to
format and prepare the drive just fine.  I won't get into the great
Zip vs. EZ debate here!

BUGS

	The only thing I found resembling a bug was the occasional
problem I had ejecting the cartridge with the Commodity's "Eject"
button.  It never refused to eventually eject and I believe the most
it ever took was three clicks.  I did not report it to Oregon
Research.

VENDOR SUPPORT

	I sent Oregon Research a letter, requesting some clarification
and assistance with the MountList vs. RDB issue.  I used a letter to
test the response time if you do not subscribe to one of the upgraded
product support plans.  After 20 days I heard no reply.  (I did
provide my email address.)  Since I wanted to get this review
published, I felt I should not wait any longer.  If I do hear anything
in the future, I will post a correction to this review.

	Oregon Research (and Hi-Soft, too I believe) offer "Gold" and
"Silver" support plans.  You have unlimited support for the first 60
days by phone, letter or fax.  After this time, if you do not
subscribe to one of the upgraded support services, you can only
receive support by letter.

	The "Gold" support allows unlimited support and free
inter-version upgrades. $70 US

	The "Silver" support allows fax support. $40 US

	Both support packages apply to all software that you buy from
the company.  In other words, one upgrade fee allows you to get
support for SquirrelSCSI software, Squirrel Zip Tools and all other
Oregon Research packages you may own.

	I am ambivalent about this method of support which is why I am
intentionally hazy about the details.  However, I have found that
Oregon Research products are pretty solid and do not require much
support, and represent good value for your money.

WARRANTY

	SquirrelSCSI:
		I could find no hardware warranty information.
	Zip Drive:
		1 year limited warranty
	Zip Disks:
		Limited lifetime warranty 
	Squirrel Zip Tools:
		(See Vendor Support, above.)

CONCLUSIONS

	I rate the combination of the SquirrelSCSI, Iomega Zip Drive
and ZipTools very highly.  It represents a good value getting into
SCSI.  It is also extremely easy to set up and use.  At $0.20 US per
megabyte, it also represents a good value.  If I do move up to a new
Amiga, I can take the bulk of the investment with me even if the
SquirrelSCSI is no longer needed.  The Zip Drive did everything I
asked and is good for archival storage, back-up, a substitute hard
drive and as a Macintosh system drive for ShapeShifter.

	I highly recommend all three products separately, but together
they represent a great solution to removable storage.  If you have an
A1200 and are looking to dive into SCSI this is a good way to begin at
a $350 US price tag.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

	Copyright 1996 Keith Barkley. ([email-masked])

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