Sp 808 not recognizing I'm putting in Zip Disks

[avalanchesfanman]

Sorry I keep posting so much, my Sp 808 has been plagued with issues, it was my christmas present from someone and I'm really bummed it hasn't been working . Except when it appears that someones responded to my post it ends up ignored even though it was unawnsered so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯



I've popped in 2 different brand new iomega 100 MB zip disks(got them from an unopened pack of 10 zip disks) into my zip drive, and no matter what, the LCD screen tauntingly says "Please Insert Zip Disk." The Disks seem fine, as I said, they've never been opened or used before and don't seem the least bit damaged. My sp's zip drive allows them in, and I can pop them out by pressing the eject button on it. If it helps, the eject button will flash green really fast once I've put one in, then after a few seconds it flashes green only every second or so. So what do I need to do? Remove the zip drive and plug it back in? Get a new machine? I don't get what could be wrong.



Also: The zip check doesn't seem to notice I've put in a disk either.

[Vivian Neezhnies]

Send the seller a message or take it back. It should have immediately noticed the Zip disk whether or not it has been formatted.

[l i f]

Contacting the seller is one option, but if it was a gift I wouldn't give up so easily. If you remove the backplate you'll see the zip drive is very easy to check, that it's connected properly for a start.

If it still has the original drive it could be dead. If it has a new (or secondhand) drive installed, it could also be faulty, or it could be connected wrongly. If this is the case I could probably help further with photos of how the cables and a special pin-cover should be attached.

I mean, you could give up on the 808, but sourcing a replacement zipdrive on ebay shouldn't be too hard... and they're usually not too badly priced to give it a shot. Get the 808 running and you won't be disappointed.

[Vivian Neezhnies]

Ive made this mistake before. I bought a 202 that was abvertised as working. Long-story-short it didnt work and instead of returning it I sent it to get fixed. Fast-foward a year and now it barely works.

[l i f]

Vivian, do you own an 808?

If you did, you'd know that it has no internal memory and that when a working zip-drive is installed the formatting-process loads the operating functions to the disc. You can't compare an 808 to a 202 in that regard (or any other for that matter! The 808 is a beast of a workstation that came out just a little too soon from a tech-standpoint).

That said, it's always a downer to be blatently ripped off on a sale. I feel for you.

[Vivian Neezhnies]

Yes, I used to own an 808. My point is that if this is broken what else could be?

[JUKE179r]

What brand of Zip drive do you have? Zip100? Zip 250? Zip750?
Just so you know, Zips drives are known for dying known as the "Click-of-Death".
You can also open up the bottom plate and check that the IDE cable is securely connected from the Zip drive to the mother board.

[avalanchesfanman]

What brand of Zip drive do you have? Zip100? Zip 250? Zip750?

Zip100



The seller did respond to me inquiring about why it doesn't work, and said he/she'll as around about it. This seller said twice it was "From their personal collection" so this whole need to ask around raises a few red flags But they did say something about us returning it/getting a refund, but I don't know if they'll back away from that. Worst comes to worst, eBay customer support said they can force them to refund it, dont really wanna be a dick about it, but making plunderphonics and other sample based music is my dream sooooo...

[drmnaga78]

I would try popping the cover off the bottom of the machine, it comes off very easily, just a load of screws, check the ide cable is connecting the drive to the motherboard. If it is, then make sure the drive jumper pins on the drive are set to master, if they are then I would try another zip drive, you can find them in eBay pretty cheap, try to make sure you get a new one. Or maybe ask around locally, friends, little computer shops and see if anyone has a used drive you could just try, you can connect it all up and and try it without having to screw the cover back on. Cheers