Introduction to Iomega Quick
Introduction to Quick

Quick is a multi-functional tool that allows fast access to the status and functions of your Iomega drives and disks.

Accessing Drive Functions:

Clicking on the Quick icon opens a box showing your Iomega drives. By clicking the right mouse button on any of your drive icons, you can open a menu with the following selections:

Info

Eject

Format

Protect

Watch


Information

The Information tool provides details about the selected drive and the adapter to which the drive is connected.  Many of the details are highly technical, but may prove useful, especially when troubleshooting system conflicts.   Selecting "Adapter Parameters" will show current driver parameters, including optimization settings for parallel port adapters.

In addition to using the Quick menu list, you can access the Information tool by double clicking the left mouse button on any of the drive icons in the Quick view box.


Eject

Eject automatically ejects Zip or Jaz disks that are not in use, and spins down Bernoulli disks for removal. Disks being used by applications or by the operating system will not be ejected.

NTFS Note:

The Eject tool properly unmounts NTFS media before ejecting or releasing the disk.


Format

The format tool allows you to erase or prepare a disk for new data.

A Short format is quick and convenient, but it does not verify the disk surface. Use this option when reformatting a disk if you are sure the disk is undamaged.

A Long format (also called a low-level format or format with surface verify) prepares the entire disk and verifies the disk surface at the same time. Use this option to repair disks that have developed read/write errors.

If you need to reformat a disk and have forgotten the password, use the long format option. When you are prompted to identify the password, click “Cancel”. This will bypass the password requirement and allow you to format the disk.

Note: Format puts a FAT file system on the disk. If you want an NTFS or other file system on your disk, you need to use the system format utilities.


Protect

The Disk Protect tool allows you to set protection options for the disk in a selected Zip or Jaz drive. The Protect tool replaces the conventional write-protect tab for removable disks, and provides a wider variety of data protection for Zip and Jaz users.

Write Protect prevents anyone from overwriting data, and includes an optional password to ensure data protection. If you forget the password, the data can be recovered by simply copying the disk to another disk and reformatting the original for reuse.

Read/Write Protection is like putting your disk in a safe, and should be reserved for highly sensitive data.  CAUTION: Read/Write protection requires a password. If you forget the password the data is unrecoverable and the disk must be reformatted to be used again.

Unprotect Until Eject gives you temporary access to a protected disk. Protection is automatically restored when the disk is ejected.

Remove Protection eliminates all protection coding on a disk.

Change Password allows you to update and/or vary your passwords. You must know the old password to change it.

Note: Although Zip and Jaz disk protection options are set and removed using the ToolsNT program, the actual protect mechanism is secured in the drive hardware. Because Iomega disk protection is not software-based, it cannot be bypassed using other software programs.


Watch

Watch is a Quick option that makes it easier for you to use Read/Write protected disks.  When Quick is running with Watch enabled, it watches your system and detects when a Read/Write protected disk is inserted.  Watch then displays a dialog box that allows you to unprotect the disk so you can use it.  (You can either temporarily unprotect the disk, or completely remove the disk protection - all you need is the correct password.)

When Watch is enabled, Quick will also detect when the drive eject button is pressed and eject media that is not in use.

Note: Unless Quick is running with Watch enabled, NTFS-formatted disks will not be ejected when the drive eject button is pressed.

How to Use Watch:

Quick is installed with Watch disabled, and unless you use Read/Write protected disks or want the convenience of being able to eject NTFS-formatted disks with the drive eject button, you may want to leave Watch disabled.  If you wish to enable Watch, click the box next to "Disable Watch" to clear the checkmark and select the time interval (1 to 30 seconds) you would like Watch to use when checking your system.


Commonly Asked Questions

Q: Why the Disk Protect Tool?

A: This tool increases the disk protection options for Zip and Jaz users beyond the old write-protect tab. From simple write protection (with or with out a password) to the read/write protect option, this tool allows you to protect your Zip and Jaz disk data according to its sensitivity.

Q: What is the difference between a short and a long format?

A: A short format erases just the header information on a disk, allowing the rest of the data on the disk to be overwritten with new data. A long format erases the entire disk and verifies the integrity of the disk surface.

Q: What happens if I forget my password?

A: If you have forgotten the password for a write-protected disk, just copy the data on that disk to another disk and format the original disk using the ToolsNT long format option. If you forget the password for a read/write-protected disk, the data cannot be recovered and the disk must be reformatted using the ToolsNT long format option in order to use the disk again.

Q: Why does my disk not eject when I push the drive eject button?

A: If you are using NTFS-formatted media, the drive eject button will eject a Zip or Jaz disk only if Quick is running and the Watch option is enabled.  In addition, a disk will not eject if it is being used by an application or the operating system.