Zip Disks 100MB - Should I throw them out?

[JoeS99]

I have several dozen of them taking up space. Is it worth trying to sell them on eBay or Craig's List?
I re-formatted them after transferring files (mp3,etc) to other media some years ago.
I don't even remember what I paid for them. If I want to use them I would need to obtain a USB Zip Drive.
It doesn't help that I'm a Pack Rat and hold onto things that I might want to use some day but I need to clean house a bit.
Unless there's someone or some place that could use them, I'm thinking of tossing them.

[TreeTops]

I found this comment on the web: 'Zip drives are still used today by retro-computing enthusiasts as a means to transfer large amounts (compared to the retro hardware) of data between modern and older computer systems.'

But I suspect that that drive format is so old that you will not get any responses.

[JoeS99]

Yeah, I did find some info on the web. Just thought I'd put this out there in case someone on the forum here could use them.

[Cornucopia]

There is a difference between the Zip discs (100MB) and the LS-120 "Super Floppy" discs (120MB). The Zip discs were cool for their time, but as you probably already know, they and their larger cousins the Jaz discs (1GB & 2GB) were prone to the dreaded "click of death", which was so bad that it could ruin subsequent drives it was placed in once it exhibited the problem. Therefore, I would bet that NOBODY would want to buy those for fear of ruining their own drives (assuming they still have good ones).
The LS-120s, being built on different technology, didn't exhibit those kind of issues, so my guess is that if folks were nostalgic for them, they might consider buying them. Personally, I don't understand it, other than as a museum piece.


Scott

[JoeS99]

The zip disks were a good option for low cost mass storage at the time.
I didn't know the "click of death" was "contagious".
My original Zip Drive stopped working back then and I got a used one from a fellow at work.
That was when I transferred all the data to CDs or DVDs.

[Subtitles]

I had a lot of zip discs and two Zip drives.
Like you, I wanted to have space and less clutter so I threw everything into the recycling bin. I have no regrets for doing this even when I consider how much I paid for them.
Same thing with all the floppy discs and the floppy drives, but bought a USB floppy drive just in case I might need it one day.

[Cornucopia]

I had about 30-40 at one point in the early 2000s, along with 20 or so Jaz discs, and a handful of drives of each kind.

Yes, they can be "contagious", which is why we spent some time transferring all their data to standard hard drives and optical discs. And then chucked the lot of those portables, even though they cost us hundreds. Just wasn't worth the loss of data for us and our clients. And yes, we witnessed firsthand the contagious ruination of the discs & drives.


Scott

[jagabo]

100MB Zip disks sell for about US$1 to US$3 on ebay.

[Cornucopia]

Now, not when they were popular.


Scott

[dvd3500]

Ah the memories... I had an external Zip drive, parallel port... I had just moved to Europe but my parents had unlimited Internet in the States.
So when I would visit I would download the crap out of things and load them to Zip Disks.
Using a voltage converter I could easily carry the drive around...
Happy days...