Zip Drives to support Revit 6.0??

[jamesmahoney1913]

Hi

My clients is gearing up his system in order to support Revit 6.0

Can you recommend a Zip Drive that we should use

Thanks

James

[Scott D Davis]

ZIP as in "250 meg ZIP drive"? A ZIP drive for storing files? File portability? Not exactly sure what the plan is.....

[WarrenL]

Hey Scott

Thanks for your reply

A Zip Drive to store files... As well as transport, I would imagine

Pretty new to CADD, but have heard that Zip Drives are important when using it

Can you give any imput as to how you use Zip Drives when using Revit

Thanks

[hand471037]

Hey there Warren,

Zip Drives are an older type of disk drive that takes special, thicker, more expensive disks that can hold more infomation than a typical floppy disk. A few years back, they were the only real cost-effective way to transport a CAD file somewhere, for they typically didn't fit onto a smaller, standard disk. The main time you put something on a Zip disk was when you had to send file to someone or when you had to send something to the blueprint shop for plotting.

Now, almost everyone has e-mail and a high-speed line and/or a CD burner. And not too many people have Zip disk drives, which you can buy used for like 10 bucks, because they will just e-mail the file or burn it to a disk. :)

So you might not need one at all if your computer comes with a CD burner. Also check with your local blueprint shop to see if they still accept zip disks.

[mlgatzke]

Personally, I would NOT recommend a Zip Drive. I would recommend a USB Flash Drive. They're AWESOME! They're faster than a Zip, cheaper, more stable, more universal, and your client doesn't have to buy any kind of a drive unit. All they have to do is plug the Flash Drive into a USB port, let the machine configure the drivers, and you're off and running. USB Flash Drives are available from 32MB (you can sometimes get these free with a purchase of some product) up to (I've seen) 2GB. Locally (Iowa), you can buy a 1.5GB unit (with extension cord) for around $250.

[Dimitri Harvalias]

I've been using a flash USB drive for about a year now and it's the best form of storage I've ever used. It's only a 128 MB unit but it also doubles as an MP3 player so I have tunes and portable Revit. Life is good :D

[GuyR]

USB flash drives are good. If you want some serious portable storage get a USB2 or firewire drive such as this:

http://www.maxtor.com/en/products/external/personal_storage_5000/personal_storage_5000le/index.htm?b=7

Guy

[aaronrumple]

I'll vouch for the Firewire drives. I've got an older laptop drive in a Firewire case and it has been great. My only issue is that my laptop Firewire port doesn't supply power, so I have to carry a power adapter for it.

[Scott D Davis]

I have had ZIP drives at home and at the office for the past 5 years at least. I have used it maybe 6 times.

USB Flash Drives are cool! Got my 64 MB one from Autodesk at AU for 'free' just for being on subscription. Also, Compact Flash (usually for cameras) is getting very cheap, and CF card readers are as little as $10. I use mine as a portable drive for information all the time. You can even get a 2 Gig microdrive that will fit in a CF II slot.

I would also recommend not getting a ZIP drive at this point, you really don't need one. Too many better options are available!

[jamesmahoney1913]

Thanks guys

This information helps Warren, and I out alot

We're going to do some research on USB Flash Drives, per your recommendation

[Henry D]

Can the software that comes with the Flash Drive do scheduled back-ups?

[Dimitri Harvalias]

As noted, no software required (if you are using XP, most will require some form of driver for earlier versions of windows). The OS sees a flash drive as a 'removable disk'. Although I've never tried it, as long as you leave the drive in the USB port there should be no reason it couldn't be the destination folder for scheduled backups.
If using it as a backup device I would recommend backing up prior to heading home and keeping the drive with you. Always store your backups off site.