In a message dated 08/27/1999 4:28:06 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

<< I have a zip drive and would like to know about this "click of death" to
 which you refer.  I haven't had a problem so far but that sounds pretty
 fatal!  Would someone please educate me?  Thanks in advance.
   ...have been one that has had the misfortune of losing data due to the
 infamous
   Click of Death on a Zip drive and a totally failed jaz drive.


 Timothy --  The "Click of death" refers to a "clicking" problem in certain
 Zip and Zip Plus drives.  Users report data loss and a repetitious clicking
 noise, after which the drive will no longer function (thus, this problem was
 dubbed the "Click of death" by some user).    Iomega has a document on their
 homepage documenting this issue here.

<snip>

 -- Iomega Corporation
 A source who has identified himself as a former Iomega technician has said
 the clicking sound is caused by the read/write head bumping against its
 movement stops--bumpers that keep the head within its intended range--while
 searching for and not finding track 0 on the Zip disk. When the "click of
 death" problem happens, the read/write head fails to find that track, which
 contains vital directory information, because the head has become
 misaligned. "I don't think the drives are faulty in any way," he said,
 noting that he had just authorized the purchase of 50 Zip drives for the
 company where he is currently employed.  The source said he also had
 encountered a related problem reported in newsgroups: a domino effect in
 which misaligned heads damage disks, which in turn misalign heads of other
 drives, which then damage more disks.  "It's fairly rare," he said. "But it
 does happen."

 Iomega's Official Response to COD
 We are concerned about the problem that you are having with your Zip Drive.
 Please contact our Technical Support so that they may diagnose your
 troubles. They can be reached at (888) 446-6342 from 6am to 9pm MST.

<snip>

  >>

In addition to the above, there is more information at this site, as well as
a free program to test your drive, and disks:
 <A HREF="http://spinrite.com/clickdeath.htm">Zip & Jaz Drive Click Death</A>
or the regular URL:
http://spinrite.com/clickdeath.htm

HTH,
Peter Hogan
[log in to unmask]

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