mtools: mzip

1 
1 4.27 Mzip
1 =========
1 
1 The `mzip' command is used to issue ZIP disk specific commands on
1 Linux, Solaris or HP-UX. Its syntax is:
1 
1      `mzip' [`-epqrwx']
1 
1    `Mzip' allows the following command line options:
1 
1 `e'
1      Ejects the disk.
1 
1 `f'
1      Force eject even if the disk is mounted (must be given in addition
1      to `-e').
1 
1 `r'
1      Write protect the disk.
1 
1 `w'
1      Remove write protection.
1 
1 `p'
1      Password write protect.
1 
1 `x'
1      Password protect
1 
1 `u'
1      Temporarily unprotect the disk until it is ejected.  The disk
1      becomes writable, and reverts back to its old state when ejected.
1 
1 `q'
1      Queries the status
1 
1    To remove the password, set it to one of the password-less modes
1 `-r' or `-w': mzip will then ask you for the password, and unlock the
1 disk.  If you have forgotten the password, you can get rid of it by
1 low-level formatting the disk (using your SCSI adapter's BIOS setup).
1 
1    The ZipTools disk shipped with the drive is also password protected.
1 On MS-DOS or on a Mac, this password is automatically removed once the
1 ZipTools have been installed.  From various articles posted to Usenet, I
1 learned that the password for the tools disk is
1 `APlaceForYourStuff'(1).  Mzip knows about this password, and tries it
1 first, before prompting you for a password.  Thus `mzip -w z:' unlocks
1 the tools disk(2).  The tools disk is formatted in a special way so as
1 to be usable both in a PC and in a Mac.  On a PC, the Mac file system
1 appears as a hidden file named `partishn.mac'.  You may erase it to
1 reclaim the 50 Megs of space taken up by the Mac file system.
1 
1 4.27.1 Bugs
1 -----------
1 
1 This command is a big kludge.  A proper implementation would take a
1 rework of significant parts of mtools, but unfortunately I don't have
1 the time for this right now. The main downside of this implementation is
1 that it is inefficient on some architectures (several successive calls
1 to mtools, which defeats mtools' caching).
1 
1    ---------- Footnotes ----------
1 
1    (1) To see the articles, search for `APlaceForYourStuff' using
1 Google Groups
1 
1    (2) I didn't know about this yet when I bought my own Zip drive.
1 Thus I ended up reformatting my tools disk, and hence I haven't had the
1 opportunity to test the password yet.  If anybody still has their tools
1 disk with the original password, could you try it out? Thanks in advance
1