IBM Microdrive with C7xx/C8xx

[bb]

Has anyone here got experience with using the IBM Microdrive with one of the clamshell Zauruses?

I am about to buy the C860 and I wish to use a large CF storage media with it. Since the IBM Microdrive is somewhat cheaper (at least where I am situated) than CF cards with the same capacity, I would like to know if it can be used.

Thanks in advance.

[Foxdie]

Microdrives do work with the C-series (and every other Zaurus model I should suspect), the only problem is they use a tiny bit more power than regular flash-based CF storage media and generate a little bit of heat too (nothing excessive).

[bb]

Microdrives do work with the C-series (and every other Zaurus model I should suspect), the only problem is they use a tiny bit more power than regular flash-based CF storage media and generate a little bit of heat too (nothing excessive).

Thank you for your answer.

You don´t, however, state whether or not that is first-hand experiences. The current- and heat-issues are touched also by the Unofficial FAQ - as hear-say. I would like to get some facts, though.

Have you or someone you know got first-hand experiences with these issues?

Hope to year from you again.

Best regards.

[HennaOjisan]

Hi bb,

I use my IBM 1GB MD often with my 760. It\'s serving as my media disk for listening to music or watch videos. I haven\'t done any scientific tests per se, but the battery does seems to last shorter compared to standard CF, but it does last longer than using Wifi card. The heat issue hasn\'t been very noticable for me. Perhaps the extra plastic (battery cover for 760) is keeping me from feeling the heat. Again, nothing scientific.

I cherish my MD for use in my Z (and my digital camera for the last few years) and wouldn\'t live without it.  

HennaOjisan

[bb]

Hi bb,  
I use my IBM 1GB MD often with my 760. It\'s serving as my media disk for listening to music or watch videos. I haven\'t done any scientific tests per se, but the battery does seems to last shorter compared to standard CF, but it does last longer than using Wifi card. The heat issue hasn\'t been very noticable for me. Perhaps the extra plastic (battery cover for 760) is keeping me from feeling the heat. Again, nothing scientific.  
HennaOjisan

I didn\'t expect scientific reports

Good to hear that you have positive experiences with using a MicroDrive with a Zaurus C. That certainly makes me consider the MicroDrive as the storage media for my Zaurus (when I get it).

Thank you for your answer.

Best regards.

[yodabob]

I\'ve got both an IBM 1GB Microdrive, and a Magicstor 2.2Gb microdrive, and both work perfectly with my 860.  They do take \"a bit\" more juice, but I can get through both DVD\'s of Lord of the Rings, Two Towers, Extended Edition on one battery charge.  Soooo, I can take a 6 hour plane flight and not have to look at the baby puking next to me!  I\'ve gotten in the habit of turning it off for about 30 minutes between movies to let it cool down, as it does seem to put out a bit more heat, but not excessive.

[coder101]

I have the Hitachi 4Gb microdrive but it is not working good for me. See my post here http://www.zaurususergroup.com/index.php?n...t=2185&start=15

[bb]

I have the Hitachi 4Gb microdrive but it is not working good for me.

Have you tried repartitioning and reformatting the drive, like ashikase did? If you have, did you still have problems or were they resolved?

[lareya]

yodabob,  You play these movies (both DVD\'s of Lord of the Rings, Two Towers, Extended Edition on one battery charge) on your z?  How?

TIA.
Lareya

[yodabob]

Lareya:  First, I\'m using TKCVideo as a player.  I rip the DVD\'s using DVDDecrypter, then convert them to AVI\'s using DVD2AVI, then convert them to MPG\'s using TMPGenc.  Seems like a tedious process, but trust me, it works.  The only issue I\'ve found is that if you \"fast forward\", you tend to lose \"lip synch\" which is most annoying.  Actually, I can play both of those movies and still have nearly 1/3 batter left, which is more than sufficient to play Office Space.  Playing my newest rip of Return of the King (which is LONNGGG) leaves me with well over half a batter charge left.  If you want some specifics (I\'ve had a lot of questions about this thread), give me a shout at elrond_halfelven@comcast.net.  And yes, I do like LOTR !  :-)

Bob

[yodabob]

coder101:   I feel your pain.  However, I followed the instruction listed here http://www.zaurususergroup.com/index.php?n...iewtopic&t=3779  and they worked perfectly.  Now I\'m the proud papa of 4 of these drives with a ton of movies and such like on each that I can take along with me to kill the boredom of long flights and airport delays.  Follow these TO THE LETTER and you\'ll be fine.  And just for the record, Omicron\'s a freakin\' genius for putting this down in terms anybody (even us newbees) can understand.

[omega]

I\'ve used a 340M IBM MD without any problems. Again, it takes more power.

[henrysviper]

I have a silly question for the microdrive owners:

How do you remove the microdrive from the Zaurus? I put my (recently bought)
microdrive in my C750 and it is
(of course) flush with the edge of the device and now I cannot pull it out! :-(

Any suggestions?

[stbrock]

I know what you mean. I put my thumb on the microdrive, index finger on the edge of the keyboard, squeeze a lot harder than I like on things that cost so much, then pull it out. Sometimes it takes a couple of tries, but so far I haven't broken anything. Some other devices have an eject button to help, but not Zaurus. Not a problem on CF cards in general, just my 4GB IBM microdrive.

[w14]

I put my thumb on the microdrive, index finger on the edge of the keyboard, squeeze a lot harder than I like

I did this once with a 1GB IBM microdrive when I had the 5500. It crashed the heads. I had accidentally hit the power button just as I was about to take it out, and I was squeezing it just as it was starting to spin up. Not clever. Luckily it was under warranty - I didn't bother explaining what had happened.

I got a 4GB drive recently for my 760, and with it came two pieces of flexible plastic with a sticky bit which sticks to the underside of the drive - carefully positioned to not cover the hole which is labelled "do not cover this hole" - and a non sticky bit which I can pull on to get the drive out. I bend the non sticky bit and tuck it into the cf slot along the upper surface of the drive when the drive is in use.

Mike.