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(mtools.info)mzip

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Mzip
====

   The `mzip' command is used to issue ZIP disk specific commands on
Linux, Solaris or HPUX. Its syntax is:

     `mzip' [`-epqrwx']

   `Mzip' allows the following command line options:

`e'
     Ejects the disk.

`f'
     Force eject even if the disk is mounted (must be given in addition
     to `-e').

`r'
     Write protect the disk.

`w'
     Remove write protection.

`p'
     Password write protect.

`x'
     Password protect

`u'
     Temporarily unprotect the disk until it is ejected.  The disk
     becomes writable, and reverts back to its old state when ejected.

`q'
     Queries the status

   To remove the password, set it to one of the passwordless modes `-r'
or `-w': mzip will then ask you for the password, and unlock the disk.
If you have forgotten the password, you can get rid of it by low-level
formatting the disk (using your SCSI adaptor's BIOS setup).

   The ZipTools disk shipped with the drive is also password protected.
On Dos or on a Mac, this password is automatically removed once the
ZipTools have been installed.  From various articles posted to Usenet, I
learned that the password for the tools disk is
`APlaceForYourStuff'(1).  Mzip knows about this password, and tries it
first, before prompting you for a password.  Thus `mzip -w z:' unlocks
the tools disk(2).  The tools disk is formatted in a special way so as
to be usable both in a PC and in a Mac.  On a PC, the Mac filesystem
appears as a hidden file named `partishn.mac'.  You may erase it to
reclaim the 50 Megs of space taken up by the Mac filesystem.

Bugs
----

   This command is a big kludge.  A proper implementation would take a
rework of significant parts of mtools, but unfortunately I don't have
the time for this right now. The main downside of this implementation is
that it is inefficient on some architectures (several successive calls
to mtools, which defeats mtools' caching).

   ---------- Footnotes ----------

   (1) To see the articles, search for `APlaceForYourStuff' using
Dejanews

   (2) I didn't know about this yet when I bought my own Zip drive.
Thus I ended up reformatting my tools disk, and hence I haven't had the
opportunity to test the password yet.  If anybody still has their tools
disk with the original password, could you try it out? Thanks in advance