[mikesw]

Does anyone know if the IOMEGA zip drive has the serial number for it stored in the drive?
if so, is there a freeware program/script that can read this information out and display it to the user
along with the firmware version too?
Thanks.

[Tripredacus]

I don't think that the serial number is programmed into the firmware. I used to work for Iomega and know that it definately wouldn't be for remanufactured drives. In some cases, if all internal components were busted and they would be replaced but if the casing was still ok, they would just relabel (or sometimes they wouldn't) the serial number. There may be newer software able to read more info off the drives, but when I was there (2000-2001) there was nothing to get that type of info out of it.

This post has been edited by Tripredacus: 04 February 2009 - 01:05 PM

[mikesw]

Tripredacus, on Feb 4 2009, 02:05 PM, said:

I don't think that the serial number is programmed into the firmware. I used to work for Iomega and know that it definately wouldn't be for remanufactured drives. In some cases, if all internal components were busted and they would be replaced but if the casing was still ok, they would just relabel (or sometimes they wouldn't) the serial number. There may be newer software able to read more info off the drives, but when I was there (2000-2001) there was nothing to get that type of info out of it.

Thanks.

Some programs I found will read out the firmware version, but the serial number they display is a date such as mm/dd/yy.
Thus, I thought their program was busted and was looking for better software.
Another site I came across was this one, but nothing for zip drives.

http://www.bigresource.com/VB-Getting-Flop...Bsa2ck4lv3.html

[Tripredacus]

Now that you mention it... IIRC, the serial number was relevant to the date of manufacture, if that helps at all. You could read that date, and the other numbers or letters could be decoded to determine if it was a retail, oem or refurb unit, also which plant it was made in and what country, or what country it was made to be sold in. This knowledge is only of the printed serial number, however. But like I said, repairs/reman/refurb units could have different hardware inside that wouldn't always match the serial number on the casing. Like if it was a bad casing and didn't replace the internals.

[mikesw]

That's fine that the serial number inside doesn't match the casing. i could always write on the casing the new serial number.

I wonder how linux can do it, since it dumps the serial number of a USB IOMEGA zip drive. I'm looking for ATAPI/IDE though

See this link and search for serial,

http://lkml.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/ke...104.3/0938.html