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USB Zip Emulation – The BIOS Optimization Guide

USB Zip Emulation

Common Options : Enabled, Disabled

 

Quick Review

The USB Zip Emulation BIOS feature allows you to boot up off a USB Zip drive by making it emulate a floppy drive or hard drive.

When enabled, you can boot from any attached USB Zip drive, even in the absence of a USB driver.

When disabled, you will not be able to boot from any attached USB Zip drive. You can only access the Zip drive after a USB-compatible operating system has fully loaded with a USB driver.

If you intend to boot off your USB Zip drive, you must enable this BIOS feature. You should also enable this BIOS feature if you wish to access the Zip drive in the absence of a proper USB driver. Otherwise, you can leave it disabled.

 

Details

The USB Zip Emulation BIOS feature is a subset of the ARMD Emulation Type BIOS feature. It is not normally possible to boot off a USB Zip drive because a USB-compatible operating system must first boot up with the USB driver loaded, before any attached USB Zip drive can be accessible.

The USB Zip Emulation BIOS feature allows you to boot up off a USB Zip drive by making it emulate a floppy drive or hard drive.

When enabled, you can boot from any attached USB Zip drive, even in the absence of a USB driver.

When disabled, you will not be able to boot from any attached USB Zip drive. You can only access the Zip drive after a USB-compatible operating system has fully loaded with a USB driver.

If you intend to boot off your USB Zip drive, you must enable this BIOS feature. You should also enable this BIOS feature if you wish to access the Zip drive in the absence of a proper USB driver. For example, with operating systems that do not support USB (e.g. DOS). Otherwise, you can leave it disabled.

 

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ARMD Emulation Type – BIOS Optimization Guide

ARMD Emulation Type

Common Options : Auto, Floppy, Hard Disk Drive

 

Quick Review

ARMD is actually short for ATAPI Removable Media Device. It refers to devices that use removable media. Examples include the LS-120, Magneto-Optical (MO) and Zip drives.

To boot up any operating system from these drives, it is essential for them to emulate a floppy drive or a hard disk drive. This is especially true for older operating systems like DOS.

This BIOS feature allows you to select the type of emulation used during the boot sequence.

When set to Auto, the BIOS automatically sets the emulation type used by ARMD drives.

When set to Floppy, ARMD drives will emulate a floppy drive at boot up.

When set to Hard Disk Drive, the ARMD will emulate a hard disk drive at boot up.

To be safe, this BIOS feature should be set to Floppy. It is the safest emulation type, and the one that most accurately describes ARMD drives. They are, after all, more like large-capacity floppy drives than hard disk drives.

 

Details

ARMD is actually short for ATAPI Removable Media Device. It refers to devices that use removable media. Examples include the LS-120, Magneto-Optical (MO) and Zip drives.

To boot up any operating system from these drives, it is essential for them to emulate a floppy drive or a hard disk drive. This is especially true for older operating systems like DOS.

This BIOS feature allows you to select the type of emulation used during the boot sequence.

When set to Auto, the BIOS automatically sets the emulation type used by ARMD drives.

When set to Floppy, ARMD drives will emulate a floppy drive at boot up.

When set to Hard Disk Drive, the ARMD will emulate a hard disk drive at boot up.

Emulating the hard disk drive may provide better performance, if the operating system supports a disk cache. However, that may introduce data synchronization problems should you eject the media before the disk cache has a chance to write to the media.

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Emulating a floppy drive does not normally present with this problem. Only reads from floppy drives are normally cached, thereby avoiding this problem. In addition, certain operating systems (e.g. Windows XP) will only load drivers from a floppy drive during the installation process.

If you desire better performance, you should set this BIOS feature to Hard Disk Drive. However, you must treat the device like a hard disk drive and refrain from ejecting the media unless you are sure the cached data has been written to it.

To be safe, this BIOS feature should be set to Floppy. It is the safest emulation type, and the one that most accurately describes ARMD drives. They are, after all, more like large-capacity floppy drives than hard disk drives.

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