The Iomega Zip drive has reached vast popularity. So, as with the majority of popular new hardware, Linux has support for it. Hopefully this document will take you through quickly and effectively in setting that drive up.
I have a parallel port Zip drive, so if you have trouble with this, I'll be able to help you best if you have a parallel port Zip drive. However, the information here should work with all versions of the Zip drive supported by Linux, so send me an e-mail if you think your problem is not specific to the way your Zip drive is connected to your computer.
You should have the kernel sources installed on your system in /usr/src/linux/. For more detailed information on compiling a kernel read Compiling a New Kernel.
While configuring (make config, make menuconfig, make xconfig; choose one), enable support for SCSI disks. Under SCSI low-level drivers, enable the Iomega Zip drive PPA driver (or something close to it).
After configuring for the PPA driver and other things you need, complete the rest of the process of recompiling your kernel.
mkfs -t ext2 /dev/sda1
Copyright © 1997-1999 Joshua Go (jtg@computers.iwz.com). All rights reserved. Permission to use, distribute, and copy this document is hereby granted. You may modify this document as long as credit to me is given.