UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

alright, this might seem a dumb question, can't say i'm too familiar with these applications.

i have a 250mb zip drive that i just got for my macbook pro (i know it's archaic, i have a drum machine that uses 100mb zip disks) and it is recognized in system profiler as a 250mb iomega drive, but it won't automatically mount of the desktop... and i've tried EVERYTHING to troubleshoot it.

i was wondering if there was a way to force mount it through terminal, since th os is recognizing that it is available, but failing to give me access to it.

this might not be the right place for this question, but if someone could walk me through the process of accessing active usb directories and force mounting them to the desktop, that would solvve all my problems.

if this isn't the right place for a question like this, apologies.

Seriously. What have you tried. Everything?

So,.. Disk Utility says what? (and there is an OS X forum here by the way)
Does Disk Utility see the drive, but not the disk?
Do the disks show up after you reboot?
How old are the disks, and what format are they?
If the disks are new, have they been formatted yet?

Did you buy the drive new, or used?
Does the drive work with another machine?