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DiskWarrior 5 debuts, offers full 64-bit support, flash drive option
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MacNN Staff
Join Date: Jul 2012
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A once-essential utility for Mac owners has returned after several years of only minor updates with a major new version that offers significant changes and improvements. DiskWarrior 5.0 by Alsoft is something of a one-trick pony, in that it primarily repairs and optimizes OS X directories -- but this can often be used to save data from failing hard drives, prevent failures in the first place, or rescue data from flash drives where directory corruption is a common problem, among other instances. The new 5.0 version supports Apple Fusion and CoreStorage homebrew "Fusion" drives, repairs partition table damage (especially vital for multi-system boot users) and much more.
The software is now offered for new purchases on flash drives (along with a download), and only on flash drive for upgraders. The $120 utility has a stellar reputation for repairing improperly-ejected drives, cleaning up directory issues before they become problems, making directory lookup faster and even offering a recovery tool to extract data from an unrepairable drive. The new version can now launched directly from the Recovery HD partition of recent OS X versions, and can boot Mac systems going back to PowerPC machines running 10.5.8 independently of the boot drive, allowing major repairs to be done on an otherwise-inaccessible drive.
While the previous version, 4.4, was able to work in the latest OS X releases such as Mavericks and Yosemite, the new version is said to be up to twice as fast at operations, due to the fully 64-bit native support now included. The software also features a method to update existing DiskWarrior recovery flash drives made by users to the latest version, and now includes the ability to repair GUID partition table damage -- a frequent complaint from users who have a dual-boot system in place.
Version 5.0 offers a new architecture that can repair and support both PowerPC and Intel Macs that can no longer run the latest versions of OS X, while improving its support for more recent machines by detecting and repairing more disk problems. It also offers the ability to recover more data from drives with hardware malfunctions, says the company, and can now repair Time Machine backup disks that often had enormous directories, thanks to the 64-bit memory addressing of the new version.
The software requires 10.5.8 or later, but can boot or work on both PPC and Intel-based systems. It also includes S.M.A.R.T. monitoring tools that can alert users well ahead of actual disk failure. While the need for recovery software such as DiskWarrior has lessened over the years as more people utilize Time Machine and other tools to make regular, automatic backups, the program can continue to be a lifesaver for those who experience sudden failure and need to resume work quickly or who do not opt to make constant, always-updated backups. Existing users of DiskWarrior 4 can upgrade to the new version for $60. The company still sells DiskWarrior 2.1 for systems too old to be used with DiskWarrior 4.
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Last edited by NewsPoster; Dec 10, 2014 at 08:12 AM.
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Dec 2014
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Intrigued, I went to the Alsoft website, purchased the software, and downloaded it. So the comment above that it is not downloadable, should be fixed.
Also, I happened to notice that the upgrade price is $59.95 not $69.
Editors, anywhere?
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Maitland, FL
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My fault, but I was quoting the company's press release. Perhaps they have changed their minds due to user feedback from sites like MacUpdate. The pricing error was just a typo -- 9 is next to 0. Thanks for catching that, and letting us know.
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Charles Martin
MacNN Editor
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Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York City
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I bought my upgrade yesterday.
If you're upgrading, it's only available on the physical flash drive. If you're buying a new copy, it's downloadable.
I've used it since version ONE... and have a 4-digit serial number to prove it. ;-)
DiskWarrior has saved my bacon (along with many, many friends' and colleagues', too) countless times over the years. It's utility cannot be overstated. It's part of my regular disk maintenance and backup routine.
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Absolutely fabulous s/w. It's a must have.
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Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: Aug 2001
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I think it's incredibly backwards to force people to get a flash drive if all they want (or need) is the software. I live in Europe, why should I pay for shipping for that damn USB stick? It's not 1997 anymore, offer a download-only version already.
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Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: Nov 2003
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Huh. I used to swear by my trusty DiskWarrior, but at some point I totally forgot about it. Good to hear they're still around, but I certainly haven't missed it. I manage a small office of about 20 Macs and the only issues I ever see these days are people complaining about their wireless mice and keyboards not connecting. Every machine backs up with TimeMachine in case something big ever does go wrong.
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Aug 2001
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Time Machine and other forms of regular backup have definitely diminished the NEED for DiskWarrior, but I'd say it still justifies its price for people who fail to routinely back up (or do so infrequently, and don't want to lose a day or week's work), and for optimizing the directory, which I think improves performance as much or more than "defragging." Given that I only have to pay for an upgrade like every four years or so, I don't mind the price.
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Charles Martin
MacNN Editor
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Dedicated MacNNer
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DW is part of my tool box. Admittedly, I *have* been using it much less for the past 2-3 years. Probably due to journalling, Time Machine, and fewer bugs in the file system drivers. But when a problem is encountered, I prefer using DW to fix it instead of Disk Utility. DW has a better chance of recovering recent data, while I suspect DU just rolls the journal back.
I'll be looking at DW 5.
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'Tis a pity Alsoft appears to offer no downloadable demo of DW 5. Plus there's no option to pay with AmEx or via PayPal.
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