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Dreaming · Dec 11, 2002, 01:56 PM

I am looking for recommendations for keeping my OS X partition running smoothly. (I have OS 10.1.5) I want something I can run periodically as preventive maintenance to (1) check the partition's directory structure and check the system folder for corruption, (2) defragment the partition. I would also like it to be strong enough to repair any damage.

I know that cron tasks and fsck are things I can run within OS X, so that takes care of some of my needs. But what else is required? I heard that DiskWarrior is very good. But there are so many others I have heard of: Drive 10, Xoptimize, MacJanitor, TechTool Pro. Do they do the same thing as DiskWarrior, or are any of them considered a necessary addition?

Also, can anyone recommend a utility that will back up the entire OS X partition (even invisible files so I still have a working OS X in case I need to restore anything)?

Thanks for the recommendations.

chris v · Dec 11, 2002, 01:58 PM

Originally posted by Dreaming:
I am looking for recommendations for keeping my OS X partition running smoothly. (I have OS 10.1.5) I want something I can run periodically as preventive maintenance to (1) check the partition's directory structure and check the system folder for corruption, (2) defragment the partition. I would also like it to be strong enough to repair any damage.

I know that cron tasks and fsck are things I can run within OS X, so that takes care of some of my needs. But what else is required? I heard that DiskWarrior is very good. But there are so many others I have heard of: Drive 10, Xoptimize, MacJanitor, TechTool Pro. Do they do the same thing as DiskWarrior, or are any of them considered a necessary addition?

Also, can anyone recommend a utility that will back up the entire OS X partition (even invisible files so I still have a working OS X in case I need to restore anything)?

Thanks for the recommendations.

Nothing does what DiskWarrior does. Just boot from 9 when you need to run it.

Carbon Copy Cloner is the answer to all your system backup needs.

CV

Millennium · Dec 11, 2002, 02:35 PM

Originally posted by Dreaming:
I am looking for recommendations for keeping my OS X partition running smoothly. (I have OS 10.1.5) I want something I can run periodically as preventive maintenance to (1) check the partition's directory structure and check the system folder for corruption, (2) defragment the partition. I would also like it to be strong enough to repair any damage.

I know that cron tasks and fsck are things I can run within OS X, so that takes care of some of my needs. But what else is required? I heard that DiskWarrior is very good. But there are so many others I have heard of: Drive 10, Xoptimize, MacJanitor, TechTool Pro. Do they do the same thing as DiskWarrior, or are any of them considered a necessary addition?

Also, can anyone recommend a utility that will back up the entire OS X partition (even invisible files so I still have a working OS X in case I need to restore anything)?

Thanks for the recommendations.

DiskWarrior, made by Alsoft, is a one-trick pony, but no one does the trick better. Same goes for PlusOptimizer, made by the same company (and usually included for free on the DiskWarrior CD); the two are generally just called "DiskWarrior" together even though you can buy them separately. DiskWarrior will do the first of the things you want (checking and repairing the filesystem structure) and PlusOptimizer will do the other one (defragging the drive). Both of these currently only run in OS9, but OSX ports are in the works for both.

TechTool Pro, made by MicroMat, is a very good general-purpose diagnostic and repair utility. It can do the same things as DiskWarrior and more, but it doesn't tend to be as good at defragging or filesystem repair as the DW/PO combination is. It only runs in OS9, just like DiskWarrior, so there is no advantag on that score.

Drive10 is also made by MicroMat. It's OSX native, and covers most of the disk-related functions of TechTool Pro. However, it doesn't go into the rest of TTP's functionality.

As a sidenote, the major competitor to these utilities is Norton SystemWorks, made by Symantec. While they used to be the best disk-repair folks around, they've fallen by the wayside in that area somewhat. However, their utilities can be very useful for other things. Just make sure that you never use an old version of Norton on an OSX disk; old versions have bugs which mess things up really badly.

XOptimize and MacJanitor don't do what you're looking for. They're useful in their own right, but they're for other, somewhat less-crucial housekeeping tasks.

Personally, I recommend DiskWarrior and PlusOptimizer. Although you have to boot into OS9 to use them currently (they provide a bootable CD so that you can do this easily), nothing out there is better at disk repair.

Dreaming · Dec 11, 2002, 02:38 PM

Thank you, chris. But I thought Carbon Copy Cloner was just for Jaguar (OS 10.2). Does it work with OS 10.1.5?

TheIceMan · Dec 11, 2002, 04:19 PM

I agree with Millennium. In fact the guys at the Apple Store swear by DiskWarrior. They use it to diagnose and fix customer's desktops/laptops. And they use it for their own personal use. I think that says alot for DiskWarrior. If you want to run it on OS X, wait for DiskWarrior 3.0 it should be coming out soon. Hopefully by the beginning of 2003.

CharlesS · Dec 12, 2002, 05:07 AM

DiskWarrior is the best one for fixing problems with your disk, hands down.

For optimizing the drive, Norton Speed Disk is the best. However, PlusOptimizer tends to be safer, although it doesn't do a true optimization, but rather just a defrag.

chris v · Dec 12, 2002, 08:32 AM

Originally posted by Dreaming:
Thank you, chris. But I thought Carbon Copy Cloner was just for Jaguar (OS 10.2). Does it work with OS 10.1.5?

The most recent version is Jag only. The older (1.5? 1.6?) does work with 10.1, but you can't automatically shedule tasks with it.

CV

Subzero Diesel949 · Dec 12, 2002, 02:35 PM

I've heard bad things about Norton SpeedDisk on OS X drives. Then again, maybe it's me.

DiskWarrior has worked wonders for my two iBooks. But I would hold off until the OS X native version drops soon (I think next month?).

iamnid · Dec 12, 2002, 02:38 PM

Get MacJanitor... I run it periodically and it's supposed to clean things up -- it's a free download from versiontracker.com/macosx

BlackGriffen · Dec 12, 2002, 03:23 PM

Originally posted by iamnid:
Get MacJanitor... I run it periodically and it's supposed to clean things up -- it's a free download from versiontracker.com/macosx

All MJ does is run the system's scheduled cron jobs. This is handy if you aren't leaving your computer on 24/7, but if the computer is on all the time, it won't do anything for you.

I think that the cron jobs are supposed to run at like 3AM (I'd have to check my cron tab for sure, but I'm not home right now), if you're curious. You could also simply move them to a time when you're sure the computer will be on, like noon or something, with a program like cronnix (or any other cron tab management utility).

BlackGriffen

Millennium · 03:44 PM

Originally posted by BlackGriffen:
All MJ does is run the system's scheduled cron jobs. This is handy if you aren't leaving your computer on 24/7, but if the computer is on all the time, it won't do anything for you.

I think that the cron jobs are supposed to run at like 3AM (I'd have to check my cron tab for sure, but I'm not home right now), if you're curious. You could also simply move them to a time when you're sure the computer will be on, like noon or something, with a program like cronnix (or any other cron tab management utility).

The other thing you could do is install anacron, a little utility which looks for cron jobs that have been missed and runs them automatically.

This is a CLI app, best installed via Fink. But once it's installed it runs automatically; you don't ever actually even run it yourself. A real set-it-and-forget-it type of thing; very nice.

[EDIT: Bad vBCode]

mrtew · Dec 13, 2002, 12:22 AM

Originally posted by Millennium:
As a sidenote, the major competitor to these utilities is Norton SystemWorks, made by Symantec. While they used to be the best disk-repair folks around, they've fallen by the wayside in that area somewhat. However, their utilities can be very useful for other things. Just make sure that you never use an old version of Norton on an OSX disk; old versions have bugs which mess things up really badly.

That's very true if you use Norton5 or before on OSX, but Norton6 still works perfectly on Jaguar 10.2.2 (booted up from the CD or an OS9 partition of course.) I use it all the time and it fixes everything and destroys nothing. Truly one fine disk Utility!

CharlesS · Dec 13, 2002, 05:35 AM

Originally posted by mrtew:

That's very true if you use Norton5 or before on OSX, but Norton6 still works perfectly on Jaguar 10.2.2 (booted up from the CD or an OS9 partition of course.) I use it all the time and it fixes everything and destroys nothing. Truly one fine disk Utility!

Maybe it's destroyed nothing for you...

DiskWarrior all the way!

tooki · Dec 13, 2002, 05:54 AM

I have to agree. I've seen Norton do more damage than good. It is by no means a "fine disk utility." It often can't fix certain types of severe corruption, stuff that DW fixes in no time. DiskWarrior is absolutely reliable. I can't recommend it enough. (No, we don't get paid by Alsoft to say that. In fact, we haven't received anything from Alsoft. It's just a fantastic product!) I can't wait till 3.0 comes out.

tooki

P.S. Did you hear that Norton doesn't support HFS+ journaling (running it on a journaled volume causes a kernel panic, in fact), because "Apple doesn't support journaling on OS X client", and Disk Doctor is not verified for use on OS X Server? Umm... yyyeah... I happen to think it's a good idea to run disk utilities on server volumes, seeing as how servers have the bizarre tendency to accumulate important files! (Backups are good, backups and routine disk maintenance are better.)

Xeo · Dec 13, 2002, 06:32 AM

Originally posted by Millennium:

DiskWarrior, made by Alsoft, is a one-trick pony, but no one does the trick better. Same goes for PlusOptimizer, made by the same company (and usually included for free on the DiskWarrior CD); the two are generally just called "DiskWarrior" together even though you can buy them separately. DiskWarrior will do the first of the things you want (checking and repairing the filesystem structure) and PlusOptimizer will do the other one (defragging the drive). Both of these currently only run in OS9, but OSX ports are in the works for both.

TechTool Pro, made by MicroMat, is a very good general-purpose diagnostic and repair utility. It can do the same things as DiskWarrior and more, but it doesn't tend to be as good at defragging or filesystem repair as the DW/PO combination is. It only runs in OS9, just like DiskWarrior, so there is no advantag on that score.

Drive10 is also made by MicroMat. It's OSX native, and covers most of the disk-related functions of TechTool Pro. However, it doesn't go into the rest of TTP's functionality.

As a sidenote, the major competitor to these utilities is Norton SystemWorks, made by Symantec. While they used to be the best disk-repair folks around, they've fallen by the wayside in that area somewhat. However, their utilities can be very useful for other things. Just make sure that you never use an old version of Norton on an OSX disk; old versions have bugs which mess things up really badly.

XOptimize and MacJanitor don't do what you're looking for. They're useful in their own right, but they're for other, somewhat less-crucial housekeeping tasks.

Personally, I recommend DiskWarrior and PlusOptimizer. Although you have to boot into OS9 to use them currently (they provide a bootable CD so that you can do this easily), nothing out there is better at disk repair.

Excellent summarization of the current options.

captain swing · Dec 13, 2002, 12:27 PM

just had major disk problems. neither drive X nor norton could repair them; disk warrior did.

by the way, if you run norton disk doctor over the apple jaguar cd itself you get major errors showing up. what gives?

swing

Dreaming · Jan 2, 2003, 05:27 PM

Originally posted by Subzero Diesel949:
I've heard bad things about Norton SpeedDisk on OS X drives. Then again, maybe it's me.

... No, it's not just you. I did read on Symantec's site that Norton SpeedDisk 6.0.x cannot defragment or optimize OS X drives. It can only examine and repair them (using the DiskDoctor feature).

If you want to defragment OS X volumes, you need to get Norton SpeedDisk 7.0.x.

(I don't know which version you heard the bad things about, but if it was version 6.0, then the above is the explanation.)

superlarry · Jan 3, 2003, 10:38 AM

carbon copy cloner for OSX 10.1.2 to 10.1.5:
http://www.bombich.com/software/files/cccloner.dmg.tgz

found at http://www.versiontracker.com/macosx/

Simon · Jan 4, 2003, 08:14 AM

Originally posted by Millennium:
The other thing you could do is install anacron, a little utility which looks for cron jobs that have been missed and runs them automatically.

This is a CLI app, best installed via Fink. But once it's installed it runs automatically; you don't ever actually even run it yourself. A real set-it-and-forget-it type of thing; very nice.

And in case you don't want to install a programm or you don't want to deal with cron and CLI stuff, you can just open your terminal and type

sudo peridoc daily

It will ask for your password (sudo makes the periodic command get processed with root rights which is what you need and that's why it wants a password) and then do the maintenance jobs cron would have done daily at 3AM. There are also:

sudo periodic weekly

and

sudo periodic monthly

Which do the stuff cron would do weekly or monthly at 3AM. For more info (if you care to use the this stuff and don't mind being in front of the CLI for a bit longer) take a look at

man periodic

Parky · Jan 4, 2003, 09:49 AM

You should probably think about moving to 10.2 as well.

It is a much better version of the OS and will be more stable.

Dreaming · Jan 4, 2003, 12:29 PM

Originally posted by superlarry:
carbon copy cloner for OSX 10.1.2 to 10.1.5:
http://www.bombich.com/software/files/cccloner.dmg.tgz

found at http://www.versiontracker.com/macosx/

Thank you superlarry. I've gone to the site to download it and I'll soon begin using it.

Dreaming · Jan 4, 2003, 12:38 PM

Originally posted by Simon:
... you can just open your terminal and type

sudo peridoc daily

There are also:
sudo periodic weekly
sudo periodic monthly

Which do the stuff cron would do weekly or monthly at 3AM. For more info, take a look at
man periodic

Thank you Simon. I was intrigued with your post because I didn't know of such straightforward commands. I recall reading a tutorial about rescheduling the cron tasks via terminal commands (see the O'Reilly Network http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/ma...e.html?page=2. Reading http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/ma...minal_one.html first is recommended), but it was much more involved than what you've written.

However, when I went to the terminal to type "man periodic," it responded with "no entry for periodic in the manual."

This leads me to ask you this: Are you using OS 10.2 (Jaguar)? I'm using OS 10.1.5, so I'm wondering if "sudo periodic" is something new that applies to Jaguar only.

pinlo · Jan 4, 2003, 02:14 PM

Originally posted by Dreaming:
so I'm wondering if "sudo periodic" is something new that applies to Jaguar only.

Yes, the 'periodic' command was first included with 10.2. It's also the mechanism used by Deja Vu for running backup scripts.

UnixMac · Jan 5, 2003, 11:46 AM

i use and like drive 10, it allows me to also defrag my drives... a big plus.

Simon · Jan 6, 2003, 10:12 AM

Originally posted by Dreaming:
However, when I went to the terminal to type "man periodic," it responded with "no entry for periodic in the manual."

This leads me to ask you this: Are you using OS 10.2 (Jaguar)? I'm using OS 10.1.5, so I'm wondering if "sudo periodic" is something new that applies to Jaguar only.

Originally posted by Pinlo:
Yes, the 'periodic' command was first included with 10.2. It's also the mechanism used by Deja Vu for running backup scripts.

OMG. I must have been much too tired when I aswered your post. I completely overlooked that you had 10.1.5. Sorry! Periodic is a terminal command in Jaguar. If you don't have Jaguar you won't find it. Sorry about that mistake.