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You are here: MacNN Forums > Software - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Applications > DiskWarrior 3.0.3/OS/X 10.4.11 Concerns

DiskWarrior 3.0.3/OS/X 10.4.11 Concerns
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gulmatan
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Jan 16, 2009, 01:24 AM
 
Hi all,

As I'm noticing my G4 PB, perfoming sluggishly, I decided to perform both DiskUtility and DiskWarrior maintenance. Since they have different functions, that's why I ran both.

Well, the Disk Utility did its jobs repairing permissions and directory errors.

BUT, DiskWarrior proved to be a snail and beast. DW went through steps one through four nicely BUT, when step 5 came, "Locating Directory Data," that's when things turned fishy. Five, ten, fidteen minutes go by without a progression to step 6. DW's still looking locating directory data. Well, naturally, as is my reflex, I decided to Force Quit. The dialog says "DW's wasn't responding. So, i issued a Force Quit.

Well, to cut a long story short, my HD wasn't mounting on the desktop. Fortunately a run of Disk Utility mounted my drive back up.

Several questions arise here:

1--Because DiskWarrior has trouble locating my directory data, a--is DW not a safe utility to run or, if I have a directory issue, wouldn't DiskUtility pick it up? Next, if DW is correct in that since it's having trouble which means my directories have problem, how and what util should I use to fix these?

2--Since I went through these actions, did I lose any data in the process? Since DW was only looking, trying to locate directory data, there shouldn't be concern for data loss, right?

Please advise. Thank you.
( Last edited by gulmatan; Jan 16, 2009 at 01:34 AM. )
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Big Mac
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Jan 16, 2009, 02:38 AM
 
There wouldn't be any data loss due to DW because DW confirms changes with you and asks if you want to proceed before changing anything. You didn't get to that step, so nothing was changed. It's probably a better idea to run DW 4 instead of 3, though.

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CharlesS
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Jan 16, 2009, 03:04 AM
 
You want to run the latest version of DiskWarrior, but be aware that it is possible for DW to take a long time to get through its steps, especially if the drive is badly messed up. Be prepared to leave it running for hours if you have to. DiskWarrior isn't fast, but it is a very accurate and powerful tool. And of course you can click the "Preview" button and make sure everything's okay with the replacement directory before DiskWarrior changes a thing on the disk.

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gulmatan  (op)
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Jan 16, 2009, 03:19 AM
 
Originally Posted by CharlesS View Post
You want to run the latest version of DiskWarrior, but be aware that it is possible for DW to take a long time to get through its steps, especially if the drive is badly messed up. Be prepared to leave it running for hours if you have to. DiskWarrior isn't fast, but it is a very accurate and powerful tool. And of course you can click the "Preview" button and make sure everything's okay with the replacement directory before DiskWarrior changes a thing on the disk.
Is the fact that DW takes long, long stretches of time to do its work the reason I saw "(not responding)" in the Force Quit window? On another note, under regular circumstances, if a drive is error-free, would the "Looking for Directory Data" take upward of 15 minutes?
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Spheric Harlot
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Jan 16, 2009, 03:23 AM
 
Yes.

What it does is very low-level and possibly flies under the radar of the Activitiy Viewer.
     
CharlesS
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Jan 16, 2009, 04:50 AM
 
A "not responding" method doesn't necessarily mean that the app is locked up. It just means that it isn't responding to external commands from the OS, which often times is because an app is locked up, but sometimes can just mean that the app is really, really busy. In DiskWarrior's case, this is what's going on.

An example is my old, long-defunct BootCD app. I never got around to making it multithreaded, so it would always show up as "not responding" in the process viewer - because it couldn't respond, since the main thread was busy running the boot CD creation method. In DiskWarrior's case, it doesn't even let you move its window while it's scanning a disk. DW is just an app that does not want to be bothered while it is working.

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gulmatan  (op)
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Jan 16, 2009, 05:13 AM
 
Originally Posted by CharlesS View Post
A "not responding" method doesn't necessarily mean that the app is locked up. It just means that it isn't responding to external commands from the OS, which often times is because an app is locked up, but sometimes can just mean that the app is really, really busy. In DiskWarrior's case, this is what's going on.

An example is my old, long-defunct BootCD app. I never got around to making it multithreaded, so it would always show up as "not responding" in the process viewer - because it couldn't respond, since the main thread was busy running the boot CD creation method. In DiskWarrior's case, it doesn't even let you move its window while it's scanning a disk. DW is just an app that does not want to be bothered while it is working.
I like how you put it, "DW is just an app that does not want to be bothered while it is working." which brings up a good question. If, when I see "Not Reesponding" for an app. how can I check (or use Process Viewer correctly) to see what the app in question is doing. That way, I can see if an app's really stuck or doin' its thing and doesn't wanna be bothered?
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Hal Itosis
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Jan 16, 2009, 02:58 PM
 
Originally Posted by gulmatan View Post
BUT, DiskWarrior proved to be a snail and beast. DW went through steps one through four nicely BUT, when step 5 came, "Locating Directory Data," that's when things turned fishy. Five, ten, fidteen minutes go by without a progression to step 6. DW's still looking locating directory data.
When DW chokes on step 5, i'd say 7 out of 10 times that means the disk has bad blocks.
Did you see a tiny message in the DW window saying: Speed inhibited by disk malfunction

?

Anyway, i'd be thinking about doing backups and maybe getting a new HD, if that situation persists.
-HI-
     
gulmatan  (op)
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Jan 16, 2009, 03:07 PM
 
Hal, when I've run DW, I never saw the alert on any part of the screen. If the "Speed inhibited…" message does come up, how would I notice it?
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Hal Itosis
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Jan 16, 2009, 03:11 PM
 
Originally Posted by gulmatan View Post
Hal, when I've run DW, I never saw the alert on any part of the screen. If the "Speed inhibited…" message does come up, how would I notice it?
It's not an alert... it's a tiny text message inside the DW window (somewhere, i forget).

Here's a quick >google<
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gulmatan  (op)
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Jan 16, 2009, 03:38 PM
 
WOW!!! On that Google list, one guy had to wait 70, yup 70 hours for DW to do its work. And I'm panicking about 15 minutes. Boy do I feel like a schmuck!!! Anyway, thanks for looking it up on Google. Awfully nice of you.

Anyway, if and when I run DW, now that I know DW will alert me of this "Speed inhibited…" issue, I'll pay closer attention to DW and watch closer to its windows and screens.

**Next question. Since it's high time I consider making a mirror/clone of my internal HD, how do I do that with C-cubed (Carbon Copy Cloner)?
( Last edited by gulmatan; Jan 16, 2009 at 03:54 PM. )
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Hal Itosis
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Jan 16, 2009, 03:53 PM
 
Just make sure your backups are in good order.
Most PowerBooks I had needed their HDs replaced.
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