ALSOFT DISKWARRIOR FOR MAC
ALSOFT DISKWARRIOR UPDATE
ALSOFT DISKWARRIOR FULL

Or you can make the kind of mistake that results in deleted folders or erased disks.

Media, such as hard drives, eventually fails. Krishna Krishna JanuAlsoft, Disk Warrior 5.I’ve said it countless times: it’s not a question of if you will lose data, but when.

ALSOFT DISKWARRIOR FOR MAC

Minor problems with my Retina Macbook Pro aside, the added flexibility of running DiskWarrior 5 (from Flash drive, hard drive, and even the OS X Recovery partition) make it a must buy for Mac users. Outside of a clean install, DiskWarrior is the best method to insure that your Mac’s hard drive is running in tip-top shape. Note that a downloadable version will require you to also select the Flash drive or CD drive option.ĭiskWarrior has fixed several problematic issues on various drives I have owned throughout the years. Delivery methods include Flash drives, CD drives, and even downloads (through Alsoft’s website). Upgrading from an earlier version of DiskWarrior will set you back $60. I generally run DiskWarrior once a month to help stave off any potential issues. The price seems steep until you realize that data recovery can cost up to several thousands of dollars (with no guarantee). setting than something that a consumer would use.ĭiskWarrior 5 sells for $120US. I can see these features used in more of an I.T. In DiskWarrior 5’s menu, you can optionally restrict drives from being rebuilt and or dismounted. The Files tab lets you repair disk permissions and scan files and folders for potential damage. If you want more control, you can go with “manual diagnostics”, to test specific volumes and devices. DiskWarrior 5 can check for drive malfunction, hourly, daily, or weekly.

ALSOFT DISKWARRIOR FULL

If you have a slew of drives attached to one Mac, or if you manage a lab full of Macs, this can be a handy feature to have around. In the hardware tab, you can set up notifications to alert you if your drive is on the verge of malfunction. After running through a battery of 10 automated steps, DiskWarrior will let you know whether or not your drive’s directory tree was successfully rebuilt. You can easily rebuild any drive’s directory tree by clicking the “Rebuild” button. A value between 8 to 10 (indicated by a green bar) on the Directory Optimization Index indicates that the directory tree is pretty efficient. Anything between a 5 and a 7 on the index (indicated by a yellow bar) is inefficient (and potentially problematic) and requires rebuilding of the directory tree. I was able to access and run DiskWarrior using the OS X Recovery partition from both Macs.įor each drive attached to your Mac, you can quickly see the Directory Optimization Index.

On my 13″ Retina Macbook Pro, however, the boot sequence stalled at the Apple logo for nearly 5 minutes until I was forced to reboot. On my seven year old Mac Pro, the Flash drive booted up without any issue. My first impressions of DiskWarrior 5 are pretty good, despite a minor hiccup or two. It’s backwards compatible with all Macs running 10.5.8 or later, supporting even PowerPC Macs(!)ĭiskWarrior won’t win any design awards, but it looks good and (more importantly) gets the job done.It’s easy to see the efficiency of your drive’s directory structure thanks to its updated interface.It’s 64-bit, allowing it to run on much larger drives.Alternatively, DiskWarrior 5 can now also run from the OS X Recovery partition (unless your startup drive has partition table damage). First and foremost, the application now comes on a bootable Flash drive, making those long, painful boot times from disc a thing of the past. When Alsoft announced a newly minted DiskWarrior 5.0 a few weeks ago, I was pleased. As such, an entire generation of modern Mac users may not even be aware that a powerful program like DiskWarrior even exists. Despite its age, DiskWarrior 4 still works with modern Macs, as long as you either have a DVD drive attached to your Mac (to load the program from disc) or you have DiskWarrior installed on a separate bootable hard drive. (Typing that last sentence makes me feel even older.) Long time Mac users will note that DiskWarrior is 30 years old, shipping shortly after the first Macs were released.Ĭomparing its lengthy history with present day computing, the previous version of DiskWarrior feels like a relic from a bygone era.

To put some perspective: DiskWarrior 4.0 is so old it actually shipped on a CD.

ALSOFT DISKWARRIOR UPDATE

The venerable Mac disk repair utility had its last major update (version 4.0) nearly 8 years ago, when it was re-engineered to work with Intel-based Macs. Alsoft’s DiskWarrior was getting so long in the tooth, I thought the program had been quietly put out to pasture.

Alsoft diskwarrior