An open community 
of Macintosh users,
for Macintosh users.

FineTunedMac Dashboard widget now available! Download Here

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2
Mac Maintenance Work Flow
#39083 02/25/16 06:09 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 8
Ira L Offline OP
OP Offline

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 8
In another posting Mac Maniac said:
"Looking at your weekly maintenance work-flow, I'm struck by how similar it is to what mine USED to be....since about the advent of Lion (10.7) and subsequent OS upgrades, I've not needed to intervene in the smooth working of my installed-base on any of the several different platforms I run. Up through Snow Leopard (10.6.8) I was much more likely to employ at least one or two of my various maintenance utilities fairly regularly.

I'm interested to see if my experience in this respect is valid or isolated...."

I would agree with you. In addition to regular backups, I used to run Disk Warrior and Disk Utility on a semi-weekly basis, just because they were there and for the perceived (actual?) benefits.

Now I don't use them (still backup, of course!) and I have not seen any change in "the smooth working of my installed-base".

Last edited by alternaut; 02/26/16 04:04 PM. Reason: Moved from 'Mac OS X Applications'
Re: Mac Maintenance Work Flow
Ira L #39089 02/25/16 11:15 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 14
Offline

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 14
Like you I used to use Disk Warrior regularly but now it's only periodically. The most likely event is when something seems not quite right and I'll do a directory rebuild. I did that several weeks ago but can't remember the time prior.


ryck

"What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits" The Doobie Brothers

iMac (Retina 5K, 27", 2020), 3.8 GHz 8 Core Intel Core i7, 8GB RAM, 2667 MHz DDR4
OS Ventura 13.6.3
Canon Pixma TR 8520 Printer
Epson Perfection V500 Photo Scanner c/w VueScan software
TM on 1TB LaCie USB-C
Re: Mac Maintenance Work Flow
ryck #39099 02/26/16 05:07 AM
Banned
Offline
Banned

Joined: Nov 2015
My most recent experience with Onyx, regarding booting into Safe Mode on my Mac Mini and resolving the subsequent issues I had with that (which the OS could not resolve), certainly re-enforces my belief in using it on a regular basis. Its cleanup tasks do save some disk space (not a great amount, but something is better than nothing), and thus when I eventually do my backups, they are as "lean and clean" as possible.

As for TechTool Pro, it rarely reveals any issues, but a primary reason for that is how often I use it (along with Onyx, and permanently removing deleted EMails in Outlook). I do see benefit in doing the Surface Scan of my drives, and also the Volume Rebuild for my drives.

I guess I could do these tasks less often, but as I previously stated, it is in my DNA, along with my firm belief in being proactive regarding disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs, and of course backups. But, that's just me.

To each his/her own, I guess.

Last edited by honestone; 02/26/16 05:15 AM.
Re: Mac Maintenance Work Flow
honestone #39107 02/26/16 02:58 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 14
Offline

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 14
Originally Posted By: honestone
As for TechTool Pro, it rarely reveals any issues, but a primary reason for that is how often I use it...

I have TechTool Pro 6, which I use even less often than Disk Warrior and yet, like you, I rarely have issues. For me, like Mac Maniac, weekly preventive maintenance is history. My approach has become, "If it ain't broke....".

Originally Posted By: honestone
I guess I could do these tasks less often, but as I previously stated, it is in my DNA, along with my firm belief in being proactive regarding disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs, and of course backups. But, that's just me.

To each his/her own, I guess.

Of course, I could not agree more.

Last edited by ryck; 02/26/16 02:58 PM.

ryck

"What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits" The Doobie Brothers

iMac (Retina 5K, 27", 2020), 3.8 GHz 8 Core Intel Core i7, 8GB RAM, 2667 MHz DDR4
OS Ventura 13.6.3
Canon Pixma TR 8520 Printer
Epson Perfection V500 Photo Scanner c/w VueScan software
TM on 1TB LaCie USB-C
Re: Mac Maintenancd Work Flow
ryck #39109 02/26/16 04:51 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 5
Moderator
Offline
Moderator

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 5
I'm pretty much a plank owner in the TechTool Pro world, having owned almost every version since inception. I used to employ it routinely to resolve minor (to major) issues on my own and many other Mac's in my circle. Today, I find myself delaying upgrades due to not having used the (then current) v7 that I've had since it came out....finally, if only to support the manufacturer, and "just in case" my El Capitan installed base shows a need, I upgraded to v8 just last week.

I bought an e-download of DiskWarrior a couple years ago to address a critical failure on my Mother-in-law's iMac when a power outage took out her directory....haven't really needed to use it since. Still at v4.4 although v5 has been out for a while. That "one trick pony" is still the go to utility for directory damage, but barring catastrophic external events, I haven't seen nearly the frequency or intensity of damaged directories that used to be almost routine....and the native Disk Utility has been able to repair nearly all that I've seen in the past two years.

I used to clone a backup regularly using Carbon Copy Cloner from Mike Bombich, however, when Disk Utility started to encompass the same capability natively (using the "Restore" feature) I haven't gone third party to make a clone for a REALLY long time.

With the advent of SSHD's in many of my machines, surface scans and defragmenting have actually become damaging to the longevity of the SSHD due to wear leveling and the limited lifetime of the underlying memory that replaced the spinning rust medium of a conventional hard drive. Something that many knowledgable folks often miss is that the algorithms designed to "defrag" or "optimize" a hard drive for faster read/write access move date on the drive into physical positions that allow the floating head to capture the data more efficiently as it flies past....this doesn't mean that the data is now located in adjacent sectors, but more likely that it is scattered across sectors and tracks that the read/write head can reposition to most conveniently. To run this same algorithm on an SSHD where there are no moving parts only creates unnecessary read/write events and ages the wear-leveling lifetime of the memory prematurely.....same goes for the surface scan function.

The CRON maintenance scripts that used to benefit from manual intervention using such tools as Cronnix, Cocktail, Onyx and many more are no longer run using CRON, but have been integrated into the launchd suite of background Unix level actions that "just work".....haven't dealt with Daily/Weekly/Monthly CRON jobs now forever.

So, at least in my case, the need for third-party utilities to maintain a properly optimized and smoothly functioning OS X install has almost completely been overcome by the progressive maturation of the OS X environment.


Freedom is never free....thank a Service member today.
Re: Mac Maintenance Work Flow
ryck #39110 02/26/16 04:57 PM
Banned
Offline
Banned

Joined: Nov 2015
Originally Posted By: ryck
Originally Posted By: honestone
As for TechTool Pro, it rarely reveals any issues, but a primary reason for that is how often I use it...

I have TechTool Pro 6, which I use even less often than Disk Warrior and yet, like you, I rarely have issues. For me, like Mac Maniac, weekly preventive maintenance is history. My approach has become, "If it ain't broke....".


Understand. Also, if you were to upgrade the Mac OS, you would need to upgrade TechTool Pro.

And yes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is understandable. Given that I do some simple maintenance on my cars myself (not due to anything being broken, although when that does happen, I attempt to "fix" it on my own (if I can, which is getting to be more and more of a challenge with newer automobiles)), I follow the same practice with my Macs. Actually, Onyx is doing more "fixing" by all its cleanup related tasks. As I suspect you know, and based on what features I run, for TechTool Pro, the only "fixing" it is doing is the Volume Rebuild, and File Optimization tasks (for HDDs, it would also be fixing things via Volume Optimization, but for SSDs, that task is no longer applicable, nor recommended). For the other tasks I use it for, it is just checking things and letting me know if there are any issues. If TechTool Pro were to find any issues, I'd have to see what additional tools it, or Disk Warrior, have to get them resolved. Given that I never see any, I actually don't know what those are.

I do appreciate your take on this. For myself, the tasks I perform with Onyx and TechTool Pro are mainly for "peace of mind", although I also prefer to have "lean and clean" backups when I run SuperDuper! for backing up. My use of such tools is just about the same as the "extra" maintenance I am doing on our cars, so it could be overkill. As I mentioned before, about the only recent incident where this helped was when I had the issue of booting into Safe Mode on my Mac MIni, running OS 10.11.3. It did not happen on my MacBook Air, which made it more difficult to determine why it happened. El Capitan could not help, but Onyx resolved the issues for me. I actually do not know if TechTool Pro or Disk Warrior could have helped, given that Onyx actually does some "real" cleaning.

In any event, thanks for your comments.

Re: Mac Maintenancd Work Flow
MacManiac #39112 02/26/16 05:08 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 8
Ira L Offline OP
OP Offline

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 8
Originally Posted By: MacManiac
I used to clone a backup regularly using Carbon Copy Cloner from Mike Bombich, however, when Disk Utility started to encompass the same capability natively (using the "Restore" feature) I haven't gone third party to make a clone for a REALLY long time.


Could you elaborate on how/where Disk Utility does a clone. Under 10.11.x a quick look at Disk Utility does not show anything along these lines. Thanks.


On a Mac since 1984.
Currently: 24" M1 iMac, M2 Pro Mac mini with 27" BenQ monitor, M2 Macbook Air, MacOS 14.x; iPhones, iPods (yes, still) and iPads.
Re: Mac Maintenance Work Flow
honestone #39113 02/26/16 05:22 PM
Banned
Offline
Banned

Joined: Nov 2015
Regarding MacManiac's post above (too long to quote), I am well aware that Volume Optimization is no longer needed, nor recommended, for SDDs. File Optimization, on the other hand, appears to be OK. As for Surface Scans, based on what Micromat TechSupport says on their forums about that, they are not harmful. Here is a quote of one of those posts:

"The name of the Surface Scan test is not particularly apt for SSD drives, but the test is still valid. It is simply reading blocks, one after another, to make sure that they can be read. We have had customers run the Surface Scan to check SD cards used in cameras, and a few have been found to be defective.

Save the results of the Surface Scan, so it a later lest finds errors (unremapped bad blocks), you will have a good basis for a warranty claim."

So, it does not appear to be harmful. Again, it is not actually doing any repairs with the Surface Scan.

I also only have V4.4 of Disk Warrior, and if I do need to use it for looking at, and repairing, the SSDs inside either of my Macs, I need to boot from my SuperDuper! backup and run it from there. (TechTool Pro, on the other hand, lets one create an eDrive partition on an internal drive, similar to the Recovery HD partition created by the Mac OS). So, I also don't need to upgrade it, unless V4.4 becomes incompatible with a future version of the Mac OS.

Finally, there is the constant "back and forth" about what software to use for backups, and there are pros and cons to either argument. I use SuperDuper!, preferring to have an easy and fast way to recover from a catastrophe (and based on what I mentioned about Disk Warrior, it is required for me to have a clone). SuperDuper! does have one defect: it does not backup the Recovery HD partition, whereas Carbon Copy Cloner does. That is not an issue for me, given that there are at least two easy ways to recreate it. Also, I would use the tools on the SuperDuper! backup anyway to try and do any "serious" repairs to the SSDs inside either of my Macs. For the Recovery HD partition, only Disk Utility is available for such repairs. But on my SuperDuper! backups, I can choose to use Disk Utility, TechTool Pro, and/or Disk Warrior. I like that.

Another advantage of a clone (and especially if it is "lean and clean") is that if one were to get another Mac (especially a new one), and assuming one is using all the up to date items on their Mac (that is my situation), then one can get that other Mac up and running real quick via the SuperDuper! restore function. Yes, the OS is the same, but it would be the applications that one uses where this si an excellent advantage. (Additionally, when purchasing new Macs from third party sources, it often happens that the installed OS is Yosemite, instead of El Capitan. It's often even worse for older, used Macs).

Last edited by honestone; 02/26/16 05:56 PM.
Re: Mac Maintenancd Work Flow
Ira L #39114 02/26/16 05:25 PM
Banned
Offline
Banned

Joined: Nov 2015
Originally Posted By: Ira L
Originally Posted By: MacManiac
I used to clone a backup regularly using Carbon Copy Cloner from Mike Bombich, however, when Disk Utility started to encompass the same capability natively (using the "Restore" feature) I haven't gone third party to make a clone for a REALLY long time.


Could you elaborate on how/where Disk Utility does a clone. Under 10.11.x a quick look at Disk Utility does not show anything along these lines. Thanks.


Yeah, I'd like to see that also. I have yet to encounter that.

Re: Mac Maintenancd Work Flow
Ira L #39116 02/26/16 05:26 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 5
Moderator
Offline
Moderator

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 5
Yeah, Ira....

My bad!

In El Capitan, the "Restore" function has been pulled out of the visible selection choices, but remains available for you to choose under the "Edit" pull-down menu.

There is an Apple Support article HERE if you want to get it straight from the horses' mouth....

Hi Honestone, looks like you jumped in while I was drafting my reply to Ira...

(edited to include Honestone)



Last edited by MacManiac; 02/26/16 05:28 PM.

Freedom is never free....thank a Service member today.
Re: Mac Maintenancd Work Flow
honestone #39118 02/26/16 05:47 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 5
Moderator
Offline
Moderator

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 5
One of the additional tools that I didn't mention in my original review of third-party utilities is actually a native capability in OS X, that is the Unix command line accessed via the Terminal application in /Applications/Utilities.

Where I have found this to be increasingly useful is for late-breaking OS capabilities for which there isn't (yet) a graphic user interface access available.

When I upgraded my Wife's MB Pro 15" to an SSHD, I followed the guidance in the article linked HERE to enable the trim function for a non-Apple SSHD.....prior to Yosemite 10.10.4 and subsequent OS releases, a third-party enabler was required.

Last edited by MacManiac; 02/26/16 05:48 PM.

Freedom is never free....thank a Service member today.
Re: Mac Maintenancd Work Flow
MacManiac #39119 02/26/16 05:53 PM
Banned
Offline
Banned

Joined: Nov 2015
Originally Posted By: MacManiac
Yeah, Ira....

My bad!

In El Capitan, the "Restore" function has been pulled out of the visible selection choices, but remains available for you to choose under the "Edit" pull-down menu.

There is an Apple Support article HERE if you want to get it straight from the horses' mouth....


As your link states (and what I stated above), one can also boot to the Recovery HD partition to perform the same function/functions.

Originally Posted By: MacManiac
Hi Honestone, looks like you jumped in while I was drafting my reply to Ira...

(edited to include Honestone)




Yeah, such "timing/mis-timing" happens! I assume my comments are valid.

Re: Mac Maintenancd Work Flow
honestone #39121 02/26/16 06:13 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 5
Moderator
Offline
Moderator

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 5
Yeah, when I upgraded my wife's MB Pro to an SSHD last month, I used the Recovery Partition to access Disk Utility and then Restore the contents of her hard drive onto the SSHD as a bootable clone......not quite as simple as I would have liked, but effective. FWIW, the clone on the SSHD included a recovery partition....

As far as validating your comments, I'm not here for that.....your comments stand on their own. Your processes as you've described them are obviously functional to your needs and have worked for a good while.....doesn't necessarily make them the ONLY way to get the job done and doesn't necessarily make them right or wrong if someone else has a different solution.

Glad to see you here.

(edited to add info on the clone's Recovery Partition...

Last edited by MacManiac; 02/26/16 06:32 PM.

Freedom is never free....thank a Service member today.
Re: Mac Maintenancd Work Flow
MacManiac #39123 02/26/16 06:37 PM
Banned
Offline
Banned

Joined: Nov 2015
Originally Posted By: MacManiac
Yeah, when I upgraded my wife's MB Pro to an SSHD last month, I used the Recovery Partition to access Disk Utility and then Restore the contents of her hard drive onto the SSHD as a bootable clone......not quite as simple as I would have liked, but effective.


That's where having a clone comes in handy.

Originally Posted By: MacManiac
As far as validating your comments, I'm not here for that.....your comments stand on their own. Your processes as you've described them are obviously functional to your needs and have worked for a good while.....doesn't necessarily make them the ONLY way to get the job done and doesn't necessarily make them right or wrong if someone else has a different solution.

Glad to see you here.


I probably used some "incorrect" terminology, but I certainly DID NOT mean that my way is the only way. Heck, in one of my posts above, I agreed with Ira L's comments, and I still would echo those same thoughts. I am definitely trying to keep things cordial, ie, "Go along, and we'll get along". So far, I firmly believe I am accomplishing that. I think you are misinterpreting my statements, and I hope that changes based on what I am saying. And to put it more succinctly: honestone's way is NOT the only way.

In any event, glad to participate cordially in this discussion. I feel all of us can make various contributions to this discussion.

Re: Mac Maintenancd Work Flow
MacManiac #39124 02/26/16 06:47 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 7
Online

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 7
Thanks for the link to the article about DU's Restore function. One of the advantages of SuperDuper and Carbon Copy Cloner is that they can make incremental updates in a fraction of the time needed for a full clone. On my SSD clone, for example (connected via Thunderbolt 2), the update takes between 2 and 3 minutes. On my Hitachi HDD (connected via Thunderbolt), it takes between 5 and 6 minutes. A full clone takes 25 or 40 minutes, respectively. For the record, I'm using CCC as my cloning app.


Jon

macOS 11.7.10, iMac Retina 5K 27-inch, late 2014, 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 1 TB fusion drive, 16 GB RAM, Epson SureColor P600, Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, MS Office 365
Re: Mac Maintenancd Work Flow
honestone #39125 02/26/16 06:53 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 5
Moderator
Offline
Moderator

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 5
We were on the road away from home (and backups) when I did the upgrade, so working with the tools at hand (or waiting....never a good option with the bride...) was what I had to do.

Since the SSHD came empty and unformatted, I had to populate it with what was at hand.

I think you and I are both saying the same thing, i.e., "MacManiac's way is NOT the only way!" just as much as that applies to your way....

One of the cute sayings that I've been known to utter for the past several decades (while teaching other pilots new skills) as a flight instructor has been:

"There are a 1001 ways to skin a cat, so if at the end of the day you find yourself with a naked feline, then YOUR way must have worked!"

Once again, glad to see you here....and looking forward to more.


Freedom is never free....thank a Service member today.
Re: Mac Maintenancd Work Flow
MacManiac #39126 02/26/16 07:50 PM
Banned
Offline
Banned

Joined: Nov 2015
Originally Posted By: MacManiac
We were on the road away from home (and backups) when I did the upgrade, so working with the tools at hand (or waiting....never a good option with the bride...) was what I had to do.

Since the SSHD came empty and unformatted, I had to populate it with what was at hand.


Understand. Hopefully, you did not keep your bride waiting! And of course, there is the old saying, "Keep the woman happy".

Originally Posted By: MacManiac
I think you and I are both saying the same thing, i.e., "MacManiac's way is NOT the only way!" just as much as that applies to your way....

One of the cute sayings that I've been known to utter for the past several decades (while teaching other pilots new skills) as a flight instructor has been:

"There are a 1001 ways to skin a cat, so if at the end of the day you find yourself with a naked feline, then YOUR way must have worked!"

Once again, glad to see you here....and looking forward to more.


Like your quotes. I have some of my own that are applicable. One of course is:

"There's the right way, the wrong way, and the Army way"

In the discussions at hand, there is certainly no right way or wrong way, but definitely no Army way!

And one I have said before, and I could have used it when I was teaching part time to inform the students how to be successful in the course: "Go along, and we'll get along". That one is certainly not obtrusive, is 100% valid, and is excellent, excellent advice, no matter what one is discussing or pursuing.

Last edited by honestone; 02/26/16 08:16 PM.
Re: Mac Maintenance Work Flow
honestone #39129 02/26/16 10:34 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 16
Moderator
Offline
Moderator

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 16
Originally Posted By: honestone
Regarding MacManiac's post above (too long to quote), I am well aware that Volume Optimization is no longer needed, nor recommended, for SDDs. File Optimization, on the other hand, appears to be OK.

The factors that make volume optimization counter-productive are just as much in play with file optimization. Additionally by the very nature of SSDs there is little or no benefit to be gained by either file or volume optimization, so why use up all the CPU cycles it takes and risk shortening the useful life of the SSD?

Originally Posted By: honestone
Another advantage of a clone (and especially if it is "lean and clean") is that if one were to get another Mac (especially a new one), and assuming one is using all the up to date items on their Mac (that is my situation), then one can get that other Mac up and running real quick via the SuperDuper! restore function. Yes, the OS is the same, but it would be the applications that one uses where this si an excellent advantage.

First be sure the clone will boot the new Mac. Macs have only rarely been bootable from versions of OS X older than the one that shipped on the new machine and in El Capitan the closest thing to what used to be called a retail copy of the OS that would boot many different versions is the Recovery Drive so what you have on a given machine is relatively unique. You can still migrate from the clone but that isn't that much faster than migrating from a Time Machine backup.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Mac Maintenance Work Flow
joemikeb #39131 02/26/16 11:09 PM
Banned
Offline
Banned

Joined: Nov 2015
Originally Posted By: joemikeb
Originally Posted By: honestone
Regarding MacManiac's post above (too long to quote), I am well aware that Volume Optimization is no longer needed, nor recommended, for SDDs. File Optimization, on the other hand, appears to be OK.

The factors that make volume optimization counter-productive are just as much in play with file optimization. Additionally by the very nature of SSDs there is little or no benefit to be gained by either file or volume optimization, so why use up all the CPU cycles it takes and risk shortening the useful life of the SSD?


I'd have to see if I am "hurting" anything by doing a File Optimization. I know that TechTool Pro specifically "warns" against doing a Volume Optimization for SSDs, but never for the File Optimization. There are only a few files that need to be "optimized", and also I don't use either of my machines for a significant number of hours each day.

Originally Posted By: joemikeb
Originally Posted By: honestone
Another advantage of a clone (and especially if it is "lean and clean") is that if one were to get another Mac (especially a new one), and assuming one is using all the up to date items on their Mac (that is my situation), then one can get that other Mac up and running real quick via the SuperDuper! restore function. Yes, the OS is the same, but it would be the applications that one uses where this si an excellent advantage.

First be sure the clone will boot the new Mac. Macs have only rarely been bootable from versions of OS X older than the one that shipped on the new machine and in El Capitan the closest thing to what used to be called a retail copy of the OS that would boot many different versions is the Recovery Drive so what you have on a given machine is relatively unique. You can still migrate from the clone but that isn't that much faster than migrating from a Time Machine backup.


I've never run into an issue about booting either of my Macs from the SuperDuper! backup, no matter which original OS each one shipped with. The only issue is how long such a boot process takes (I already posted something about that in the Peripherals area).

And yes, the speed of the migration process from a clone is not much different (if any) from a Time Machine backup. The huge advantage of restoring from a clone, of corse, is how quickly one can be back in business (assuming the internal drive is OK):

1. Boot the Mac to the clone.

2. Use the Restore - all files option in SuperDuper!.

3. It will then completely Erase the drive, and then restore everything exactly from the clone.

4. Reboot the Mac.

Of course, it is a good idea to make sure the clone is "lean and clean", which of course is what I do. And, one needs to update the information on the clone, assuming one is not doing any kind of incremental backups. That is my case, andI have an excellent handle on what kind of updates would need to be made in such a recovery. (It's mainly EMails, Quicken Account Files, and any software updates that were available).

I guess if I really wanted things to be clean, I could first launch Disk Utility from the clone, Erase and Format my SSD drive (only need the 1 partition), and then launch SuperDuper! to do the restore.

Last edited by honestone; 02/27/16 02:15 AM.
Re: Mac Maintenance Work Flow
honestone #39140 02/27/16 08:44 AM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 15
Online

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 15
Originally Posted By: honestone
I also only have V4.4 of Disk Warrior...don't need to upgrade it, unless V4.4 becomes incompatible with a future version of the Mac OS. (Emphasis added)

Originally Posted By: honestone
Current Systems:
Mid 2013 13" MacBook Air with 251 gig Samsung SSD
Late 2012 Mac Mini with 256 gig Samsung 840 Pro SSD
Using OS 10.11.3 on both (Emphasis added)

Originally Posted By: Alsoft
Support News

09/30/2015 - DiskWarrior 4 version 4.4 is Not Compatible with OS X 10.11 El Capitan
DiskWarrior 4 version 4.4 is not compatible with OS X 10.11 or later. To restore complete functionality and to gain additional features, please upgrade to DiskWarrior 5. (Emphasis added)

Edit: Unless, of course, you're aware of something that I haven't run across.

Last edited by artie505; 02/27/16 10:33 AM.

The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Mac Maintenance Work Flow
artie505 #39141 02/27/16 12:54 PM
Banned
Offline
Banned

Joined: Nov 2015
Hmm, did not know that. However, I just launched Disk Warrior V4.4 on my MacBook Air (am using that machine to enter this), running OS 10.11.3, and it ran fine. I could only 1) test my internal SSD, and 2) Check Files and Folders, but those worked fine. For Repairing Permissions, it gave the message "diskutil did not recognize the verb "repairPermissions"; type diskutil for a list". I know also that recently I did run Disk Warrior from my Mac Mini SuperDuper! backup to do other repairs, and it worked fine.

Oh well, I do have Onyx for repairing permissions and other disk cleanup tasks, and TechTool Pro for more disk cleanup, and for disk maintenance/repairs.

Last edited by honestone; 02/27/16 11:35 PM.
Re: Mac Maintenance Work Flow
honestone #39142 02/27/16 02:39 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 5
Moderator
Offline
Moderator

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 5
The Repair Permissions function in TechTool v8 has been properly tested by MicroMat prior to release and is safe for use on OS X 10.11.x El Capitan.....this is why MicroMat didn't release v8 until after El Capitan had been released -- they were still testing it against the final version of the OS.

As I recall, MicroMat was burned pretty badly several years ago when one of the functions in an earlier version of TechTool Pro (that had worked in testing against the pre-release beta of the OS) played havoc with the final release due to some last-minute adjustments that Apple made to the final version....

Disk Warrior v4.4 (and most likely all other legacy utilities), while it might appear to run correctly under El Capitan does NOT have the capability to properly rebuild the directory now because there are MORE functions within the OS today than it (and the legacy utilities) knew about when originally designed and released....this is exactly what ALSOFT has cautioned their user-base about with the warning directing an upgrade to v5.


Freedom is never free....thank a Service member today.
Re: Mac Maintenancd Work Flow
MacManiac #39144 02/27/16 04:07 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 8
Ira L Offline OP
OP Offline

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 8
Originally Posted By: MacManiac
Yeah, Ira....

My bad!

In El Capitan, the "Restore" function has been pulled out of the visible selection choices, but remains available for you to choose under the "Edit" pull-down menu.

There is an Apple Support article HERE if you want to get it straight from the horses' mouth....

Hi Honestone, looks like you jumped in while I was drafting my reply to Ira...

(edited to include Honestone)




Ahh yes, menus to choose from. What a concept! smirk

That's pretty nice. Thanks! The copy is bootable? The article only says "exact" copy.

As pointed out above, the time to create a new and complete copy every time is significantly greater than by other methods mentioned.


On a Mac since 1984.
Currently: 24" M1 iMac, M2 Pro Mac mini with 27" BenQ monitor, M2 Macbook Air, MacOS 14.x; iPhones, iPods (yes, still) and iPads.
Re: Mac Maintenance Work Flow
MacManiac #39148 02/27/16 05:04 PM
Banned
Offline
Banned

Joined: Nov 2015
Originally Posted By: MacManiac
The Repair Permissions function in TechTool v8 has been properly tested by MicroMat prior to release and is safe for use on OS X 10.11.x El Capitan.....this is why MicroMat didn't release v8 until after El Capitan had been released -- they were still testing it against the final version of the OS.

As I recall, MicroMat was burned pretty badly several years ago when one of the functions in an earlier version of TechTool Pro (that had worked in testing against the pre-release beta of the OS) played havoc with the final release due to some last-minute adjustments that Apple made to the final version....

Disk Warrior v4.4 (and most likely all other legacy utilities), while it might appear to run correctly under El Capitan does NOT have the capability to properly rebuild the directory now because there are MORE functions within the OS today than it (and the legacy utilities) knew about when originally designed and released....this is exactly what ALSOFT has cautioned their user-base about with the warning directing an upgrade to v5.


Yeah, I thought about that rebuild directory business with V4.4 of Disk Warrior. Fortunately, that same functionality is part of TechTool Pro.

Regarding when TechTool Pro was upgraded to V 8.0.3 (note the .3) for El Capitan compatibility, as you said, that actually happened AFTER the release of OS 10.11, but before the release of OS 10.11.1. I also suspect that the delay in that release was not due solely to the Repair Permissions feature. I actually never planned to upgrade from Yosemite, OS 10.10.5, to that first version of El Capitan because the first beta of OS 10.11.1 appeared in early August, just about 8 weeks before OS 10.11 was released, and thus I planned to upgrade to OS 10.11.1 anyway. However, it was still my requirement that 5 critical applications needed to be compatible with El Capitan before I upgraded: 1Password, Onyx, Office 2011, SuperDuper!, and TechTool Pro. The upgrades for the first 4 did come out prior to the release of OS 10.11, but as was mentioned, the one for TechTool Pro did not come out then. Even if the upgrade for TechTool Pro would have come out prior to the release of OS 10.11, I still would have waited until OS 10.11.1 was released, which was only 4 weeks later.

Speaking of Repair Permissions, are there any differences for that feature between Onyx and TechTool Pro? I did previously ask that same question on the TechTool Pro forum for El Capitan compatibility, and I never got a definitive answer.

Last edited by honestone; 02/27/16 05:05 PM.
Re: Mac Maintenance Work Flow
honestone #39150 02/27/16 05:40 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 5
Moderator
Offline
Moderator

Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 5
Quote:
Speaking of Repair Permissions, are there any differences for that feature between Onyx and TechTool Pro?


Looking at the release notes for Onyx v3.15 (specifically released for El Capitan), I would be re-assured that the utility should perform properly for the functions it is designed to perform on an El Capitan install.

The Onyx developers have a very credible history of maintaining parity with OS changes as they are released.....the major caveat for most folks would be to ensure that the version of Onyx which they have is appropriate for the version of OS upon which they wish to use it.

As to how it compares under the hood to TechTool Pro v8.x, I couldn't begin to guess....maybe a side by side comparison of each running a permissions repair while monitoring the process using the Terminal and the Unix "top" command line tool????

Using the Terminal to monitor the underlying process, I ran both Onyx3.1.5 and TechTool8.0.3 permissions repair functions in order and saw that both make calls to the same Unix repair_packages tool....so apparently they seem to be identical in their approach.

(edited to add disk permissions repair comparison...)

Last edited by MacManiac; 02/27/16 05:59 PM.

Freedom is never free....thank a Service member today.
Page 1 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  alternaut, cyn 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.4
(Release build 20200307)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 7.4.33 Page Time: 0.043s Queries: 65 (0.028s) Memory: 0.7323 MB (Peak: 0.9345 MB) Data Comp: Zlib Server Time: 2024-03-28 13:36:03 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS