Disk First Aid
Level: Novice to Expert
Disk First Aid is a utility that verifies the directory structure of any Mac OS formatted disk. Hard disk, floppy disk, and compact disc (CD) drives are examples of disks that can use this format.
If errors are found on a disk, Disk First Aid can be used as a first step to repair them. If a volume has suffered severe corruption, other utility programs or repair methods may need to be used. Disk First Aid looks for errors in these places:
- Disk volume
- Extent B-tree
- Extent File
- Catalog B-tree
- Catalog File
- Catalog Hierarchy
- Volume Info
- Search for locked volume name
You can save the results of a verification or repair scan as a SimpleText (text) document.
Disk First Aid cannot scan for deleted files or folders on a disk. Third party products can perform these tasks.
Drive Setup
Level: Novice to Expert
This hard drive utility is used for initializing, updating, partitioning, and testing Apple SCSI and IDE hard disks. You should only used Drive Setup with these computers:
- Macintosh computers with a PowerPC microprocessor, including PowerPC-based Performa and PowerBook computers
- Macintosh computers with a 68040 or 68LC040 processor
Notes:- You should not use Drive Setup to update a computer that has the Macintosh Processor Upgrade card installed. If the card is installed in a Macintosh 580 or 630 series computer, use the 601 Processor Upgrade control panel to turn off the card before you use Drive Setup. After you update your hard disk, you can turn the card back on.
- You cannot use Drive Setup to update a PowerBook 150.
- Consult the materials that came with your computer if you are unsure whether your Macintosh falls into one of these categories.
Non-Apple Utilities
Disk Warrior, by Alsoft
Level: Novice to Expert
- Protects against software crashes, hard disk issues, lost files
- Helps you recover from disaster
- Finds and repairs disk problems
- Defragments hard drives using PlusOptimizer, a separate application.
System requirements
- System 7.1 or higher
- 16 MB RAM
- Power Macintosh or Macintosh (68020 or better)
- CD-ROM drive
Norton Utilities, by Symantec
Audience Level: Novice to Expert
- Protects against software crashes, hard disk problems, lost files
- Helps you recover from disaster
- Finds and repairs disk problems
- Defragments hard drives
System requirements
- System 7.1 or higher
- 4 MB RAM required (8 MB recommended)
- Power Macintosh or Macintosh (68020 or better)
- Power Macintosh required for CrashGuard
- CD-ROM drive
TechTool Pro, by MicroMat
Audience Level: Novice to Expert
- Protects against software crashes, hard disk problems, lost files.
- Finds and repairs disk problems.
- Tests performance.
System Requirements
- System Software: n/a
- RAM: n/a
- CPU: n/a
- CD-ROM drive
MacMedic, by Total Recall
Audience Level: Novice to Expert
- Finds and repairs disk problems.
System Requirements
- System Software: n/a
- RAM: n/a
- CPU: n/a
- CD-ROM drive