I was using Nortons Utilities in OS9 but have heard that it's not that good in OSX. I like to keep my system clean (Virgo tendencies) and would love to know what others are using. Disk Warrior gets mentioned a lot, what about Drive 10?
Anybody?
which drive optimizer/defragment program for OSX
-
Randolf Reimann
- Posts: 72
- Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2003 8:41 am
- Location: Byron Bay Australia
- Contact:
-
boisnois
Re: which drive optimizer/defragment program for OSX
ONYX does a great job.Randolf Reimann wrote:I was using Nortons Utilities in OS9 but have heard that it's not that good in OSX. I like to keep my system clean (Virgo tendencies) and would love to know what others are using. Disk Warrior gets mentioned a lot, what about Drive 10?
Anybody?
-
Randolf Reimann
- Posts: 72
- Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2003 8:41 am
- Location: Byron Bay Australia
- Contact:
-
Alex Reynolds
- Posts: 989
- Joined: Sat Jul 13, 2002 5:48 am
- Location: Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Contact:
defragging etc.
the best defrag utillity for OS X at mo' is Micromat Drive 10,
if you purchase b4 31st dec 2004 and register software online---you will get Tech Tool Pro4 (for os x) free.
you can get it via a download from Micromat website, as time is short to qualify for the offer.
if you purchase b4 31st dec 2004 and register software online---you will get Tech Tool Pro4 (for os x) free.
you can get it via a download from Micromat website, as time is short to qualify for the offer.
-
Jonathan Binns
- Posts: 58
- Joined: Wed Jul 16, 2003 12:41 am
- Location: Brooklyn
-
Per Boysen
- Posts: 1058
- Joined: Sat Aug 30, 2003 4:11 pm
- Location: Sweden
- Contact:
In the mid ninties I was using Norton do defrag my Mac drives. Then I was using Windows machines for some years but now when I'm back on Mac, thanks to the G5, I just stuffed it with as much drives I could buy, including an external firewire800 drive. Then I simply move all content and reformat the drive/partition. Takes very little time compared to using a dedicated defragging software "the old way" 
-
Randolf Reimann
- Posts: 72
- Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2003 8:41 am
- Location: Byron Bay Australia
- Contact:
Thanks everybody, I did speak to a Mac tech guy at my not so local music store yesterday and he said he never defrags his drives, he just reformats them every so often.
I'm using a PowerBook and I back up to an 80 gig firewire drive. I think I'll feel safer if I get a second external drive and back up the back ups.
I have no back up of my start up volume and programs, just my audio partition. Should I back it up also? How?
Thanks again all.
I'm using a PowerBook and I back up to an 80 gig firewire drive. I think I'll feel safer if I get a second external drive and back up the back ups.
I have no back up of my start up volume and programs, just my audio partition. Should I back it up also? How?
Thanks again all.
-
Alex Reynolds
- Posts: 989
- Joined: Sat Jul 13, 2002 5:48 am
- Location: Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Contact:
Can't easily beat the free Carbon Copy Cloner:
-- http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html
It will back up your entire hard drive to a bootable disk image or another hard drive in one pass.
-Alex
-- http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html
It will back up your entire hard drive to a bootable disk image or another hard drive in one pass.
-Alex
-
Randolf Reimann
- Posts: 72
- Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2003 8:41 am
- Location: Byron Bay Australia
- Contact:
-
Per Boysen
- Posts: 1058
- Joined: Sat Aug 30, 2003 4:11 pm
- Location: Sweden
- Contact:
-
Per Boysen
- Posts: 1058
- Joined: Sat Aug 30, 2003 4:11 pm
- Location: Sweden
- Contact:
Alex - THANKS !!!Alex Reynolds wrote:Can't easily beat the free Carbon Copy Cloner:
-- http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html
It will back up your entire hard drive to a bootable disk image or another hard drive in one pass.
-Alex
tools and tips for OSX audio
I run about 40 computers which are used for sound design at an art college in the united states. All are OSX and run various software and hardware ranging from Live to ProTools to Native Instruments, etc...
The following is what gets me through life:
1. DiskWarrior - it did wonders in OS9, and if you are on an OS9 bootable machine running OSX, the old version will still do its magic. I have been using the OSX version on OSX boot-only machines and so far it has been great, the biggest disadvantage to this software (and other disk utilities) is the lengthy time it takes to boot up in OSX. The best answer is to keep it on a spare firewire drive. DiskWarrior has saved me soooo many times and for the most part is the first tool I turn to.
2. Norton Utilities - still works magic and occasionally saves the drive that appears to be dead to the world in OS9 and OSX. I highly recommend NEVER installing Norton (or most bootable) disk utilities on your computer. When you run it, boot from it. Installing on your machine will lead to problems. This is pretty much a tech rule.
3. Do not use TechToolPro/Drive 10. I did a lot of testing with this software and while sometimes I got some very favorable results, I also had an extremely high crash rate. Many of the drives that crashed (and were never recoverable) were drives with no previous problems being given a basic diagnosis check. Yes, I know how to use it, and no, I do not recommend their products AT ALL!
4. I highly recommend tools like ONYX if you know what you are doing, it has some outstanding tools built in which can really get you out of tight spots. Much of it is tools which can be accessed through the Terminal...but, it's so much easier to just click a button! As someone had previously posted it gives you the ability to delete caches which are tough to find, to find invisible files that perhaps weren't supposed to be invisible, and the ability to run UNIX scripts (like optimizations) which are on a timed schedule in the background and may have been missed. For freeware this is as good as it gets. However, only use if you know what you are doing...fooling around with your computer is NEVER a good thing if you can't afford the data loss.
5. Carbon Copy Cloner is an amazing application for OSX boot-only machines...for OS9 booting machines I still recommend Apple's Software Restore or ASR. Making images and reloading them on machines is the simplest way to save yourself a lot of time with reinstalling software. Set up a computer exactly how you like it, make an image, and you are done. Just like Ghost on a pc. Make sure to keep good notes on all your serials and challenge/responses for your software and plugins because occasionally one will not work on a reinstall.
VERY IMPORTANT: NEVER INSTALL AN UPDATE WITHOUT BACKING UP IMPORTANT DATA. I can't tell you how many times I've seen good technicians make this simple mistake. Backup regularly and keep numerous copies, perhaps one to an extra hard drive and one to a DVD or CD.
Also: don't use your studio/music-making/money-making computer to download a bunch of stuff and surf the internet...buy a cheap pc...the more sterile you keep your computing/studio environment the fewer headaches you will have. There's nothing wrong with occasional internet browsing, forum reading/writing, and update downloading, but I'd keep it to a minimum. We did a test on two identical labs, both with 21 stations and identical hardware and software loads. One lab had internet access, and one did not. The lab without network had 1/10th the problems of the other lab. Pretty conclusive.
Also also: I highly recommend using a high-quality SCSI drive for all of your audio work, and use a regular separate drive for your system and application files...this way you can make an image with Carbon Copy Cloner, and not worry if your system drive crashes. A quick restore and you are back in business. It also keeps your audio mess from getting mixed with the system and your system mess from getting mixed with your audio.
I know a lot of this was already written, but I wanted to post a good all inclusive list with experience from a real world mulitple computer setup. Specifically computers that deal with sound production.
Good luck.
The following is what gets me through life:
1. DiskWarrior - it did wonders in OS9, and if you are on an OS9 bootable machine running OSX, the old version will still do its magic. I have been using the OSX version on OSX boot-only machines and so far it has been great, the biggest disadvantage to this software (and other disk utilities) is the lengthy time it takes to boot up in OSX. The best answer is to keep it on a spare firewire drive. DiskWarrior has saved me soooo many times and for the most part is the first tool I turn to.
2. Norton Utilities - still works magic and occasionally saves the drive that appears to be dead to the world in OS9 and OSX. I highly recommend NEVER installing Norton (or most bootable) disk utilities on your computer. When you run it, boot from it. Installing on your machine will lead to problems. This is pretty much a tech rule.
3. Do not use TechToolPro/Drive 10. I did a lot of testing with this software and while sometimes I got some very favorable results, I also had an extremely high crash rate. Many of the drives that crashed (and were never recoverable) were drives with no previous problems being given a basic diagnosis check. Yes, I know how to use it, and no, I do not recommend their products AT ALL!
4. I highly recommend tools like ONYX if you know what you are doing, it has some outstanding tools built in which can really get you out of tight spots. Much of it is tools which can be accessed through the Terminal...but, it's so much easier to just click a button! As someone had previously posted it gives you the ability to delete caches which are tough to find, to find invisible files that perhaps weren't supposed to be invisible, and the ability to run UNIX scripts (like optimizations) which are on a timed schedule in the background and may have been missed. For freeware this is as good as it gets. However, only use if you know what you are doing...fooling around with your computer is NEVER a good thing if you can't afford the data loss.
5. Carbon Copy Cloner is an amazing application for OSX boot-only machines...for OS9 booting machines I still recommend Apple's Software Restore or ASR. Making images and reloading them on machines is the simplest way to save yourself a lot of time with reinstalling software. Set up a computer exactly how you like it, make an image, and you are done. Just like Ghost on a pc. Make sure to keep good notes on all your serials and challenge/responses for your software and plugins because occasionally one will not work on a reinstall.
VERY IMPORTANT: NEVER INSTALL AN UPDATE WITHOUT BACKING UP IMPORTANT DATA. I can't tell you how many times I've seen good technicians make this simple mistake. Backup regularly and keep numerous copies, perhaps one to an extra hard drive and one to a DVD or CD.
Also: don't use your studio/music-making/money-making computer to download a bunch of stuff and surf the internet...buy a cheap pc...the more sterile you keep your computing/studio environment the fewer headaches you will have. There's nothing wrong with occasional internet browsing, forum reading/writing, and update downloading, but I'd keep it to a minimum. We did a test on two identical labs, both with 21 stations and identical hardware and software loads. One lab had internet access, and one did not. The lab without network had 1/10th the problems of the other lab. Pretty conclusive.
Also also: I highly recommend using a high-quality SCSI drive for all of your audio work, and use a regular separate drive for your system and application files...this way you can make an image with Carbon Copy Cloner, and not worry if your system drive crashes. A quick restore and you are back in business. It also keeps your audio mess from getting mixed with the system and your system mess from getting mixed with your audio.
I know a lot of this was already written, but I wanted to post a good all inclusive list with experience from a real world mulitple computer setup. Specifically computers that deal with sound production.
Good luck.