![]() The defragmentation utility in Drive Genius will automatically load the fragmentation status of a selected drive and will present the drive's contents in a map showing areas of fragmented files, used files, free space, and reserved space that cannot be defragmented (usually system files). If a red stop sign with an exclamation point is presented, then the selected task cannot be run on that filesystem.ĭefragmentation is sometimes necessary, especially on relatively full drives. When a tool is selected in Drive Genius, you will see the available drives and filesystem appear on the left-hand side of the window, with indicators as to whether the task can be run on them. For instance, DiskWarrior is best for directory rebuilding, but not for endurance-testing the drive or benchmarking its performance. They all perform very similar tasks, though some software packages may have more emphasis on some routines than others. The only difference between this and other programs like TechTool Pro and Disk Tools Pro is in the programming, and whether the tool can overcome specific corruption issues. The tools included in Drive Genius are mostly all you will need to address problems on your drive. No major new features are enabled by turning on the expert preferences. ![]() These options enable the program to access system files in some of its tools, and allow for orphaned file search when running the "Drive Slim" utility. In addition, it will help you optimize your drive by defragmenting it, removing duplicate and unused files, and continually monitoring the media for any issues that may crop up in the future.Ī hidden option in Drive Genius 3 are the "Expert Preferences," which can be turned on by holding the Option and Control keys when choosing the program's preferences. It will fix corrupt filesystem structure (the HFS+ database files used for tracking data on the drive), scan the media for bad blocks, perform testing, and perform benchmarking on the drive. A demo version is available for download for those who wish to try the software out.ĭrive Genius is an all-in-one utility for diagnosing and fixing errors with your hard drive or other storage media. A single license for personal use costs $99, with a professional license allowing for use on customer- and company-owned drives costing $249. There are complete drive management utilities like TechTool Pro, Disk Tools Pro, and Drive Genius, which are all credible and recommended options.ĭrive Genius 3 is the latest of the utility suites from Prosoft Engineering, and is considered one of the best drive utilities for the Mac. features than Apple's Disk Utility (see this recent Mac OSX Hints article for proof of concept) as well as defragmentation tools. These include task-specific utilities like S.M.A.R.T. Apple includes Disk Utility, which is a good start and will help people in most cases, but there are also a variety of third-party options. diagnostics and filesystem journaling, but even with these options it is still advisable to have a robust drive utility handy to ensure the storage system for your computer is healthy. There are a variety of safeguards against hardware failures and filesystem corruption, including S.M.A.R.T.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |