# Drive Genius vs. TechTool Pro upgrade



## Fox (Oct 4, 2002)

Prosoft, the maker of Drive Genius, just came out with a 2.0 version, for which they are charging $59 as an upgrade from version 1.5.3. This is the same price that TechTool charges for upgrading to their pro version from the AppleCare version (TechTool Deluxe). I am eligible for either, so one question I have is which one people think is better. But a more basic question is whether I need either of them to keep Intel macs running Leopard in good shape? Disk Utility seems to be a lot more capable than it used to be, and TechTool Deluxe is Leopard-compatible. For that matter, I read that Drive Genius 1.5.3 was claimed to be Leopard-compatible by Prosoft, so maybe I don't even need version 2.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

TechTool =


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## Fox (Oct 4, 2002)

MacDoc; you're obviously not a fan of TechTool and I see from various user reviews that Drive Genius is much more uniformly appreciated. Do you know whether version 1.5.3 is usable on an Intel mini running Leopard? Other than a pretty new interface, is there any compelling reason to spend another $60 to get the latest version. I'm getting the feeling that a lot of developers are charging more than nominal fees for version upgrades just to address Leopard compatibility. The information on the net about 1.5.3 Leopard compatibility is unclear, and ProSoft doesn't say anything about that version now that they have released 2.0.1.


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## Edwill (Oct 22, 2007)

Does anybody know where can I buy Drive Genius2 in GTO area for a lower price than $119.95 in Apple Stores?


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## eMacMan (Nov 27, 2006)

My Leopard experience is very limited. However I have seen Tech Tool make things worse with Tiger and have read similar reports with Leopard. For emergency recovery Disk Warrior, personally I would wait until I needed it to buy it. If you do a lot of Video stuff spring for Drive Genius. Otherwise try keep a generous amount of your HD free. Make sure you create back-up clones or Disk Images before running system updates or installing new software. Either way be sure to test your back-up. Never assume it is OK.


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## Edwill (Oct 22, 2007)

Thank you for your reply. I'd like to optimize HD by removing internet clutter, defragment it, etc. Wonder if there is other way to do it?

With Windows XP to do those things I'm using System Mechanic by Iolo.


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## rb42 (Jan 21, 2005)

*Keeping your Mac in shape*

I use Ice Clean/AppleJack to remove caches and temp files, pre-binding etc... Then when that is done I use Carbon Copy Cloner to make a copy of my main Hard Drive to an external drive , then I wipe the main drive and re-install from the back up. Voila! all clean and de-fragmented. I do this maybe once a month, works like a charm!


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## Edwill (Oct 22, 2007)

Thanks!

What experience anybody had with, or know about, iDefrag by Coriolis? 

Coriolis Systems :: Products :: iDefrag


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## eMacMan (Nov 27, 2006)

Edwill said:


> Thanks!
> 
> What experience anybody had with, or know about, iDefrag by Coriolis?
> 
> Coriolis Systems :: Products :: iDefrag



There have been a couple of recent threads about defragmentation. Generally speaking OS X does not fragment files. The exceptions are the spotlight metadata file, and large files such as RAW, PSD or video. 

The spotlight file should be erased occasionally. This can be done with terminal commands or with a utility such as Onyx. When you do delete the spotlight file set your computer to never sleep, plug it in if it's a laptop and walkaway for as many hours as it takes for spotlight to finish rebuilding itself. Every two or three months should be more than adequate for most users.

The previously suggested clone to external and clone back with CCC will take care of any other fragmented files and as a bonus you back up the entire system and file structure at the same time. It is not only faster than a defrag utility but also a little bit safer.

As with any system, OS X works best with lots of free disk space.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

> The previously suggested clone to external and clone back with CCC will take care of any other fragmented files and as a bonus you back up the entire system and file structure at the same time. It is not only faster than a defrag utility but also a little bit safer.


Not any more it doesn't.

We've never seen an issue with iDefrag - it's brilliant and it works. Don't drink the Koolaid that X does not benefit.....it's far more than fragmented files that iDefrag takes care of.

This comment needs to be viral...



> Oct 16th, 2008, 11:14 PM #78 (permalink)
> Vexel
> 
> Join Date: Jan 2005
> ...


he is absolutely correct....:clap:


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## screature (May 14, 2007)

Hey MacDoc, do you know if iDefrag can defrag RAID arrays (stripped 0) that have been created using the Disk utility? Drive Genius cannot.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Don't know - email them and find out.


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## Edwill (Oct 22, 2007)

*"We've never seen an issue with iDefrag - it's brilliant and it works."*

Thank you, MacDoc. I'll get iDefrag.


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