How can I optimise or defragment my Mac hard disk?
The Norton Utilities' Speed Disk is a good one to use, and is reasonably safe. You can defragment individual files, as well as fully optimise any Macintosh disk. However Norton 3.5 will not optimise HFS+ hard disks, see below for other possibilities.
Or you could do the simple trick of, copying everything off the HD, onto another HD or removable disk, rebuild it's desktop file (Amiga+Alt during startup or via Norton Disk Doctor). Then copy the files back over to the HD again, all files will be optimised and defragmented.
TIP: ALWAYS backup the hard disk, and check the disk's integrity, before optimising. Here are some other commercial programs that are available;
* Spacemaker: HFS to HFS+ while optimising the disk, from Total Recall Software.
* PlusMaximiser: Advanced HFS+ formatting software, from Alsoft.
* PlusMaker: HFS to HFS+ conversion, from Alsoft.
* PlusOptimiser: HFS/HFS+ optimiser, from Alsoft.
* Disk Express Pro: HFS+ optimiser with lots of features, from Alsoft (www.alsoft.com).
* TechTool Pro 2: It has HFS/HFS+ optimising only, however it cannot defrag individual files. It is also extremely safe to defrag/optimise (files will survive a crash during optimisation).
What else can I do to protect my disk and files?
To prevent future disasters, I recommend that you take these actions:
Backups
Regular backups - I do mine every 2 weeks, of course it all depends on how often you use your Macintosh, you could do one; every day, twice a week, or even once a month. Don't forget to check the integrity of the backup, by doing a random restore of some files. This'll verify that the backup is not faulty.
I use Retrospect Express (Dantz), a slightly different version of it's big brother Retrospect. Be careful with Retrospect Express, it is very picky about SCSI termination, if it is not set correctly, the program may eject a disk from the drive and will completely freeze-up the Amiga. You'll have to switch off the computer for 10 seconds and turn it back on again, to clear the error. It may have damaged the System file and/or Finder at the same time, so have a bootable disk to hand.
I wouldn't recommend doing backups from the Amiga side, you'll corrupt all the Mac files - this due to the different filing systems in use. Instead buy one of these Mac backup programs:
* Retrospect (Dantz), THE Mac backup program, supports all types of drives, £130.
* Retrospect Express (Dantz), only supports removable hard disks, ie. Zip drives, £30. See picture 12.1.
* DiskFit Pro/DiskFit Direct (Dantz), little brother to the Retrospect family, freeware.
* Backup Mastery (ClarisMac), is a competitor to Retrospect, £100+.
* Norton Backup v2 & Fastback v3.21 (Symantec), these 2 backup utilities came with Norton Utilities v2 (Backup) and v3.1/v3.2 (Fastback) - they are not supported any more. I'm not sure if they are available to download though. See picture 12.2 for Norton Backup and picture 12.3 for Fastback.
There are some shareware/freeware utilities on the Mac internet sites, but these are mainly mirroring/synchronising type backups - don't use them, they do not archive files in any way, and are susceptible to directory and file damage - not a very safe way to back up files.
Shareware Backup programs: Drag'n Back, Simple Backup, Switch Back and Synchronize.
It is also a good idea to make an archive (use Stuffit for instance) or a backup of the entire System Folder, so that you can replace the System file, Finder or any Extensions etc, at your convenience, should any of them get damaged and need replacing - this would save you from reinstalling the full System software again.
Clean-up Your Disks
Do regular clear outs of your hard disk(s), every 3-6 months. Just sort out and bin, all that junk that accumulates on your disk(s).
Regular Check-ups & Defragmenting
Regular disk checks, use a utility such as Norton Utilities' Speed Disk, and Disk Doctor. Macintosh hard disks require a lot more attention than Amiga ones. Therefore, I recommend that you make a copy of the Disk Tools floppy disk that came with the System CD or disk set. Even if you don't need a bootable floppy disk (assuming you have a high density drive) create one anyway, you may need it sooner or later, trust me on this!
You need to: Rebuild the desktop every month or so; You need to use Disk Doctor every 2-3 weeks; defragment files every couple of weeks; and a full optimisation (de-segment) of the hard disk every 3-6 months, depending on how often you create and bin files.
Here are a few good utility programs that I can recommend:
* Norton Utilities 3.5 (Symantec) probably one of the best on the market today. Note that Norton 3.5's programs does not support HFS+, and will damage the directory structure. See picture 12.4.
* Norton Utilities 4.0 & 5.0 (Symantec) will only work on PowerPC Macintoshs.
* TechTool Pro 2.53 (Micromat Computer Systems) a good disk repair & diagnostics utility. This version can repair HFS+ disks, and is still 68k compatible - certainly an equal to Norton v4 & 5! See picture 12.5.
* DiskWarrior 1.01 (Alsoft) is extremely good at resurrecting corrupted HD directories.
* Disk First Aid (Apple) is the official disk repair utility, it won't fix all errors. Version 8.2 (comes with MacOS 8), can repair HFS+ formatted disks, and it is 68040/060 compatible. See picture 12.6.
WARNING: Currently, Norton Utilities 4.0 & 5.0 does not work on any 68k computers, it is for Power Macs.
Virus Checks
Get a good and updated virus checker program, these are commercial;
* Norton Anti Virus from Symantec.
* Anti-virus from Dr Soloman.
* Virex from Datawatch.
* VirusScan from McAfee (shareware).
* Disinfectant 3.71 is freeware, but it was discontinued in July 1998.
Scan all files you download from the internet FIRST, before you launch it.
Recovering Deleted Files
Make sure Filesaver (or similar feature) is running at all times, because not only does it track deleted files, it also makes a copy of the hard disk's directory. Volume Recover uses this info if the disk's directory is totally trashed. Its either that or reformat your hard disk! The only alternative to Filesaver is to do regular (daily/weekly) backups, which you should have done anyway.
About Formatting Hard Disks
You're better off with two Mac partitions rather than a large one (preferably with a System Folder on each one), because if one goes belly up, you have another unaffected hard disk.
You only need to low-level format your Mac hard disk once, ignore what other people say, ie. "formatting your HD every year is a good thing" - because it is completely wrong. Except for repartitioning the HD.
Use the MacOS, to format hard disks, via the Erase Disk option in the Finder's Special menu. Also, if you connect another SCSI hard disk, it should automatically be detected, and will ask you whether you want to format it.
For removable hard disks, use the Macintosh driver supplied with the drive, or download it from the manufacturer's web site. On a further note about 3rd party formatting software, you can download a free formatting utility called Silverlining Lite from any good Mac web site (eg. www.tucows.com).
What other disk management/repair programs are there other than Norton Utilities?
Some commercial programs:
* TechTool Pro 2.x (Micromat Computer Systems), is a full Mac diagnostic suite. See picture 12.5.
* Disk Warrior (Alsoft), a complete directory repair utility, very good too!
* Hard Disk Toolkit (FWB), supports all hard disk models and has loads of operation features.
* RAID Toolkit (FWB), a good, software based, hard disk RAID solution - supports HFS+.
There are other software publishers out there, who make hard disk utilities for the Macintosh, try these company's web pages for more info; MacPeak, Corel and Clarismac. Their web addresses are in the Useful Mac Software section.
What should I do to protect my Mac's System?
Well, you should make an archive of the entire System Folder, with a common Macintosh compression program, such as Stuffit, Compact Pro, Disk Doubler or ZipIt (pkZip compatible). So if anything disastrous should happen to your System, you can at least de-archive the System and/or Finder files, straight away without worrying about virus infection or a total System installation. Second thing to do, is buy a decent anti-virus program, see above.
