Sec. update causes crash. help using DiskWarrior

Question

hello folks
I updated via Software Update and crashed mightily. I think I'm back up and running now.
1.Used Disk Utility once I booted in Safe Mode.
2.I used Diskwarrior to rebuild the "directory". Is that correct term?
Can someone plz coach me correctly using DiskWarrior to prevent HD problems.I installed the software but I would really like to use it correctly.
Thanks
Chuck S
iBook G4   Mac OS X (10.4.6)  

Answer 1

"Just use it!" DiskWarrior is a great program which does its own thing very well and safely. Macs have an invisible "directory" file which the operating system itself (OS 8.x, 9.x, X v. 10.x.x, etc.) uses for itself to keep track of where it puts every bit of information stored on your hard drive, as a "file" is not stored in one contiguous space necessarily (like a single can on a pantry shelf) but pieces of the file are poked into the convenient spaces wherever on your hard drive. Because it gets changed so often by the operating system, the directory file itself can get fragmented and/or write-errors can occur to it, such that it becomes less than 100% reliable as a road map for your OS. Hence, DiskWarrior. In a couple minutes or so, DW collects all the information to create a brand new directory file, writes it unfragmented to your hard drive, and then erases your old fragmented directory file. (You can also run the "graph" function to see how fragmented is your directory file at any given time. I personally keep my fragmentation level at below 1-2% by running DW whenever it is over that. Consequently, I have not had crashes (as opposed to things freezing up for lack of sufficient memory requiring simply a restart) which are damaging since getting DW years ago.)
Should you ever have a catastrophic problem nonetheless, do not try to use your own computer, as the directory file may get further damaged. Alsoft's tech support is very good about helping using DiskWarrior under such circumstances, so contact them by telephone, or email from a different computer.
You might want to make a backup copy of your DW disk and use it routinely to keep your original disk pristine. When you run DW, you should/must boot up your computer using the DW CD and use the program on the CD. DW cannot rebuild the directory of an active system hard drive (as obviously, the active system's hard drive's directory file is the one needing rebuilding and it itself would be trying to rebuild itself if it were also the boot drive!)
PM9600/233 (OS 8.6); PM9600/G4 (OS 9.1); Perform 6320 (OS 8.1); MacPlus-OS 6.0.8   Mac OS 8.6 or Earlier