Tech Tool vs Disk Warrior

I recently bought a new iMac and have updated SL. My old DW no longer works according to all the posts I have read. So I am in the process of making up my mind as to which one utility would be best to buy, Tech Tool or Disk Warrior and the compatibility issue with SL.
Those of you who have experience, any recommendations?
Thank you,
Glen

Disk Warrior's unfailing ability to reliably repair a disk's index when other means fail has meant my copy of TT mostly sits on the shelf.
Get DW only or go ahead and get them both.

Similar Messages

I replaced the screen on my late 2007 laptop, now it won't boot. It Bongs and the wheel turns and then it turns off. I have tried a tech tool pro 3 disk, no results tried the osX tiger disk no results but bong and wheel. any ideas?

I replaced the screen on my late 2007 laptop, now it won't boot. It Bongs and the wheel turns and then it turns off. I have tried a tech tool pro 3 disk, no results tried the osX tiger disk no results but bong and wheel. any ideas?
I have not tried disk warrior yet,but will. I had it stored until I could get screen, battery is dead, and to be honest I forgot which OS I have in it, If I can Get screen up maybe I can get my info.
sbckr

Hi there sbckr,
You may find the troubleshooting steps in the article below helpful.
Troubleshooting: My computer won't turn on
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1367
-Griff W.

Internal hard drive/repair: SMART status; Disk Utility, Tech Tool & More

machine: 12" PowerBook 1.5 GHz PowerPC G4 (Aluminium) with 80GB internal HD
internal hard drive (original): Hitachi Travelstar 5K100 series HTS541080G9AT00
hard drive firmware: MB4AA5AJ
ATA version: 6
ATA standard: ATA/ATAPI-6 T13 1410D revision 3a
I have monitored the SMART status etc. of my internal drive with smartmontools for some time. Occasionally, I would see an error or a failed self-test but later testing always succeeded and things did not seem to be problematic.
At the beginning of this week, I started to see a lot of failed self-tests (though some still passed), a rising number of bad ("pending") sectors and reallocation attempts (though no reallocated sectors) and various other errors. The computer seemed to have trouble reading from the disk at times and Carbon Copy Cloner reported two I/O errors when cloning (a later clone succeeded). fsck showed errors although running fsck -fy repeatedly seemed to resolve them.
The Apple hardware tests initially reported an error (2STF/8/3:ATA-100 ata-6-Master) but I hadn't realised I should disconnect peripherals before running it so I did that and repeated the test which found no issues. I ran the extended test a total of three times with no errors.
As I continued to have problems, I booted from my clone and had Disk Utility wipe the drive by writing zeros to it. (I thought trying to get it to write everywhere would either finish the drive off or force it to reallocate the bad blocks. As I understand it, in normal use, the drive won't reallocate the blocks unless it can recover the data in the hopes of reading it at a later time.)
I then continued monitoring the disk using smartmontools. At this point, short self-tests succeed but extended self-tests "disappear". They don't fail, they simply vanish. They begin and smartctl shows the test in progress but then no error or result is logged - it is as if the test was never run. The first time I did this, I got an error saying the SMART attributes could not be read but subsequent tests do not trigger even an error. Short self-tests continue to pass.
There are now (according to SMART) zero bad ("pending") sectors but zero reallocated sectors, which seems odd. The raw read error rate fluctuates (zero one minute, many thousands a while later) although I am not sure it did not do this before.
Disk Utility claims the disk does not support SMART status even though smartctl clearly shows it does. Disk Utility claims the volume is "OK".
I ran Tech Tool Deluxe 3.04 from CD and 3.1.1 from my clone. In both cases, I ran all available tests on the drive. No problems were found.
I am seeing some problems even while booted from my clone - yesterday, the system froze completely and I had to force a shut-down by switching off the power (fsck then found a minor error but repaired it). Just before this happened, I was unable to mount a disk image and was trying to rectify the situation when the system froze. It is possible that the errors fsck corrected were implicated in the freeze, rather than caused by it, since Disk Utility found and repaired similar errors for the other two clones I have (on different partitions of my external drive - yes, I know this is sub-optimal).
Here is some current output from smartmontools:
---output: smartctl -q noserial -a disk0---
smartctl version 5.38 [powerpc-apple-darwin8.11.0] Copyright (C) 2002-8 Bruce Allen
Home page is http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net/
=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Model Family: Hitachi Travelstar 5K100 series
Device Model: Hitachi HTS541080G9AT00
Firmware Version: MB4AA5AJ
User Capacity: 80,026,361,856 bytes
Device is: In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
ATA Version is: 6
ATA Standard is: ATA/ATAPI-6 T13 1410D revision 3a
Local Time is: Sat Jul 3 20:28:52 2010 BST
SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
SMART support is: Enabled
=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED
General SMART Values:
Offline data collection status: (0x00) Offline data collection activity
was never started.
Auto Offline Data Collection: Disabled.
Self-test execution status: ( 0) The previous self-test routine completed
without error or no self-test has ever
been run.
Total time to complete Offline
data collection: ( 645) seconds.
Offline data collection
capabilities: (0x5b) SMART execute Offline immediate.
Auto Offline data collection on/off support.
Suspend Offline collection upon new
command.
Offline surface scan supported.
Self-test supported.
No Conveyance Self-test supported.
Selective Self-test supported.
SMART capabilities: (0x0003) Saves SMART data before entering
power-saving mode.
Supports SMART auto save timer.
Error logging capability: (0x01) Error logging supported.
General Purpose Logging supported.
Short self-test routine
recommended polling time: ( 2) minutes.
Extended self-test routine
recommended polling time: ( 55) minutes.
SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 16
Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME FLAG VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE UPDATED WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE
1 RawRead_ErrorRate 0x000b 100 100 062 Pre-fail Always - 0
2 Throughput_Performance 0x0005 100 100 040 Pre-fail Offline - 0
3 SpinUpTime 0x0007 142 142 033 Pre-fail Always - 2
4 StartStopCount 0x0012 097 097 000 Old_age Always - 5793
5 ReallocatedSectorCt 0x0033 100 100 005 Pre-fail Always - 0
7 SeekErrorRate 0x000b 100 100 067 Pre-fail Always - 0
8 SeekTimePerformance 0x0005 100 100 040 Pre-fail Offline - 0
9 PowerOnHours 0x0012 039 039 000 Old_age Always - 26720
10 SpinRetryCount 0x0013 100 100 060 Pre-fail Always - 0
12 PowerCycleCount 0x0032 098 098 000 Old_age Always - 4168
191 G-SenseErrorRate 0x000a 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
192 Power-OffRetractCount 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 201877487644
193 LoadCycleCount 0x0012 001 001 000 Old_age Always - 2209599
194 Temperature_Celsius 0x0002 141 141 000 Old_age Always - 39 (Lifetime Min/Max 16/46)
196 ReallocatedEventCount 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 194
197 CurrentPendingSector 0x0022 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0
198 Offline_Uncorrectable 0x0008 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 0
199 UDMACRC_ErrorCount 0x000a 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 0
SMART Error Log Version: 1
ATA Error Count: 2138 (device log contains only the most recent five errors)
CR = Command Register [HEX]
FR = Features Register [HEX]
SC = Sector Count Register [HEX]
SN = Sector Number Register [HEX]
CL = Cylinder Low Register [HEX]
CH = Cylinder High Register [HEX]
DH = Device/Head Register [HEX]
DC = Device Command Register [HEX]
ER = Error register [HEX]
ST = Status register [HEX]
PoweredUpTime is measured from power on, and printed as
DDd+hh:mm:SS.sss where DD=days, hh=hours, mm=minutes,
SS=sec, and sss=millisec. It "wraps" after 49.710 days.
Error 2138 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 26716 hours (1113 days + 4 hours)
When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.
After command completion occurred, registers were:
ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
10 51 00 09 4f c2 a0 Error: IDNF
Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC PoweredUpTime Command/Feature_Name
b0 d6 01 09 4f c2 a0 00 08:30:04.500 SMART WRITE LOG
b0 d5 01 09 4f c2 a0 00 08:30:04.300 SMART READ LOG
b0 d1 00 00 4f c2 a0 00 08:30:04.000 SMART READ ATTRIBUTE THRESHOLDS [OBS-4]
b0 d0 00 00 4f c2 a0 00 08:30:04.000 SMART READ DATA
b0 da 00 00 4f c2 a0 00 08:30:04.000 SMART RETURN STATUS
Error 2137 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 26682 hours (1111 days + 18 hours)
When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.
After command completion occurred, registers were:
ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
40 51 28 18 95 98 e4 Error: UNC 40 sectors at LBA = 0x04989518 = 77108504
Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC PoweredUpTime Command/Feature_Name
25 00 80 c0 94 98 e0 00 1d+01:30:37.600 READ DMA EXT
25 00 80 c0 94 98 e0 00 1d+01:30:30.600 READ DMA EXT
25 00 80 c0 94 98 e0 00 1d+01:30:22.600 READ DMA EXT
25 00 80 c0 94 98 e0 00 1d+01:30:16.300 READ DMA EXT
25 00 80 40 94 98 e0 00 1d+01:30:14.700 READ DMA EXT
Error 2136 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 26682 hours (1111 days + 18 hours)
When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.
After command completion occurred, registers were:
ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
40 51 21 1f 95 98 e4 Error: UNC 33 sectors at LBA = 0x0498951f = 77108511
Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC PoweredUpTime Command/Feature_Name
25 00 80 c0 94 98 e0 00 1d+01:30:30.600 READ DMA EXT
25 00 80 c0 94 98 e0 00 1d+01:30:22.600 READ DMA EXT
25 00 80 c0 94 98 e0 00 1d+01:30:16.300 READ DMA EXT
25 00 80 40 94 98 e0 00 1d+01:30:14.700 READ DMA EXT
25 00 80 c0 93 98 e0 00 1d+01:30:14.100 READ DMA EXT
Error 2135 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 26682 hours (1111 days + 18 hours)
When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.
After command completion occurred, registers were:
ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
40 51 22 1e 95 98 e4 Error: UNC 34 sectors at LBA = 0x0498951e = 77108510
Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC PoweredUpTime Command/Feature_Name
25 00 80 c0 94 98 e0 00 1d+01:30:22.600 READ DMA EXT
25 00 80 c0 94 98 e0 00 1d+01:30:16.300 READ DMA EXT
25 00 80 40 94 98 e0 00 1d+01:30:14.700 READ DMA EXT
25 00 80 c0 93 98 e0 00 1d+01:30:14.100 READ DMA EXT
25 00 80 40 93 98 e0 00 1d+01:30:13.500 READ DMA EXT
Error 2134 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 26682 hours (1111 days + 18 hours)
When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.
After command completion occurred, registers were:
ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
40 51 28 18 95 98 e4 Error: UNC 40 sectors at LBA = 0x04989518 = 77108504
Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC PoweredUpTime Command/Feature_Name
25 00 80 c0 94 98 e0 00 1d+01:30:16.300 READ DMA EXT
25 00 80 40 94 98 e0 00 1d+01:30:14.700 READ DMA EXT
25 00 80 c0 93 98 e0 00 1d+01:30:14.100 READ DMA EXT
25 00 80 40 93 98 e0 00 1d+01:30:13.500 READ DMA EXT
25 00 80 c0 92 98 e0 00 1d+01:30:12.100 READ DMA EXT
SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1
Num Test_Description Status Remaining LifeTime(hours) LBAof_firsterror
# 1 Short offline Completed without error 00% 26717 -
# 2 Short offline Completed without error 00% 26717 -
# 3 Short offline Completed without error 00% 26717 -
# 4 Short offline Completed without error 00% 26717 -
# 5 Short offline Completed without error 00% 26716 -
# 6 Short offline Completed without error 00% 26715 -
# 7 Short offline Completed without error 00% 26714 -
# 8 Short offline Completed without error 00% 26697 -
# 9 Extended offline Completed: read failure 10% 26692 75071682
#10 Short offline Completed without error 00% 26687 -
#11 Extended offline Completed: read failure 10% 26676 77108511
#12 Short offline Completed: read failure 40% 26663 296917
#13 Short offline Completed without error 00% 26657 -
#14 Short offline Completed: read failure 10% 26646 296918
#15 Short offline Completed: read failure 70% 26645 296905
#16 Short offline Completed: read failure 10% 26644 296910
#17 Short offline Completed: read failure 10% 26644 296910
#18 Short offline Completed: read failure 40% 26643 296916
#19 Short offline Completed: read failure 20% 26643 296909
#20 Extended offline Completed without error 00% 26620 -
#21 Short offline Completed without error 00% 26618 -
Warning! SMART Selective Self-Test Log Structure error: invalid SMART checksum.
SMART Selective self-test log data structure revision number 1
SPAN MIN_LBA MAX_LBA CURRENTTESTSTATUS
1 0 0 Not_testing
2 0 0 Not_testing
3 0 0 Not_testing
4 0 0 Not_testing
5 0 0 Not_testing
Selective self-test flags (0x0):
After scanning selected spans, do NOT read-scan remainder of disk.
If Selective self-test is pending on power-up, resume after 0 minute delay.
---end output---
Self-tests 1-8 were all run after I erased the disk. The others were run before I did so. Not listed are the extended self-tests I've started since erasing which, as I say, have simply disappeared.
The checksum error regarding the log is normal for this disk. At least, I've got that error ever since I started using smartmontools for monitoring so I assume it is normal. (I installed this version of the software in about April 2008 and have used it since.) Also, starting offline testing has never succeeded on this disk (I think I checked into this at the time but can't quite remember - this is not new, anyway).
Questions
how should I interpret all this? (Why does Disk Utility say SMART is not supported while smartctl clearly shows it is at the same time? Why do the extended tests simply vanish? Is the drive definitely dying?) I do not want to replace the disk unless I absolutely have to because I understand that replacing disks in 12" PBs is no small matter and cost is an issue. I do not want to replace the machine unless I have to because cost is an issue and, also, I really like this computer and have no idea what I would want in its place, even if expense were no obstacle.
if it isn't clear whether the drive is dying or not, is there some further strategy I can use to establish this?
if the drive is dying, is a machine of this age worth repairing and, if it is, under what circumstances is it worth doing so? For example, it might be worth doing if you can do the job yourself, but that might be quite impractical for non-expert (not to mention, inexpert) users.
if there is a hardware problem (which I obviously think is very, very probable at this point), is it definitely a dying hard drive? (I've seen people write ominous things about disk controllers etc. which I gather are more serious - or less repairable - than a "mere" dying disk.)
what questions should I be asking you and what are the answers to those questions?!
Many thanks for your patience in reading this far.
- cfr

The 12" PB internals are a bit more complex, for PB's. If you don't want to replace the hard drive yourself or pay someone to install it, you could always get an external firewire hard drive, and use it to boot from and for general usage. Would have to be firewire, since the PB won't book from a USB device. One example of what you could get is a 160GB external hard drive: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/MS4U5160GB8/ . All the choices with that case are listed here: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/on-the-go
Have you called any Apple Authorized Service Providers to see what they would charge to install a drive for you? Whether you bought it or they supplied it? You can find a local one in the US at http://www.apple.com/buy/locator/service/

G5 will not boot from system disk or from Tech Tool Pro 5

Hi everyone - Having a bit of trouble and hoped I might find some answers here.
I suspect my system drive was having some issues as it sounded like it was being taxed and strained as I would open up applications from it. Upon verifying the disk using Disk Utilities, the test would stop short with the following message:
First Aid Failed
Disk Utility stopped verifying "Macintosh HD" because the following error was encountered
Filesystem verify or repair failed
In addition, an error message came up (in red) on the disk utility screen as well saying:
Volume header needs minor repair
The volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired
Error: Filesystem verify or repair failed
Normally from here, I'd start up the computer from the Tech Tool Pro 5 disk (holding down C key upon restart). But when I did this, the computer never responded. Instead, the power was on but the screens went black and the computer went into a very quiet "idle" mode.
After about a minute, the fans began ramping up pretty high (and loud). This went on until I finally had to manually shut down the computer by holding the power switch down for a few seconds. I didn't know what else to do. Those fans were not coming down (not even after 10 minutes).
Anyway, I pushed the power button again and held the C key down. Still, nothing.... The fans stayed idle, for a little while and then ramped up again just like last time. I hit that same dead end and powered down the computer via the power button.
Is there an alternate way to boot the computer from Tech Tool Pro or the original start up disks? I'm having no luck, here.
I'm on my way into town to purchase a new internal drive (something with about 1TB of space) so that my pro apps can swim a little instead of being being bogged down on a 250G drive.
Thanks for any assistance, folks!
Oh yeah.... Happy New Year to everyone!!
Steve

The Install disk has version 10.4 on it. I have also tried booting from my OS 10.5 disk but with no avail.
However, here is an update on my plight.
Apple tech says that after hearing the symptoms, he thinks that one of the processors is shot. Being that my particular model of G5 (dual 2.7 processors) is a liquid cooled machine, it's possible that some sort of leak has formed and has either taken out a processor or has caused a processor to overheat. He says that this model of G5 has been known to do that. In this case, nothing will boot which makes me think that my original system drive may actually be okay. I'm taking it in for the tech to look at it and just be sure that's the problem. However, if it is a dead processor, the part alone would run $799 plus labor to install it. Frankly, that's just too much for me to pay to keep this old G5. I'd rather put that money towards a new or reconditioned Mac Pro 8 core or quad core machine.
I've owned several Mac computers in the past and perhaps this is the frustration talking but it seems that no matter how diligent you are in maintaining your Macintosh, these machines only seem to last about 5 years before something majorly wrong happens (mother board, processor, etc). Can I expect this same, limited time frame from a new Mac Pro? I mean, am I just being paranoid?

Won't boot from Tech Tool disk

According to the Tech Tool disc that came with AppleCare for my Macbook Pro, holding 'c' is how you boot from the disk. It does not, the machine boots right into to main disk.
I need to run disc utilities to see why my drive seems to be chattering so much. The TechTool disk isn't bootable and I've lost the system disk that came with the computer. Suggestions?

You may need to download the bootable recent version from here....
https://support.apple.com/techtooldeluxe/main?id=dl
TechTool Deluxe from Micromat is a powerful diagnostic utility that allows you to test your computer's critical system components, such as the processor, RAM (random-access memory), VRAM (video random-access memory), the hard disk, and more. TechTool Deluxe can also repair your computer's disk structure and rebuild its directories as necessary.
TechTool Deluxe is only available with an AppleCare Protection Plan. If your Mac is currently covered under the Apple One-Year Limited warranty and you would like to extend your world-class telephone technical support and hardware repair coverage to three years from your computer’s date of purchase and get TechTool Deluxe, purchase an AppleCare Protection Plan today.
If you purchased AppleCare Protection Plan for your Mac and need to download the latest version of TechTool Deluxe, please enter your serial number below so that we can validate your coverage.

Disk utility says SMART error but Tech Tools Pro says SMART passed

Disk Utility on my Mac Pro (6GB ram, dual dual, 10.5.5) is saying my primary HD (a Seagate 1TB, one of three) has failed SMART. Tech Tools pro says it's fine and passes SMART (and all the other tests). I've got backups (Time Machine and tar files) and a new disk on the way. However I'd like to be able to know what exactly Disk Utility thinks the SAMRT error is - is there any way of finding our or is it opaque to the user?

If the drive is possible defective, then you may be able to have it replaced at no cost because it's in warranty. Most drives carry at least a 3 year manufacturer's warranty. You would contact the manufacturer about a warranty replacement if your Apple warranty has expired. If you still have Apple's warranty in effect then contact AppleCare about the replacement.

Ran Disk Utility, then Tech Tool Deluxe: Help?

Below is what I got from Disk Utility, but Tech Tool Deluxe found no problem. Any input, advice or suggestions? Thanks in advance.
Verifying volume “Macintosh HD”
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Incorrect block count for file 46523.emlx
(It should be 1 instead of 0)
Checking multi-linked files.
Checking Catalog hierarchy.
Checking Extended Attributes file.
Checking volume bitmap.
Volume Bit Map needs minor repair
Checking volume information.
The volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired.
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit
1 HFS volume checked
Volume needs repair

Lord Brock,
You may be able to use Diskwarrior to repair your disk.
;~)

Apple Care Tech Tool disk indicates video ram failure

I have a MBP purchased in 3/08 - 2.4 with 256MB GeForce 8600M and the tech tool disc keeps telling me the video ram failed the test process. What does this mean and could this explain the pages taking so long to load in safari that have pictures and video? Safari on certain web site pages will sit there in a continuous loading position. The status bar will progress about 1 inch and never move again or load the page. I have to continuously keep reloading the page until it will finally complete the page. Even then half the pictures will not load. This started about a month ago, which is why I bought the apple care.
Thanks
Frank

It means the video RAM has failed. Take it in for service.

Disk Warrior 3.0.3 on OSX 10.6.8?

I'm having major problems with my iMac (2.4 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo/2 GB 66 MHz DDR2 SDRAM/running OSX version 10.6.8). Very, very slow to login, hangs up during normal use, slows to a crawl, etc. I did some searching on this forum and have tried some suggestions offerred to people with similar problems, such as running Disk Utility. When I ran it off the hard drive it went through the process with no real error messages (found a few "damaged files" and put them in folder named the same). Then I tried running it off my Snow Leopard install disk and got the message:
Disk Utility stopped repairing "Macintosh HD" Disk Utility can't repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files.
Next on my list, before going so far as reformatting/restoring (I use Time Machine to back up my system onto a 500 GB external hard drive) I want to run Disk Warrior. Here at the office we have a very old version (3.0.3). Will it work with Snow Leopard? I popped the disk into a Mac running Lion and it had the slash through the icon, indicating that it isn't compatible. However, I popped it into my work iMac, which is running the same OS as my problem iMac at home, and it looks as though it may work.
Obviously the most recent version would be ideal but will this one at least run for me? If it will I think I'll give it a shot. If it doesn't work I'll look into getting an upgrade. Anyone know?
One other thing...never could locate the S.M.A.R.T. info in my Disk Utility. Saw that mentioned several times in posts but it doesn't appear on my version. I did download an app called SMARTReporter and ran that. All indications were that my hard drive is OK.

I'm unclear what you did after re-reading your original post. Did you do this:
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.

Problems restarting from C drive with Tech Tools 3.0.4 -OS 10.4.7

I have a TechTools CD sent to me by Apple for purchasing the protection plan. When i attempt to start up with that disk by holding C, the drive does not recognize the disk and i get the "no smoking sign" where the apple goes on the gray screen. I also have a Disk Warrior CD and it also is not recognized. I've also tried other methods of choosing both disks and neither are recognized. I've called Apple 3 times on this, and no one has been able to tell me why. They have sent me a new Tech Tools disk which still doesnt work, and now they are telling me it is a compatibility issue. What i want to know is, if it's a computability issue then is there anyone else in here who has this problem?? The lady at Apple had said she'd never heard of it so my thinking is the answer she gave me is b.s.
My mac is version 10.4.7 and my Tech Tools is version 3.0.4
HELP PLEASE??
iMac G5 iSight Mac OS X (10.4.7)
iMac G5 iSight Mac OS X (10.4.7)

But my question is, if this is a compatibility issue then why doesnt EVERYONE who bought my computer and got the TechTools disk from apple having the same problem?? I don't understand why they would send me a disk that was useless to me. Shouldn't someone know that this disk is supposedly incompatible??
I agree that it reduces the value of the TTD disk substantially, TrtlAtak.
Essentially the problem occurs because the disc contained in the Applecare package is often out of date, containing a system too old to start your computer. Sometimes the software itself is also out of date and should not be used until it has been updated. It depends partly on how long the particular package you receive has been sitting on the shelf, and partly on how long since a new version of the update has been provided.
The problem with the software occurs because Micromat often take a long time to update TechToolDeluxe for use with new systems. (As you have probably guessed, I'm not overly impressed with the TTD compnent of Applecare)
Remember there are TWO issues here, not just one. Firstly the CD has to have an appropriate operating system on it to start your computer. Secondly it has to have a version of TTD on it which is compatible with the OS on your computer.
In your case , the link to https://support.apple.com/techtooldeluxe/main?id=dl SHOULD , however, provide you with a disc which is capable of starting up your iMac G5 iSight (and with an appropriate version of TTD for use with it).
Any chance the caps lock key was down when you attempted to startup using the c key? This will prevent bootup from CD. (Its "c" that needs to be held down , not "C").
Secondly, you could try holding down the "option" key instead while you start up, with the CD in the drive. This should allow you to select which particular drive you wish to start from (the HD or the optical drive).
Thirdly, with the Disc in the drive, you could see if it appears as a "startup disc" choice whe you go to SystemPreferences / StartupDisc. If so, select it, and restart your computer.
There are other things that can prevent your Mac startingup from a CD or DVD. If you have an "open firmware" password installed on the computer, for example, it can't be started from an optical drive. Some third party keyboards also will not let you start up in this fashion.
Cheers
Rod

Tech tool issues

I got the apple care package and installed the Tech tool program. It asks me to put in the password when I run the app, but i don't have a password. I un-installed and re-installed tech tool but it still asks for the passwrod. Pls tell me how can I resolve the password issue so that i can get into Tech tool and start using it?

I'm not sure if this applies to the current AppleCare Tech Tools, but I think mine needed the serial number that was printed on the TechTools' CD sleeve. (Haven't used it for years, since I got Disk Warrior.)

Disk Warrior?

I was having a problem opening certain programs (Office programs, iTunes) after updating Quicktime. Someone suggested that I repair my disk in disk utilities. I ran the repair and got this error:
Invalid key length
The volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired.
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit
1 HFS volume checked
Volume needs repair
First of all, what does all this mean? Someone on the boards recommended I purchase Disk Warrior to fix the problem. What are the chances this will actually fix it?
The closest Apple Store is pretty far so I don't want to take it in if I don't have to. I also don't want to invest too much money because I plan on buying a new one in the next six months to a year.

smitchell:
what does all this mean?
Disk Utility reports "Underlying task reported failure" when repairing a volume is a directory/filesystem corruption which cannot be repaired by Disk Utility. The article suggested the use of a third party disk utility. Tech Tool Pro and Disk Warrior are the best utilities for the job.
Someone on the boards recommended I purchase Disk Warrior to fix the problem.
As noted above, this is the utility most recommended in the forums as it is a very effective tool, as is the other utility I linked above.
What are the chances this will actually fix it?
There is an excellent chance that DW will repair the corrupted directory. Were your only error the invalid key length I would be more sanguine of success. However, with the -9972 error, I cannot guarantee it.
In some cases the directory issue may be hardware based. It may result from a failing or failed HDD. If that is true in your case, DW will not do the job for you. However, since we don't know whether your issue is hardware or software based, it is not easy to tell.
In most cases you would just go ahead and run one of these utilities anyway. If you had one of these in your toolbox, I would suggest that you begin there. However, these utilities cost around $100.
Here is an option I would personally consider. If you have the latest PowerBook G4 12" it is now 3 years old. The average life of a HDD today is 3 to 5 years. In other words, your HDD is on the brink. For $100 you can buy a pretty nice HDD and with minimal skills, install it yourself. Of course, it will be helpful if you have a good reliable backup. If you don't you will then need to recover your data from the old HDD.
Here is a link that suggests a variety of approaches to your issue: Kappy on Error -9972.
I realize I have not given you very specific directions. However, I thought I would lay out some options for you to consider. Please do post back with your questions and/or comments.
cornelius

Booting from Tech Tool Deluxe 10.4.2

I can boot our older ibook G3 from this Cd ( which I just received with my brand new ibook)- however when I start up the G4 from the CD the screen is shades of gray- barely can barely see that it is loading correctly- however the pointer is frozen in left hand corner- can't move it, although the return key works to select the program. arrow down key also works to read report- but still pointer can't move to restart and I am forced to force quit.
very strange
Cleaned and tried several times same results- I am wondering if perhaps this Apple Care Cd is not for 10.4.2.

I have heard that other utilities are more helpful- but as I just recieved this computer last week- from Apple and Tech Tool Deluxe was the software that shipped with my Apple Care plan- I thought it might be usable on the computer it was purchased with- silly me.
I also made a new updated disk of 3.0.3 Disk Warrior and I could not even start up from that disk- it froze and I had to force quit-
From what I have read elsewhere- Disk Warrior is compatible with 10.4.2, so there must be something else going on.

STILL NEED HELP w/ Disk Warrior pleeeaaase

Have had some interesting encounters with extensions: at startup, the system was hanging up at certain extensions, resulting in my manually uninstalling Tech Tool 3 and a new trial graphics program we tried out, called Silhouette. Have also cleaned the disk drive.
However, I am still unable to use the disk drive reliably. After turning off the TWAIN extension (which cleared up the remaining startup problems), the disk drive won't open upon request after I have inserted the Disk Warrior, which I have used successfully in the past. The last time the drawer would open when I clicked on the Eject Upper Drive icon on my computer was when I inserted the Disk Warrior. When I rebooted, twice the computer failed to recognize that there was a disk in there at all, booting all the way up to the OS 9.2 desktop without even an icon showing the presence of the disk. When I hold down the "C" key while rebooting, the screen remains a blank blue color, with no sign of startup. When I let go of the "C" key, the computer boots up fine, but the Eject Upper Drive shortcut doesn't cause the drive door to open. I killed the shortcut and created another alias for the desktop, but it doesn't work either. When I try to reboot and hold down the right button on the mouse, to cause the door to open while rebooting, an icon of a disk appears, with a question mark on its face. If I release the mouse button, the computer starts up fine...but the Upper Drive won't open and I can't see any icon to indicate that I have Disk Warrior in there.
I have been at this all day...does this make sense to anyone?

Hi, Sandy -
The term 'optical drive' is a generic one - it refers to any drive which uses a laser (optical means) to read a disk. This includes a basic CD drive, a CD/DVD drive, etc.
The term 'optical drive' will not appear in System Profiler. Instead, it should appear on one of the "Internal ATA" buses as something like DVD-ROM or one of the other variants of that term. Since your G4 (MDD) has two optical drives, both should be displayed separately, but on the same Internal ATA bus.
If the drive in question is not listed, then there may well be something wrong with the drive itself, as Tom has suggested.
However, if neither of the two optical drives is listed, that would tend to indicate there is something wrong with the bus that serves both those drives - perhaps the cable has become disconnected at the main logic board, or the controller on that board may have failed.
Is there a way to force it open?
On older machines the answer would be yes - the outer drive door could be pried open, and the 'emergency Mac ejection tool' (a straightened paperclip) could be inserted into a hole on the inner face of the drive to manually eject a disk.
Not sure if the newer drives still have that hole, or if it has been relocated to the rear of the drives.
Okay - found an Apple KBase article that addresses that, complete with pictures -
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=88215
It appears that in some cases it is necessary to remove the drive in order to access that hole.

Hooray for Disk Warrior 4! Rescued my external HD.

There have been some discussions about the new Disk Warrior 4 (the one for intel) that were, when I looked at them, inconclusive.
Well, I'm here to tell you that it works. I have an external Seagate 250G HD connected via firewire. I keep in it all sorts of things, but mostly stuff that I use for music. Not only my entire mp3 collection, but sample collections used for Logic Pro.
Anyway, today, the external HD was not mounting anymore. Tried everything, including Disk tools, Tech Tools 4, and Tinker Tools. Nothing would work. So I dowloaded Disk Warrior 4 from their website.
5 minutes later, after Disk Warrior "went to work", I had my external HD mounted on my desktop and my files back. It was not a 100% success though. I also had on that disk an OSX 10.4.8 system, so that I could boot from it, and, for example, repair my MBP's HD, and I could not boot from it anymore after DW repaired it. Now, I'm in the prcess of backing my files from external HD -> MBP so that I can re-initialise it, and re-install OSX. But I do have my files back which, 15 minutes ago, I thought were lost.
So, Disk Warrior 4 saved my day. I have no affiliation whatsoever with them, by the way, in case you were wondering...I'm just interested in sharing a solution by using DW4 which many people were scheptical about, including me. Some said in this forum and elsewhere that they would not buy a .0 version, preferring to wait until the next release, presumably to have the bugs ironed-out. Some others were bothered by Alsoft's licensing system. Whatever, I say...It saved my files, 'nuf said. So there you go...Some feedback for you folks, hope it helps.
A.

Looks like HD is dead, installed Tiger successfully but during updates of software, HD started making noises and now won't start.
Suggestions for HD replacement service appreciated....posted separate thread for this.

Tech Tool vs Disk Warrior

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