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TECHTOOL PRO 9 REVIEW MACThe program also identifies the specific model of Mac being tested, as well as when and where it was built. ![]() TTP’s Automatic tests display the critical specifications of my 2.0GHz MacBook using animated instrument panel gauges, an example of the over-the-top graphical displays that appear throughout the Tests and Tools areas. ![]() I’ll admit, I’m a sucker for over-the-top eye candy as much as anyone, and Micromat has included plenty of it in this package. TECHTOOL PRO 9 REVIEW SERIESThe results appear not as numerical displays or bar graphs, but as a series of readouts on the gauges of a faux instrument panel it’s no wonder the system requirements for TTP 5 specify Quartz Extreme capability, a requirement that might seem, er, extreme for a troubleshooting utility. Each time you fire up TTP, whether you’ve running it from the bootable DVD or your own hard drive, a series of automatic tests are initiated which check the cache, USB and FireWire busses, processor, and network (if connected wirelessly or via Ethernet) and provide the relevant specs for each. Let’s take a closer look at each of the three TTP areas, starting with Tests. Note that you can toggle individual TechTool Protection features like the Directory Backup on or off, in addition to enabling or disabling the entire suite all at once. TECHTOOL PRO 9 REVIEW FREEHere, I’ve adjusted the threshold for the free space warning on our boot partition to 10% and the Check Interval to 30 minutes. The TechTool Protection preference pane allows you to enable or disable TTP’s protection features, as well as fine-tune some of the settings. TECHTOOL PRO 9 REVIEW INSTALLWhile TTP can be run by booting from the DVD (OS X 10.5.5 is pre-installed), the protection features aren’t available until you actually install it on your Mac, and are controlled via a System Preferences pane, as shown in the illustration below. You also have the option for email alerts to be sent out in case you don’t happen to be in front of your Mac when a potential problem rears its ugly head. TTP will alert you if your free space drops below a specified threshold, or if the SMART reporting for your hard drive indicates a potential failure. The third and final aspect of the TTP program are the Protection features which, when enabled, monitor the amount of free space on your hard drive, back up your disk directory, track deleted files and check the SMART ( Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology status of your drive. One unique aspect of TTP’s Tools is the eDrive feature, which allows you to create a separate bootable partition on your hard drive containing a copy of TTP, which can be used to boot up your Mac and attempt repairs in the event that your primary partition becomes damaged or unusable. The Tools area of TTP provides the ability to repair disk directories, optimize files and volumes, recover deleted files and even securely “wipe†data from a drive. The Tests area of the program consists of diagnostic routines that check the “health†of your hard drive, memory, volumes and files as well as select components like the processor and USB bus. TechTool Pro 5 (hereinafter referred to as TTP) takes a three-pronged approach to Mac troubleshooting – tests, tools and protection. Sure, there are a few tests whose usefulness is debatable, and some of the tools already exist as freeware or as part of the operating system itself, but after putting TTP through its paces on a selection of Macs both old and new, I’m convinced that this is one toolbox that’s coming with me on every job. The comprehensive suite of diagnostic tests covers virtually every part of your Mac, the tools are capable of addressing a wide variety of disk-related problems, and the protection features provide early warnings for problems yet to come. Thanks to Micromat’s TechTool Pro 5, I’ve finally got that toolbox – and the best part is, it’s all on a DVD that weighs less than an ounce. But I always figured if I could just carry that toolbox around with me, I’d be able to fix anything. “The day you can lift my toolbox, that’s the day you’ll be ready to come with me.†Of course at that age I couldn’t even budge it, and wouldn’t be able to for many more years, given its size and weight and the hundreds of tools contained therein. ![]() Price: $98 (upgrade from any prior version, $59)Īs a very young boy, I can recall many a time when I’d try my darnedest to convince my Dad, a glazier, to take me to work with him. ![]()
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