user’s guide & reference manual

The ul'mate u'lity suite for your Macintosh™

User’sGuide&ReferenceManual

DocumentRevision3.6

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• Safely Defragment Files

• Scan and Repair Bad Sectors

• Monitor S.M.A.R.T. Diagnos'cs

• Test Data Transfer Integrity

• Verify and Repair Volumes

• Backup/Restore Volumes

• Analyze Capacity Usage

• Hide Volumes

• Monitor Low Disk Space

• Preference File Inspector

• Find/Repair Broken Aliases

• Device/Volume Informa'on

• Benchmark Disk Performance

• Complete Ac'vity Log

• Schedule Important Tasks

and more...

LicenseAgreement ForOneComputer

READTHEFOLLOWINGSOFTWARE LICENSEAGREEMENT("LICENSE")CAREFULLY,BEFOREYOUUSETHEACCOMPANYING SOFTWARE. BY INSTALLING ORUSINGTHE SOFTWARE ORANYOF THEMATERIALSENCLOSED,YOUAREAGREEINGTOBEBOUNDBYTHETERMSOFTHISLICENSE.IFYOUDONOTWISHTOAGREETOTHETERMSOFTHISLICENSE,(IFAPPLICABLE)PROMPTLYRETURNTHEUNUSEDSOFTWARETOTHEPLACEWHEREYOUOBTAINEDITFORAREFUND.

1. License. The so+ware and documenta4on accompanying this License, known as the SpeedTools™U4li4es (So+ware), whether ondisk, in read‐only memory,or containedon any other mediaand therelateddocumenta4onarelicensedtoyoubyIntechSo+wareCorpora4on(Intech)anditsLicensor(s).YouownthemediaonwhichtheSo+wareis recorded, but Intech retains4tleto theSo+wareandrelateddocumenta4on. ThislicenseallowsyoutousetheSo+wareonasinglecomputerandmakeonecopyofthe So+ware retained by you for backup purposes only. You may transfer your license rights of theSo+wareandrelateddocumenta4on,theSo+warebackupcopywhichyoumayhavemade,andacopyofthislicensetoanotherperson,providedtheotherpersonagreestoacceptthetermsofthislicensea+erreadingitscompletetextandcondi4ons.

2.RestricRons. Youmay not, inwholeor part, copy,photocopy, reproduce, translate, reverse compile,disassemble,reverseengineer,reducetoanyelectronicormachine‐readableform,orotherwisereducetoahumanperceivableform(except forabackupcopy,asstatedinparagraph1), theSo+wareorrelateddocumenta4on without the prior wriJen consent of Intech. You may not change, rent, lease, loan,distributeor createderiva4veworks based upon theSo+ware in any form, in wholeor in part. Thisprohibi4onincludestransmissionof theSo+wareovera network fromonecomputertoanother. THISSOFTWARE IS NOT INTENDED FOR USE IN THE OPERATION OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES, AIRCRAFTNAVIGATION, COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, OR AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLMACHINES IN WHICH CASE THEFAILURE OF THE SOFTWARE COULD LEAD TO DEATH, PERSONAL INJURY, OR SEVERE PHYSICAL ORENVIRONMENTALDAMAGE. Yourrightsunderthis Licensewillterminateautoma4callywithoutno4ceifyoufailtocomplywithanyterm(s)ofthisLicense.

3.ServiceorSupport.ByusingtheSo+wareandagreeingtothislicense,youunderstandandagreethatIntechmaynotofferyouanytechnicalsupportregardinguseoftheSo+wareorrelatedproducts.Intechreservestheright to revisetheSo+wareanddocumenta4onwithout obliga4ontono4fy anypersonororganiza4onofanysuchchangesorrevisions.

4.WarrantyDisclaimer.ByusingtheSo+wareandagreeingtothislicense,youexpresslyacknowledgeandagreethatuseof theSo+wareisatyoursolerisk.TheSo+wareandrelateddocumenta4onareprovided“ASIS”andwithoutwarrantyofanykind.INTECHEXPRESSLYDISCLAIMSALLWARRANTIES,EXPRESSEDORIMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY ANDFITNESSFORAPARTICULARPURPOSE.INTECHDOESNOTWARRANTTHATTHEFUNCTIONSCONTAINEDINTHE SOFTWAREWILLMEET YOURREQUIREMENTS,ORTHATTHEOPERATIONOFTHESOFTWAREWILLBEUNINTERRUPTEDORERROR‐FREE,OR THAT DEFECTS INTHE SOFTWARE ORRELATEDDOCUMENTATIONWILLBE CORRECTED. NO ORALORWRITTEN STATEMENTS ORINFORMATIONORADVICE PROVIDEDBY AINTECH REPRESENTATIVE SHALL ESTABLISH A WARRANTY OR EXPAND THE SCOPE OR TERMS OF THISWARRANTY.IFTHESOFTWARE ISDEFECTIVE,YOUWILLBERESPONSIBLEFORTHECOSTOFALLNECESSARYSERVICING, REPAIRS, OR CORRECTIONS. Some jurisdic4ons do not allow for exclusion of impliedwarran4es, so the aboveexclusionmay not apply to you. The So+waremay not work properlywithmodifiedversionsofyourcomputersopera4ngsystem,certainresidentso+wareapplica4ons,orhardwarethatisnot100%compa4blewiththatprovidedbythecomputersmanufacturer.

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5.LimitedWarrantyRegardingMedia.IntechwarrantsthatthemediaonwhichtheSo+wareisrecordedshallbefreefromdefectsinmaterials andworkmanshipundernormalusefora periodofninety(90)daysfromthedateofyourpurchaseof theSo+ware,asestablishedbyyourreceipt.Intech’sen4reliability,aswellasyoursoleandexclusiveremedy,will bereplacementofthemediawhichisdefec4ve. ThemediamustbereturnedtoIntechwithacopyofyourreceipt.Thiswarrantydoesnotincludemediadamagedbyaccident,abuse,ormisapplica4on.ANY IMPLIEDWARRANTIESONTHEMEDIAARE LIMITEDTOAPERIODOF NINETY(90) DAYS FROM THE DATE OF DELIVERY TO YOU. THIS LIMITATION INCLUDES IMPLIEDWARRANTIESSUCHASTHEIMPLIEDWARRANTIESOFMERCHANTABILITYANDFITNESSFORAPARTICULARPURPOSE.Thiswarrantygivesyouspecificlegalrights,andyoumayalsohaveotherrights whichvaryfromstatetostate.

6.LimitaRononLiability. INNO EVENTWILLINTECHBE LIABLE TOYOUFORDIRECT,INDIRECT,SPECIAL,INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE THESOFTWARE ORRELATEDDOCUMENTATION,EVEN IF INTECHHASBEENADVISEDOFTHE POSSIBILITY OFSUCHDAMAGES.INTECHSHALLHAVENOLIABILITYFORANYHARDWARE,SOFTWAREORDATASTOREDORUSED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE SOFTWARE, INCLUDING THE COSTS OF REPAIRING, REPLACING, ORRECOVERINGSUCHHARDWARE,SOFTWAREORDATA.UndernocircumstancesshallIntech’stotalliabilitytoyoufor alldamages, losses,and causesof ac4on (whether incontract, tort (including negligence) orotherwise)exceedtheamountpaidbyyoutoobtaintheSo+wareandrelateddocumenta4on.

7.Severability.Shouldacourtofcompetentjurisdic4ondeclarethislicenseagreement,oranypor4onofthis license agreement, to be unenforceable, that por4on shall be enforced to the maximum extentpossiblesoastoeffectuatetheintentofthepar4es,andtheremainderoftheagreementshall con4nueinfullforceandeffect.

8.CompleteAgreement.Thislicensecons4tutestheen4reagreementamong thepar4esregarding theuseoftheSo+wareandrelateddocumenta4on.Thislicenseagreementreplacesandsupersedesanypriorunderstandings or agreements, whether oral or wriJen. No contemporaneous understandings oragreementswere entered into in conjunc4onwith this licenseagreement. Nochange to this licensingagreementwillbeeffec4veagainstIntechunlessitisinwri4ngandsignedbyanauthorizedrepresenta4veofIntechSo+wareCorpora4on.

©Copyright1994‐2009byIntechSo+wareCorpora4on.Allrightsreservedworldwide,includingthosetoreproduce, modify and/or distribute this document or part thereof, in any form without prior wriJenconsentfromIntechSo+wareCorpora4on.

Apple,theAppleLogo,Macintosh,PowerMacintosh,MacOS,MacBook,andPowerBookaretrademarksorregistered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. SpeedTools, CD‐ROM SpeedTools, CD/DVD SpeedTools,Hard Disk SpeedTools, PeripheralView, Cache Monitor, QwikInstall, Integrity, QuickBench, QuickBenchClassic,DrivePC,DeviceTuner,QuickBack,S.M.A.R.T.Guard,SMARTAlert,FolderTrim,DriveTrim,theIntechLogo and “The ul4mate u4lity suite for your Macintosh” are salesmarks, trademarks or registeredtrademarks ofIntechSo+wareCorpora4on.Allotherbrandandproductnamescontainedintheso+wareandrelated documenta4onwereusedinaneditorialfashiononlyandarethetrademarks or registeredtrademarksoftheirrespec4veholders.

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TableofContents

About This Guide 7Updating SpeedTools Utilities 7System Requirements 7Introduction 8

About Pro and OEM Versions 9Installing SpeedTools Utilities 9

Uninstalling SpeedTools Utilities 9

Technical Support 9

Overview of the SpeedTools Utilities Features 10Using the SpeedTools Utilities Software 12

First Time Users 13

Describing the Main Window 13

Get Quick Help with Help Tags 14

The SpeedTools Utilities Main Toolbar 15Unmount Button 15Benchmark Button 15

Schedule Button 15

SMART Alert Button 15

Clear Tasks Button 15

Users Guide Button 15Choosing a Volume For a Task 16Choosing a Task 16Scan and Repair Bad Sectors 17

Block/Sector vs. Allocation Block 17

Scan Files for Bad Sectors 18Scan Volume for Bad Sectors 19

Scan For Bad Sector Options 20

Viewing Results in the Repair and Maintenance Log 21

Defragment Files 21About Fragmented Files 22What is File Fragmentation? 22

What are File Forks? 22

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Defragmenting vs. Optimizing Explained 23

Using the Defragment Files Feature 23

Check for Fragmentation 24

Defragment All Files 24

Viewing Results in the Repair and Maintenance Log 24Common Questions about Defragmenting a Volume 24

Test Data Transfer Integrity 25Why do I need to run Data Transfer Integrity tests? 25

Test Size 26

Duration 26Status 26

I/O Monitor 26

Starting a Data Transfer Integrity Test 27

Verify and Repair Volume 27Verify Volume 27Repair Volume 28

Common Questions about Repairing a Volume 28

Analyze Capacity Usage 29Backup / Restore Volume 30

Backup Volume 30Archive Selected Items 31

Restore From Disk Image 31

Find and Repair Broken Aliases 32Repair Alias Options 33

Volume Options and Settings 34Hide this Volume from Finder 34

Alert Me When a Volumeʼs Free Space Becomes Low 35

S.M.A.R.T. Diagnostics 35The S.M.A.R.T. Diagnostics Window 36

Automatic S.M.A.R.T. Monitoring with S.M.A.R.T. Alert 37Preference File Inspector 40

Starting an Inspection 40

About the XML/Property List (.plist) Format 41

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Device / Volume Information 42Volume Information 42

Device Information 42

Repair and Maintenance Log 43Scheduling an Automated Task 44

Adding a New Scheduled Task 44

Viewing a Scheduled Task in Progress 46

Preferences 46Disk Benchmarking 48

Using QuickBench™ 48QuickBench Benchmarking Tips 53

Using ZoneBench™ 54

SpeedTools Utilities Menu Options 59SpeedTools Utilities (main application menu) 59

File 59Advanced 59

Update 60

Help 60

Frequently Asked Questions 60SpeedTools Utilities Keyboard Commands 62

General Keyboard Menu Commands 62

Show Task Keyboard Commands 63

Show Volume Heading Information Commands 63

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AboutThisGuide

Theinstruc4onsandexplana4onsinthisguideassumethatyouunderstandhowtooperateyourMacintoshcomputer.Youshould,forexample,knowhowtochoose,select,launch,anddragbyusingyourmouse.Inaddi4on,youshouldalsounderstandhowthedesktop,windows,dialogboxes,buJonsandfile/foldersworkwithintheMacintoshenvironment.Formoreinforma4onabouttheseitems,pleaserefertoyourMacintoshUser’sGuide.

UpdaRngSpeedToolsURliRes

From4meto4me,updatesmaybeprovidedforthisproduct.Tocheckforso+wareupdates,gototheUpdatemenuandchooseCheckforUpdatesNow…menuitem.Ifanupdateisavailableyouwillseeawindowwithupdateinstruc4ons;otherwiseamessagewillsimplystateyourversioniscurrent.

Youcanalsoselecttheop4onintheUpdatemenutoAutomaRcallyCheckforUpdateswhichwillcheckforanupdateeach4meyoulaunchtheSpeedToolsU4li4esapplica4on.Uncheckthisop4onifyoudonotwanttheso+waretoautoma4callycheckforupdatesatlaunch.

SystemRequirements

PowerPCG4(400MHz)processororfasterMacOSX10.3.9orlater(10.4orlaterishighlyrecommended)CD‐ROMdrive(ifso+warewasprovidedoncompactdisc)256MBRAMorhigher80MBharddiskspace

Theserequirementsmaychangewithfutureupdates.Youcanfindoutthelatestrequirementsbyvisi4ngtheSpeedToolsU4li4esproductpageontheIntechwebsiteat:

h_p://www.SpeedTools.com

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http://www.SpeedTools.com

http://www.SpeedTools.com

IntroducRon

ThankyouforpurchasingSpeedToolsU4li4es.Thecollec4onofharddisku4li4esincludedintheso+waremakesiteasytokeepyourcomputerrunninglikenewbyusingprofessionaltes4ngtools thathavebeenadoptedbyindustrygiantstostayontopofanyproblemsthatmayoccur,andhelpprotectyourdataincaseofharddrivefailure.

WithSpeedToolsURliResyoucan:

• Scanandrepairbadsectors

• Defragmentfiles

• Verifyandrepairvolumes

• Testdatatransferintegrity

• Findandrepairbrokenaliasandsymboliclinkfiles

• Analyzecapacityusage

• Checkandautoma4callymonitorATA/SATAS.M.A.R.T.status

• Viewdetaileddeviceandvolumeinforma4on

• Monitorlowfreespacelevelswithalerts

• HideVolumesfromtheFinder’sview

• Backupandrestorevolumes

• Iden4fyandRepair/RemoveDamagedPreferenceFiles

• Benchmarkdiskandvolumeperformance

• Viewac4vitymaintenancelogs

• Scheduleautomatedtasks

SomeaddiRonalabiliResinSpeedToolsURliResthatmanycompeRRveproductsdonotoffer:

• ThereisnoneedtobootfromaCDwhiledefragmen4ngorrepairingbadsectorsonyour

startupvolume.

• Youcanschedulevolumeandfolderbackups,filedefragmenta4onandsectorscanning/

repairtasksforyourvolumesinoneeasy‐to‐useinterface.Thisincludesserngautoma4c

shutdownandsleepeventswhenyourtask(s)arefinished.

• Youcantestandrepairmorethanonevolumeata4me.

• ReceiveS.M.A.R.T.alertno4fica4onstofindoutifadeviceisabouttofail.

• Monitorandalertyouwhenfreediskspacebecomelow‐‐withindividualvolumeserngs.

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AboutProandOEMVersions

From4meto4meinthisguide,youmayseesec4onswhichbeginwith.Thismeansthatthefeatureorinstruc4onwhichfollowsarenotavailableorprovidedinOEMversionsofthisso+ware.IfyouhaveanOEMversion(aversionwhichwasincludedwithahardwarepurchase,usuallyatliJleornocost),youcanupgradetotheProfessionalversionofthisso+wareatany4mebyselec4ngtheUpgradetoProVersion...menuiteminthemainUpdatemenu.OEMversionsareclearlymarkedinthemainwindow’s4tlebarwith“OEMEdi4on”.

InstallingSpeedToolsURliRes

Toinstall:

• InserttheSpeedToolsU4li4esCDordouble‐clickthedownloadeddiskimagefiletomountit.

• Double‐clicktheCD(ordiskimage)icononyourdesktoptoviewitscontents.

• DragtheSpeedToolsU4li4esapplica4onicontoyourApplica4onsfolderonyourstartupdisk.

• StartSpeedToolsU4li4es(fromyourApplica4onsfolder)bydouble‐clickingit’sicon.

• Enteryouradministratorpasswordwhenprompted.

• Acceptthelicenseagreement.

• EnteryourNameandtheSerialNumberprovidedwithyourpurchase.

See:FirstTimeUserslaterinthisguideformoreinforma4on.

UninstallingSpeedToolsURliRes

SpeedToolsU4li4esincludesabuilt‐inUninstallop4onthatcompletelyremovesallSpeedToolsU4li4esso+warecomponentsfromthevolumeitwasinstalledon.Touninstalltheso+ware,chooseUninstallthisSodwarefromtheAdvancedmenu.

TechnicalSupport

Should you need assistance with the installation and/or use of this software product, you may contact the support staff at Other World Computing. Intech Software has chosen OWC for this important support role because we want you to receive the best possible care and assistance. OWC is well known in the Macintosh community for its outstanding product support staff and we believe that your experience with them will be second to none.

Using your web browser, type in the following web url at the top of the browser window. When the page opens, you will be provided with assistance options for this product.http://eshop.macsales.com/Service/

Or, while running the SpeedTools Utilities application, you may select Online Support from the Help Menu.

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PRO

http://eshop.macsales.com/Service/

http://eshop.macsales.com/Service/

OverviewoftheSpeedToolsURliResFeatures

SpeedToolsU4li4esisasafeandreliableharddiskmaintenanceandrepairu4litysuitedesignedtobeeasyenoughtousebyanoviceorprofessional.Manyoftheu4li4esarestraight‐forwardindeterminingifafixisneededand,inmostcases,offeringasolu4ontotheproblem.

ChancesarethatyouwillnotregularlyuseeveryfeatureintheSpeedToolsU4li4esso+ware,butyouwillquicklybecomecomfortablewithsomefavoritesthatallowyoutotakecontrolofthemaintenanceandrepairofyourcomputer.Thefollowingisabriefsummaryofwhateachfeatureallowsyoutodo.

ScanandRepairBadSectors

Occasionally,sectorsonaharddrivewillgobad.Thisiscompletelynormal.Whenthishappens,thedataonthebadsectorwillbecomedamaged,butdataontherestofthedrivewillbeunaffectedandyourdiskcanremaincompletelyusable.

Usethisu4litytoexaminesectorsformediadefectsandrepairthembasedonseveralop4ons.Youcanscanjustthesectors/alloca4onblocksoccupiedbyfilesontheselectedvolume,orscanallthesectorsoccupiedbyfilesandfreespaceontheselectedvolume.Ifdataisaffectedbyabadsectoryouprobablywon’tbeabletousetheassociatedfileanymore,butSpeedToolsU4li4escanshowyouwhichfilewasaffected(inScanFilesmode)andallowyoutomakesurethatthebadsectorisneverusedagain.A+erwards,youcanreplacetheaffectedfilefromoneofyourpreviouslysavedbackupsorothersavedloca4on.Thiscansaveyouatremendousamountof4meoverrestoringanen4reharddiskbecauseyoudidn’tknowwhichfilehadthebadsector.

DefragmentFiles

Theregularuseoffilesonyourcomputercancausethemtobecomefragmentedover4me.Fragmentedfilescanmakeyourharddiskworkslowerandharderasitmovesitsheadsacrosslargesec4onsofthemediainordertoreadallofthepartsofafragmentedfile(whichcouldbelocatedalloverthediskmedia).

YoucanusetheDefragmentFilesop4onintheSpeedToolsU4li4esso+waretoexamineandrepairfilefragmenta4onontheselectedvolume.Onceyoudefragmentyourfiles,youmayno4ceanimprovementintheoverallspeedofusingyourharddisk.

TestDataTransferIntegrity

Thisisbasicallya“stresstest”foryourharddisk.TheIntegritytestcandetectdatatransferproblemswithstoragedevices,andiscompa4blewithnearlyallmountedreadable/writablevolumesandFilesystems.

UsethisfeaturetotesttheabilityofyourstoragedevicetoreliablyandrepeatedlyreadandwriteprecisedatapaJerns.RunningtheIntegritytestwillnotdisturbyourexis4ngdatafiles.

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VerifyandRepairVolume

Over4meyoumayno4ceproblemssuchasapplica4onsquirngunexpectedly,filesbecomingcorruptedorunreadable,anexternaldeviceisnolongeropera4ngproperlyoryourcomputerfailstostartup.Thiscanoccurwhenyourvolumedirectoryhasbecomedamagedduetopoweroutages,systemcrashesandhardrestartstonameafew.

SpeedToolsU4li4esallowsyoutoverify,andifproblemsarefound,repairissueswithadiskorvolume‐o+enrestoringfullaccesstothefilescontainedonit.Torepairyourboot(startup)volume,youwillneedtobootfromanotherharddiskwhichhasaMacOSinstalla4onandrunSpeedToolsU4li4es.Or,youcanbootfromyourMacOSXInstallCDandrunApple’sDiskU4lity.

S.M.A.R.T.DiagnosRcs

Atsomepointin4me,alldiskdriveswillfail.Onceadrivecrashesitcanbedifficulttoretrievethecontaineddata,soitiscri4caltotryanddetectafailingdriveandcopyitsdataoffitbeforeitfails.

TheS.M.A.R.T.diagnos4cstaskinSpeedToolsU4li4eschecksharddiskindicatorsforhealthandreliabilitybasedonyourharddiskmanufacturersspecifica4ons.Youcanrunon‐the‐spotchecks,orsettheS.M.A.R.T.Alerttorunatregularintervals.Ifadiskispredictedtofail,youcanbealertedbyanon‐screenmessageorhaveawarningemailsenttoyou.Thismaygiveyouthe4meyouneedtomakeabackupoftheaffecteddiskdrivebeforecompletediskfailureoccurs.

AnalyzeCapacityUsage

Wanttofindoutwhatfilesaretakingupthemostspaceonyourharddisk?SpeedToolsallowsyoutoeasilyanalyzeyourdisktoseewhichfilesareconsumingyoursystem.Youcanviewbyfiletypeor“ShowLargest”inordertofindthefileswiththelargestsizeandthenarchiveand/orremovethemtofreeupspaceonyourcomputer.

VolumeOpRonsandSefngs

Thissec4onincludesop4onstoconfigureanalertwhenavolume’sfreespacebecomeslow.Alsoincludedisavolume“Hide”featurewhichcanhelpprotectdatafrombeingeasilyseenbyotherpeoplewhomightuseyourcomputer,suchaschildren.

Device/VolumeInformaRon

Easilyfinddetailedinforma4onabouttheavolumeanditsparentdevice.Viewinforma4onsuchasdeviceserialnumbers,firmwarerevisions,fileandfoldercounts,usesta4s4csandmuchmore.

FindandRepairBrokenAliases

CleanupunusedorbrokenfilelinksonyourMac.Quicklyexaminethealiasand“so+”symboliclinkfilesonaselectedvolume.Ifatargetitemcannotbefoundforanaliasfile,youcanchoosetolinkthealiastoanotheritem,deleteit,orleaveituntouched.

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Backup/RestoreVolume

Beforeyoueverdoanyrepaironyourcomputerorharddiskdevices,youshouldfirstconsiderdoingafullbackup/cloneofyourvolumeandstoreitinasafeloca4on,suchasonastoragedevicethatisnotconnectedtoyourcomputer.Thisway,ifanythinghappensorfailsonyourprimarydiskdriveyoucanhavethepeaceofmindofrecoveringyourimportantdatafiles.

SpeedToolsU4li4esallowsyoutoduplicatetheselectedsourcevolumetoanothervolumeordiskimagefile.Youcanalsobackupspecificitemsifyoudon’twanttobackupyouren4revolume(whichcantakeupalargeamountofspace).Torestoreavolumetoapreviousstate,simplychoosethesaveddiskimageyouareinterestedin.

RepairandMaintenanceLog

Thisfeatureallowsyoutoquicklyviewac4vi4esandtestresultsperformedbySpeedToolsU4li4es.Inaddi4on,thislogwillprovideyouwiththeoutcomeofanautomatedscheduledtask.

BenchmarkDiskPerformance

SpeedToolsU4li4esincludestwodifferentBenchmarku4li4es.Onethatmeasuresvariousperformancefactorsofamountedvolume(par44on).And,anotherwhichmeasurestheperformanceofyourdisk’sen4remediafromendtoend.SeeDiskBenchmarkingfordetails.

UsingtheSpeedToolsURliResSodware

ItishighlyrecommendedthatyouuseSpeedToolsU4li4esregularlytokeepyourcomputerrunninglikenewandpreven4ngproblemsbeforetheyarise(or,atleasttolimittheirdamageifirreversibledamageoccurs).Tohelpyouinthistask,SpeedToolsU4li4esistheonlyu4litythatallowsyoutoschedulewhentodefragmentfiles,scanandrepairbadsectorsandbackupyourvolumesandimportantfoldersinasingle,easy‐to‐useinterface.

Formoreinforma4ononthescheduleop4ons,pleaserefertotheScheduleanAutomatedTasksec4onofthismanual.

Note:Beforedoinganyrepairyoushouldalwaysmakesuretofirstrunavolumebackup.Thiswayifanyproblemswithyourcomputeroccurinthefutureyouwillbeabletorecoveryoursystem.Doingregulararchivalbackups(severalbackupsmadeatdifferent4mes)canofferevenbeJerprotec4onbyallowingyoutolocateundamagedfilesthatmaybeonanearlierbackupbutdamagedornotpresentonalaterone.

Alloftheu4li4esyouneedtokeepyousystemrunningsmootharelocatedinthemaintaskmenuwhenyoufirstlaunchtheSpeedToolsU4li4esso+ware.

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FirstTimeUsers

WhenyoustarttheSpeedToolsU4li4esso+wareforthefirst4me,youwillbepresentedwithanAdministratorpasswordwindow.Itisnecessarythatyouenterthispasswordsothattheso+warecaninstallandrunimportantsystemcomponents.Next,youwillbepresentedwithaLicenseAgreementwindow.YouwillbegiventheopportunitytoAcceptorDeclinethisagreement.WhenyouclicktheAcceptbuJonthefollowingwillhappen:

AnAc4vateSo+warewindowwillbepresented.Here,typeinyournameandtheserialnumberwhichaccompaniedtheso+wareandclicktheAcRvatebuJontocon4nue.TheAcRvatebuJonwillbecomeenablediftheserialnumberiscorrect.

A+erwards,youwillbepresentedwithasmallwindowwhichwillshowtheprogressofvariousini4altasks.Whenthesetasksarecompleted,themainwindowwillbedisplayed.

DescribingtheMainWindow

TheSpeedToolsU4li4esmainwindowhasseveralareasofimportancewhichwewillcalltoyouraJen4onhereandregularlyreferencethroughoutthisguide.

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ThisareaistheSpeedToolsU4li4esMainToolbar.Itprovidesseveralgeneralfunc4onswhichwillbediscussedlaterinthesec4on.SeeTheSpeedToolsURliResToolbarformoreinforma4on.

ThisareaistheVolumeList.TheVolumeList(inlightblue),willprovidealis4ngofall volumeswhichtheSpeedToolsapplica4onpredetermineditcouldworkwithinsomefashion.Fromhere,youcanselectavolumetoperformagiventaskon.Todothis,simplyclickonanyofthelistedvolume(s).A+erwards,thelistitemwillturndarkbluerepresen4ngthenewvolumeselec4on.SeeChoosingaVolumeForaTaskformoreinforma4on.Inaddi4on,area#3(theSelectedVolumeHeading)willdisplayotherusefulinforma4onabouttheselectedvolume.

ThisareaistheSelectedVolumeHeading,see#2formoreinforma4on.

ThisitemistheMainTaskMenu.Youcanusethismenutoselectanewtasktoperformontheselectedvolume.Whentheselectedvolumestartstoperformatask,thismenuwillbecomegrayedoutandunavailableforanewselec4onun4lthetaskcompletesorun4lyouselectandifferentvolume.

ThisareaistheMainTaskArea.Whenyoufirststarttheapplica4on,thisareawillfeaturethetasksthatyoucanuseontheselectedvolume(thesametaskswhicharecontainedintheMainTaskMenu),onlyinlargeiconform.WhenyouselectataskbyclickingtheSelectTaskbuJon,thisareawillconvertintoop4onsandprogressforthetaskthatyouselected.

ThisbuJonistheViewBu_on.TheSpeedToolsU4li4esapplica4onprovidestwouniquelydifferentviewsthatyoucanchoosefromtomakeyourtaskselec4ons.Totogglebetweenthetwoviews,clickthele+orrightsideoftheViewBuJon.Alterna4vely,youmaypressthekeycombina4on:commandkey+“/”key.

ThisistheHelparea.Dependingonwhatyouaredoingwithintheapplica4onatvarious4mes,thisareawilldisplayhelpfulinforma4on,4psoraddi4onalinstruc4ons.

ThisistheCPUMeter.TheCPUMeterrepresentsthetotalprocessingpowerofyourmachineandhowmuchofthetotaliscurrentlybeingusedbyallrunningprocesses.Themetertakesintoaccountmul4pleCPUsand/orcores(ifyouhavethem)andisautoma4callyupdatedeveryfewseconds.Thisfeaturemaybeturnedonoroffin"Preferences",ifdesired.

GetQuickHelpwithHelpTags

Ifyoueverneedsomequickhelptolearnwhatafeatureorop4oncando,tryhoveringyourmousepointerdirectlyovertheop4onitself.Manyop4ons(checkboxes,buJons,etc.)includehelptagsthatappearifyouhoveryourmousepointeroverthem.Thiscansaveyou4mefromhavingtolookinthisguideforquickbitsofinforma4on.

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TheSpeedToolsURliResMainToolbar

TheSpeedToolsU4li4esToolbarcontainssixbuJonswhicharedescribedbelow:

UnmountBu_on

Tounmountadiskvolume,firstselectitfromtheVolumeListandthenclicktheUnmountbuJon.A+eryouunmountadiskvolumefromyourDesktop,theUnmounttoolbarbuJonwillchangeto“Mount”.ClickingtheMountop4onwillre‐mounttheselectedvolumetoyourDesktopagain.

Note:TheUnmountop4oncannotbeperformedonyourboot(startup)volume.IfyouclickonyourbootvolumeintheVolumeList,theUnmountbuJonwillbedisabled.

BenchmarkBu_on

SeeDiskBenchmarkinglaterinthisguideformoreinforma4onsaboutthisfeature.

ScheduleBu_on

UsetheScheduleop4ontoscheduleautoma4crunsofDefragmentFiles,ScanandRepairBadSectors,andVolume/FolderBackups.SeeSchedulinganAutomatedTaskformoreinforma4on.

SMARTAlertBu_on

UsetheSMARTAlertop4ontosetupautoma4cmonitoringandno4fica4onsforS.M.A.R.T.failuresandwarnings.SeeAutomaRcS.M.A.R.T.MonitoringwithS.M.A.R.T.Alertformoreinforma4on.

ClearTasksBu_on

UsetheClearTasksop4ontoclearallcompletedtaskresultsyouhavealreadyrun.Forexample,ifyourunaScanandRepairBadSectorstask,theresultsofthescanremaininthetaskwindowevenifyoumovetoanothertaskorvolumeandthenreturn.TheClearTasksbuJonwillresetalltaskssothepreviousscanresultswillnolongerbeshown.

TheClearTasksbuJondoesnotremoveanyRepairandMaintenanceLogentriesforaselectedvolume,butdoescleartaskresultsforeverydiskvolumeintheVolumesList,notjusttheonethatisselected.

UsersGuideBu_on

TheUsersGuidebuJonopensaPDFversionofthismanualonyourcomputer.

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ChoosingaVolumeForaTask

TheVolumeListshowsyouwhatvolumesareavailabletorunchosentaskson.Youmayonlyrunasingletaskontheselectedvolumeata4me,butyoucantestandrepairmorethanonevolumeata4me.Thismeans,forexample,youcanberunningtheScanandRepairBadSectorstaskononevolume,whilerunningDefragmentFilesonanothervolumesimultaneously.Tochooseanewdiskvolumetorunataskon,simplyclickonitsiconintheVolumeList.Oncethetaskisstarted,youarefreetoclickonanotherdiskvolumeintheVolumesListifyouwishtobeginanewtaskonanothervolume.

AnyvolumerunningataskwillshowastatusprogressbarintheVolumeListsothatyouknowwhenavolumeisbusyperformingataskandhowfaralongthetaskisasshownbelow.

Tip:YourStartupvolume(bootdisk)willbeautoma4callyiden4fiedwiththeblue“HappyMac”(Finder)iconasshownabove.

Tip:VolumeswhicharemountedfromDiskImageFileswillbe“badged”withasmallDiskImageicon(overthevolumeicon)foreasyiden4fica4on.

ChoosingaTask

WhenyouarereadytochooseatasktorunontheselectedvolumeyoucansimplyclickonanyofthetaskiconslocatedintheMainTaskArea,thenclicktheSelectTaskbuJonorchooseataskfromtheMainTaskMenupopup(shownbelow).

Anotherwaytoquicklychooseataskforaspecificvolume,istoclickyourmouse’srightbuJononavolumeintheVolumeList(whennotalreadyperformingatask).Thiswillrevealamenuwhichcontainsatasklis4ngsimilartotheMainTaskMenu.Addi4onally,thismenuwillcontainop4onsformoun4ng,unmoun4ngand/orejec4ngtheclickedonvolumewhenapplicable.

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ScanandRepairBadSectors

TheScanandRepairBadSectorsfeatureisdesignedtotestthereliabilityof,andpoten4allyrepairdefec4vesectorsonthevolumesofyourlocalstoragedevices.

Therearetwoalterna4vemethodstodetectdefec4vesectors:scanningthefilesonavolume(ScanFilesforBadSectors),orscanningtherawsectorsonavolume(ScanVolumeforBadSectors).Bothmethodshavedis4nctadvantagesandsomedrawbackswhichwewilldetaillaterin thissec4on.

Tobegin,firstselectavolumefromtheVolumeListonthele+sideofthemainwindow.Thenchooseoneofthetwomainop4ons:

• ScanFilesforBadSectors–Usethisop4ontoscanjustthesectors/alloca4onblocksoccupiedbyfilesontheselectedvolume.

• ScanVolumeforBadSectors–Usethisop4ontoscanallthesectorsoccupiedbyfilesandfreespaceontheselectedvolume.

Block/Sectorvs.AllocaRonBlock

Beforeproceedinganyfurther,itisimportanttounderstandtwotermswhichwillbeusedextensivelythroughoutthissectionandinthesoftware:"AllocationBlock"and"Sector."Strictlyspeaking,a"Block"anda"Sector"denoteexactlythesamething:thesmallestnumberofbytesthat

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canbetransferredtoorfromaphysicalstoragedevicesuchasaharddiskdrive(aka"BlockDevice").However,an"AllocationBlock"issomethingsignificantlydifferentandneedstobeclearlyunderstoodtofullyappreciatetheramificationsofreassigningdefectiveareasofstoragemedia.

SpeedToolsU4li4eshasintroducedtheabilitytocheckindividualfilesonallfilesystemssupportedbyMacOSX.ExamplesofsupportedfilesystemsincludeHFSExtended,FAT32,UFS,UDF,CDDA,ISO9660,etc.Thisfile‐basedapproachrequirestheintroduc4onoftheconceptofan"Alloca4onBlock."Analloca4onblockissimilartoaphysicalblock/sectorbutdiffersinaveryimportantway:itrepresentsthesmallestnumberofbytesthatcanbetransferredtoorfromafile locatedonagivenvolume.Analloca4onblockisalogicalgroupingofoneormorephysicalblocks/sectorsonthestoragedevice.Addi4onally,thesizeofanalloca4onblockcanvarywidelyfromvolumetovolumeandfromfilesystemtofilesystem.

Becausea"Block"andan"Alloca4onBlock"cansoeasilybeconfused,theterm"Sector"willbeusedinthismanualtodenotethesmallestnumberofbyteswhichagivenblockstoragedevicecantransfer.Likewise,theterm"Alloca4onBlock"willrefertothesmallestnumberofbyteswhichagivenvolume'sfilesystemformatcantransfer.

Note:Mostread‐only(writeprotected)volumesaresupportedforbadsectordetecRononly.Defec4vesectorscannotberepairedonreadonlymediaandyouwillonlybeprovidedwiththeop4ontoskipoverthedefec4vesector.Addi4onally,inscanfilesmode,youwillbeabletoviewtheaffectedfile,cancelthescan,orskipoverthesectororen4refile.

ScanFilesforBadSectors

IMPORTANT:BeforebeginningtheScanFilesforBadSectorsfeature,itisvitalthatyoutestthevolumeforFileSystemerrorsand/orinconsistencies.IftheFileSystemisdamagedornotworkingproperly,theScanFilesforBadSectorscoulderroneouslyreportbadsectorsfound.Ifthevolume’sFileSystemisMacOSStandard(HFS)orMacOSExtended(HFS+),youcanusetheSpeedToolsVerifyandRepairVolumefeaturetoquicklyverifythattheFileSystemisinperfectworkingorder.Ifyouareunabletoverifythecondi4onofyourvolume’sFileSystem,itisstronglyrecommendedthatyouusetheScanVolumeforBadSectorsfunc4oninstead,asadamagedFileSystemwillnotinfluenceitsfindings.

IntheScanFilesmode,SpeedToolsU4li4eswillaJempttoaccesseveryfileonthecurrentlyselectedvolumeandverifyeachalloca4onblockofthefile.Ifanerrorisdetected,thefilewhichcontainsthedefec4vesectorwillbeiden4fiedandseveralop4onswillbepresentedfortheproblem:

• OpRon1:"ShowFileinFinder."ClickingthisbuJonwillcausetheFindertoopenthewindowcontainingthefilewiththedefec4vesectorandhighlightitforeasyfollowupexamina4on,whendesired.IfclickingthisbuJondoesnotpresentthefileintheFinder,itmaybeinvisibleormaybeinaloca4onthatyoudonothaveuseraccessto.Inthesecases,hoveringyourmouseoverthenameofthefileinthewindowwillrevealtheitem’sfullpath.

• OpRon2:"CancelScan."ClickingthisbuJonwillstopthecurrentscanandresetthefilescanningstar4ngpointbacktothebeginningofthevolume.

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• OpRon3:"SkipFile."ClickingthisbuJonwillcauseSpeedToolsU4li4estostoptheexamina4onofthecurrentfileandcon4nuewiththefilescanofthenextfile.

• OpRon4:"SkipSector."ClickingthisbuJonwillcauseSpeedToolsU4li4estoskipoverthecurrentalloca4onblockwhichcontainsthedefec4vesectorwithinthecurrentfileandcon4nuewiththefilescan.

• OpRon5:"DeleteFile."ClickingthisbuJonwillcauseSpeedToolsU4li4estopermanentlydeletethefilewiththedefec4vesectorandcon4nuewiththefilescan.Thisisusuallythebestchoicesincereassigningthesectorwillputablank"hole"inthefileequaltothevolume'salloca4onblocksize.See"ReassignSector"belowformoreinforma4on.

• OpRon6:"ReassignSector."ClickingthisbuJonwillcauseSpeedToolsU4li4estoaJempttoreassignthedefec4vesector.Butbeawarethatinfilescanmode,onefullalloca4onblockwillhavetobeblankedoutinordertorepairasinglephysicalsector.Forexample,ifthevolumeisHFS+,itverylikelyhasa4096bytealloca4onblocksize.Inthiscase,reassigningasingledefec4ve512bytesectorwillputa4096byteblankspotinthefile.Suchablankspotinthefilemayleadtounpredictablebehaviorwhentheprogramwhichcreatedthefiletriestoopenitandreadinitsdata.

Ofcourse,sincethesectorisbadtobeginwith,theprogramwhichcreatedthefilewillnotbeabletoaccessthealloca4onblockwhichcontainsthedefec4vesector,either,soyourop4onsareratherlimited.Seethe“Advice”sec4onbelow.

AdviceonDetecRngBadSectorsinScanFilesModeIftheScanFilesmodediscoversadefec4vesectorpresentinafilewhichyoucreated,youhaveseveralop4onstotryandminimizethelossofdata:

1) Deletethefileandreplaceitwithyourbackup.Thisisdependentonhavingabackupsavedforfilerecovery.

2) Ifyoudon'thavearecentenoughbackuptomakethisaviableop4on,youcouldtrytoopenthefilewiththeprogramwhichcreatedit.Thereisalwaysachancethatthedefec4vesectorislocatedinanalloca4onblockwithinthefilewhichisnotcri4cal.Youcouldthensaveanewcopyofthefileanddeletetheoriginal.

3) TrytheScanVolumemode.ScanVolumemodewillfindthesamedefec4vesector,butwillalmostalwayshavetheadvantageofbeingabletoleaveasmaller"hole"inthefile.Inscanvolumemode,onlyonephysicalsectorismappedout(usuallyonly512bytes)insteadofonefullalloca4onblock(usually4096bytes).That's87.5%lessdatatypicallywipedout!

ScanVolumeforBadSectors

IntheScanVolumemode,SpeedToolsU4li4eswillaJempttoreadeveryrawsectoronthecurrentlyselectedvolume.Ifadefec4vesectorisdetected,SpeedToolsU4li4eswillpresenttwoop4ons:skipthesectororaJempttoreassignit.

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Beawarethatifasectorhassuccessfullybeenreassigned,ablankspotequalinsizetothedrive'sphysicalsectorsize(usually512bytes)willexistwherethedefec4vesectorusedtobe.Insectorscanmode,SpeedToolsU4li4esdoesnotknowifthedefec4vesectorwasbeingusedinsomeapplica4onfileordatafile,butyoucertainlywillnotbeanyworseoffthanyouwerebeforeyoureassignedsincethesectorwasbad,a+erall.

AdviceonDetecRngBadSectorsinScanVolumeMode

Sectorscanning(ScanVolume)tendstobequickerthanfilescanning,especiallyifyourvolumeisratherfulland/orcontainsalargenumberofsmallfiles.Ifyouareinahurryandyouwanttocheckforbadblocksquickly,sectorscanningisprobablyyourbestchoice.Ifabadsectorisdetected,youcanalwayscancelthescanandswitchtofilescanmode.Iffilescanmodefailstodetectabadsector,thenyoucanhaveahighdegreeofconfidencethatthedefec4vesectorcanbesafelyreassignedwithoutfearofanyfilebeingaffected.Ontheotherhand,ifthedefec4vesectorresideswithinafile,atleastyouwillknowwhichfileisaffectedandyoucanmakeamoreinformedchoiceabouthowtoproceed.

ScanForBadSectorOpRons

Thefollowingop4onsareavailableinbothScanFilesforBadSectorsandScanVolumeforBadSectorsmodes:

• SkipandLogBadSectors–Automa4callyskipfoundbadsectorsandaddthemtothelogforlaterviewing.Thisisasafeop4onifyouwouldliketoevaluateyourvolumeand/orfileswithoutrepairingthemandwithouthavingtodismissanalertwindoweach4meabadsectorisfound.

• AutoReassignBadSectors‐Becarefulwiththisop4on!CheckingthisboxwillcauseSpeedToolsU4li4estoaJempttoreassignalldefec4vesectorsdetectedduringthescan.Thisop4oncanbedangerousifyourdriveisrepor4ngmediaerrorsforsomereasonotherthanactualbadsectors,suchaswithexcessiveheat,excessiveelectricalnoise,etc.Werecommendusingthisfeatureonlya+errunningthoughascanwiththe“SkipandLogBadSectors”op4onsothatyouknowhowmanybadsectoryouhavefirst.Ifitturnsoutthatyouhavelotsofbadsectors,itmaybethatthedriveishavingothertrouble,suchasoverhea4ngforexample.Inthissitua4on,thereportedbadsectorsmaynotactuallybebad.Ifhowever,onlyafewbadsectorsturnupwiththeskipandlogop4on,thesectorsarelikelybadanditissafetousetheauto‐reassignfeature.

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• ConRnuousScan‐CheckingthisboxwillcauseSpeedToolsU4li4estorestartthescanningprocedureeach4meoneen4rescaniscompleted,un4lthescaniscancelledmanually.Repe44vescanninglikethiscanturnup“weak”sectors(sectorsthatareaccessiblesome4mesandother4mesnot).

ViewingResultsintheRepairandMaintenanceLog

SpeedToolsU4li4eswillkeeptrackofalldetectedbadsectors,regardlessofwhetheritisbeingusedinfilescanmodeorvolumescanmode.Alltheinforma4onthatwasprovidedatthe4meofthescanwillbeenteredintothelog.ToviewtheSpeedToolsU4li4eslogfile,gotoRepairandMaintenanceLoginthemaintaskmenu.Thelogfilewillbe4tledwitheitherScanFilesforBadSectorsorScanVolumeforBadSectors,alongwiththedateand4methetaskwasrun.

Inaddi4on,youcanscheduleScanandRepairBadSectorstorunatany4meusingtheScheduleop4oninthemainSpeedToolsU4li4estoolbar.Formoreinforma4ononthis,seetheScheduleanAutomatedTasksec4onofthismanual.

DefragmentFiles

TheDefragmentFilesfeatureisdesignedtospeedupyourMacintosh'saccesstofilesstoredonyourharddisks.Todothis,SpeedToolsU4li4esiden4fiesfilesonHFS+(alsoknownasMacOSExtended)formaJeddriveswhichhavepiecesstoredinmorethanoneplaceonyourdriveandrewritesthosefilessothattheyformonecon4nuousdataloca4on.Thisprocesscandrama4callyreducethenumberofdatareadsandwritestoaccessyourfiles,therebysignificantlyspeedingupfileaccessrelatedfunc4ons.

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AboutFragmentedFiles

Note:Anaddi4onalando+enoverlookedside‐benefitfromdefragmen4ngyourfilesisbeJerfilerecoverability.Intheeventthatadiskvolumebecomesinaccessibleduetocorrup4on,afilerecoverytoolshouldhaveahigherprobabilityofrecoveringthecontentsofafileifitisphysicallylocatedinasingleplaceonthediskinsteadofoccupyingmul4plescaJeredloca4ons.Thisispar4cularlytruewhenusingu4li4eswhichperformrawmediascansandaJempttofinddatafileswithoutusingthevolume’scatalogfile.

WhatisFileFragmentaRon?

Filefragmenta4onoccurs,typically,asaresultofthecon4nuousprocessofcrea4ng,dele4ngandmodifyingfiles.Whenafileisdeleted,forexample,itleavesa"hole"(unusedspace)inthediskattheplaceitusedtooccupy.Ifanewfileiscreatedthatislargerthanthedeletedfilewhose"hole"thenewfileisfilling,thefilemaybesplitintomul4plepiecesandplacedwithintheavailable"holes".Thisfilewhichnowoccupiesmorethanonephysicalloca4ononthediskissaidtobe"fragmented."Eachpartofthefilelocatedonseparateareasofthediskiscalledafilefragment.Thenumberoffragmentsthatafilecanbebrokenintoisvirtuallyunlimited.Itistypicalforlargefilesonheavilyfragmenteddrivestobemadeupofseveralhundredfragments!

Whydofilesystemsallowfilestobecomefragmented?

SincethefirstdaysoftheMacintosh,harddiskspacehasbeenatapremium.Asaresult,mostfilesystemsallowfilestobebrokenupandstoredinchunksonyourdiskwhentheyarecreatedandlatergrowntoholdmoreinforma4on.Ifthisweren'tthecase,diskswouldfillupmuchmorequicklybecausetherewouldalwayshavetobeenoughfreespaceonthedisktostoretheen4refilefrombeginningtoend.Forlargefilesonrela4velyfulldisks,thiswouldbeespeciallyimprac4cal.

WhatareFileForks?

ThereisonemoreconceptwhichshouldbeexplainedinordertounderstandhowDefragmentFilesworks:fileforks.UndertheMacintoshHFS+(MacOSExtended)filesystem,theinforma4oninfilesisorganizedintosmallerstructurescalled"forks."Everyfilemusthaveatleastonefork.InMacOSversionspriorto9,therecouldonlybetwokindsofforks:ResourceandData.ResourceforksaremappedandcontaindatatypicallydefinedbyApple,suchasinforma4onaboutanapplica4onprogram'smetadata,dialogs,controls,versioninforma4on,etc.Dataforkscancontainanyinforma4on,includingexecutablecode.

ButfromMacOS9.1throughallversionsofMacOSX,Applehasallowedfortheaddi4onofmore thantwoforks.Theseforksaresimplyiden4fiedbyname,notbytypeasinthecaseofdataandresourceforks.

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HowdoestheconceptofforksaffectthedefragmentaRonoffiles?

SpeedToolsU4li4esworksunderthebeliefthatitismuchmoreimportanttokeepeachforkwithinafilecon4guous(inonepiece)thanitistokeepanen4refilewithmul4pleforkscon4guous.Thereasonforthisissimple:theMaccanonlyaccessoneforkata4me.ForthisreasonittakesveryliJleextra4metoaccessdifferentforkswhicharenotsequen4alwithrespecttooneanother.Thissitua4on,whereafilehascon4guousforks(buttheforksthemselvesarenotcon4guouswiththerespecttooneanother)iscalleda"filewithnon‐sequen4alforks."

Therefore,whiletheDefragmentFilesfeaturewillaJempttomaketheforksofafilesequen4altoeachother,themainpriorityistoremovethefragmentsofeachforkofafile.Defragmen4ngindividualforksiswherenearlyallthespeedimprovementisgained.

DefragmenRngvs.OpRmizingExplained

Anop4mizingprogrammakestheforksandfilescon4guousliketheSpeedToolsDefragmentFilesfeaturedoes,butop4mizingprogramsaddi4onallygroupallthefilestogether,backtoback,insomesortofpre‐determinedarrangement.Forexample,allfilescouldbemovedtothebeginningorendofadisk,andpoten4allyevengroupedintocategories,etc.Whilethistypeoffunc4onalitycanserveapurpose,theDefragmentFilesfeaturedoesnotperformthisfunc4on.

Whydoesn'ttheDefragmentFilesfeatureperformanopRmizingfuncRon?

Thereareseveralreasons.Firstandforemost,itisnotsupportedbyApple.Thereasonissimple:fileop4mizingrequiresdirectmanipula4onoflow‐levelfilesystemdatastructures.WheneverAppledecidestochangethesestructures(whichtheyhaveonmul4pleoccasions),afileop4mizercouldwreakhavocinthesestructures.Furthermore,ifthereareanyerrorsinthesestructures,directmanipula4onofthemcouldmakethesitua4onfarworse.Secondly,fileop4miza4oncanactuallyencouragefilefragmenta4ontoreturnsoonerandmoreseverelythanperformingdefragmenta4onexclusivelysincethefilesareplacedendtoend.Asaresultoftheendtoendfile placementproducedbyop4mizing,thereisnoroomtogrowanyfilewithoutimmediatelycrea4nganewfilefragmentelsewhereonthedisk.

UsingtheDefragmentFilesFeature

TobeginaDefragmentFilestask,firstselectavolumefromtheVolumeListonthele+sideofthemainwindow.

A+erthevolumehasbeendeterminedtoallowwri4ngandusesApple’sHFS+(MacOSExtended)format,theinforma4onaboutthevolume'ssizeandfileswillbedisplayedintheMainTaskArea.Nowyou'rereadytobeginavolumecheckordefragmenta4onrun.

Note:ItisvitalthatyoufirstrunaVerifyVolumetask(seeVerifyandRepairVolumeinthisguide)beforeworkingwithtaskscontainedwithinthisu4lity.Thiswillensurethatyourvolume’sfilestructureisingoodworkingorderandthattheselectedtaskwillnotencounterunexpectedproblemswhileperformingothertasks.

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CheckforFragmentaRon

ChoosetheCheckforFragmentaRonop4ontogetinforma4onabouttheamountoffragmenta4onandwhichfilesarefragmentedontheselecteddiskvolumewithoutrepairingit.Thisop4onwillNOTmodifyyourvolumeinanyway.Whileacheckisinprogress,youmayclicktheCancelbuJontostoptherunatany4me.

DefragmentAllFiles

ChoosetheDefragmentAllFilesop4ontostartadefragmenta4onrun.YoucanclicktheCancelbuJonatany4me.

A+ertheDefragmentAllFileshascompleted,allfilesthatwereunabletobedefragmentedwillbedisplayedintheboJom‐le+listbox,alongwiththeassociatederrorcode.Youcanlookupanerrorcodedescrip4onbyselec4ng“CommonMacOSErrorCodesTable”inthemainHelpmenu.

Note:Notallfilescanbedefragmented.Some“FilesNotDefragmented”canbecorrectable,suchaswhenthefragmentedfileiscurrentlyinusebyanotherprogram.Tofixthisproblem,quitallapplica4onswhichmayhaveopenfiles.Also,ifyouaredefragmen4ngfilesonyourboot(startup)volume,theremaybeasmallnumberoffilesthatcannotbedefragmentedbecausetheyareinusebyyouropera4ngsystem.Inthiscase,youcaneitherignorethesefewfiles,orruntheSpeedToolsU4li4esonyourbootvolumefromaseparateharddisk.Alterna4vely,ifyouhaveavolumewhichcontainsadozenormorefileswhichwerenotdefragmented,considerrestar4ngyourMacintoshandrunningSpeedToolsU4li4esimmediatelya+ertherestart(andbeforerunningotherapplica4ons)tominimizetheamountofopenfiles.

Inaddi4on,youcanscheduleDefragmentFilestorunatany4meusingtheScheduleop4oninthemainSpeedToolsU4li4estoolbar.Formoreinforma4ononthis,readtheScheduleanAutomatedTasksec4onofthismanual.


Each4meavolumeischeckedforfragmenta4onordefragmented,informa4onaboutthatopera4onisstoredinalogfile.ToviewtheDefragmentFileslogfile,gotoRepairandMaintenanceLoginthemaintaskmenu.Thelogfile4tlewillincludeeitherCheckFileFragmentaRonorDefragmentAllFiles,alongwiththedateand4methetaskwasrun.

CommonQuesRonsaboutDefragmenRngaVolume

Q.CanIDefragmentaMacOS9volumeinMacOSX?A.Yes,providedthevolumehasbeensetupwithaMacOSExtendedHFS(plus)format.

Q.CanIDefragmentMyBootVolume?A.Yes,butanyfragmentedfileswhichareinusebytheopera4ngsystemorotherapplica4onswillbeskipped(thisusuallyonlyamountstoahandfuloffilesthough).

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TestDataTransferIntegrity

TestDataTransferIntegrityisdesignedtodetectproblemsassociatedwithdiskfirmware,datacablesignalqualityandtheoveralldatatransferringreliabilityofvariousstoragedevicesandthebussestowhichtheyareconnected.

Thistestexclusivelylooksfordatacorrup4onwhiletransferringdatatoandfromyourdisk.Todotothis,SpeedToolsU4li4escreatesatestfile.ItthenwritesarevolvingdatapaJerntoyourdiskandreadsitbackin,each4mecomparingthedatapaJerntotheoriginal.And,itdoesitallasfastasyourdiskanditsinterfacecanhandle.Thistestisbasicallya"stresstest"foryourharddiskdriveanditsinterface.Addi4onally,thetestisextremelysafesinceallofitstestsareperformedtoatemporarytestfile,leavingyourexis4ngdatacompletelyuntouched.

WhydoIneedtorunDataTransferIntegritytests?

ADataTransferIntegrityTesteffec4velyreproducestheenvironmentandstepsthatotherapplica4onsusetosaveandretrievedatafromyourdiskdevice(s).Inotherwords,eachtestitera4onverifiesthereliabilityofeverythinginvolvedwithadatatransferprocessincludingvariousfunc4onsoftheopera4ngsystemitself,anapplica4on'sabilitytosaveandretrievedatathroughtheopera4ngsystem,thediskdevicedriver,thebusthatthediskdeviceisconnectedto,thediskdevicedatacable,thefirmwareofthediskdeviceandthediskdevicecache.

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TestSize

Theselec4onsinthismenurepresentthesizeofthefiletobecreatedandisusedforthereadingandwri4ngtests.Testsizesfrom1MBto10MBareavailabletochoosefrom.Formostpeople,a1MBsizeisusuallysufficienttodetectanyproblems.However,largersizesareavailableforthosewhowishtotestdatatransfersthatbeJersimulatedatatransfersusedbysomespecial‐purposeapplica4ons.

DuraRon

Theselec4onsinthismenurepresenttheamountof4methetestwillrunforbeforestopping.

Status

TheStatusareashowsdetailedinforma4onregardingthecurrentrunningtest.ThetestStatusinforma4onfieldsaredescribedbelow:

• HexBytePa_ern–AtextualsampleofthecreateddatapaJernwhichiscurrentlybeingwriJenandreadduringatestitera4on.

•MBTransferred–ThecombinedamountofdatawhichiswriJentoandreadbackinfromthestoragedevice.ItisdisplayedinMegabytes(MB).

• Sum–The“check‐sum”usedtoverifytheintegrityofthedata.

• RunTime–TheRunTimedisplaywillmonitortheamountoftes4ng4methathaselapsedduringatestsession.

• ErrorsFound–ThisfieldrepresentseachinstancethatthereturningdatadidnotmatchthetestpaJerndatawhichwasoriginallywriJen.

I/OMonitor

ThisareaoftheTestDataTransferIntegritywindowvisuallydisplaystheoverallperformanceofyourharddiskwhiletheintegritytestisbeingperformed.

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StarRngaDataTransferIntegrityTest

Onceyouhaveselectedyourtestsizeanddura4on,clicktheStartbuJontobeginthetest.Youcanstopthetestatany4mebyclickingtheCancelbuJon.


Each4meyoucompleteatestfordatatransferintegrity,informa4onaboutthatopera4onisretainedinalogfile.Toviewthelogfile,gotoRepairandMaintenanceLoginthemaintaskmenu.Thelogfile4tlewillincludeTestDataTransferIntegrity,alongwiththedateand4methetaskwasrun.

VerifyandRepairVolume

VerifyandRepairVolumecanhelpgetyourcomputerworkingsmoothlyagainifyoubegintoexperienceproblemsrunningyoursystem.Theseproblemsinclude:applica4onsquirngunexpectedly,filesnotopening,externaldevicesnotworkingproperly,oryourcomputerfailingtostartupfortheselectedbootdisk.

Tobegin,makesureotherapplica4onsandfilesareclosedandthenselectavolumefromtheSelectedVolumepaneonthele+.ThenclicktheVerifybuJon.

VerifyVolume

TheVerifyVolume(Filesystem)op4onwillexamineyourselectedvolume’sdirectorystructureforerrors.Ifyouarescanningyourboot(startup)volume,youmayexperienceperiodsoftotalsystemunresponsiveness.Thisisnormal.Justmakesurethatyouarenotrunninganyotherapplica4ons,orworkingwithotherfiles,whileSpeedToolsU4li4esscansthevolume.

Whilethescanruns,youwillseeeachitemthatischeckedintheresultswindow.Oncethescancompletes,thiswindowwilldisplayamessagetellingyouiftheselectedvolumeappearstobeOKornot,andthatVerifyisfinished.

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Ifaproblemisfound,SpeedToolsU4li4eswillrecommendarepairbedone.MakesurethevolumeremainsselectedintheSelectedVolumepaneandthenclicktheRepairbuJon.

RepairVolume

TheRepairVolume(Filesystems)op4onwillverifyanyerrorsonceagainandthenaJempttorepairthemiffound.

Oncetherepairprocesscompletes,theresultslistwilltellyouthattheRepairisfinished.

Ifyouhavebeenexperiencingmajorproblemswithyourcomputer,itisrecommendedyoucon4nuetoruntheVerifyandRepairVolumeop4onsun4lnofurthererrorsarefound.

CommonQuesRonsaboutRepairingaVolume

Q.DoesVerifyandRepairVolumealsorepairanyphysicalmediadefects?

A.No.ToscanforanymediaerrorsyouwillneedtorunScanandRepairBadSectors.

Q.WhyistheRepairVolumeopRondisabledformyselectedvolume?

A.RepairrequirestheselectedvolumebewritableanditmustbeMacOSExtended(HFSPlus)formaJed.Addi4onally,thevolumemustbeunmountedduringtherepairsequence,thus,youcannotrepairastartupvolumewhileyouarebootedfromit.Torepairyourboot(startup)volume,youwillneedtobootfromanotherharddiskwhichhasaMacOSinstalla4onandrunSpeedToolsU4li4es.Or,youcanbootfromyourMacOSXInstallCDandrunApple’sDiskU4lityprogram(FirstAidop4on).

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Q.HowdoIuseApple’sDiskURlitytorepairmyboot(startup)volume?

A.ToperformbasicrepairusingApple’sDiskU4lity,followthesesteps:

1.InsertyourMacOSXInstalldiscintoyourcomputer

2.Start(orrestart)yourMacwhileholdingdowntheCkey

3.WaitfortheInstallertoboot

4.ChooseOpenDiskURlityfromtheInstallerapplica4onmenu

5.OnceDiskURlityopens,selectadisk(defaultonmostcomputersis“MacintoshHD”)and

thenmakesuretheFirstAidtabisselected.

YoushouldthenbeabletoVerifyDiskand/orRepairthevolume.Formoreinforma4ononthese,aswellasotherDiskU4lityfeatures,pleaserefertotheHelpguideintheDiskU4lityHelpmenu.

AnalyzeCapacityUsage

SpeedToolsU4li4esprovidesahandytooltoquicklyseewhatkindoffilesaretakingupthemostspaceonyourMac.Thisallowsyoutoeasilylocateanylargefilesyoudon’tuseonaregularbasisandarchiveorbackthemuptoaCD/DVDorotherstoragedevice.Doingthiswillfreeupaddi4onalharddiskspaceforotherfilesandapplica4onsyouworkwithmoreo+en.

Tobegin,firstselectavolumefromtheVolumeListonthele+sideofthemainwindow.Next,clicktheUpdatebuJon.Thescanmaytakesome4medependingonthesizeofyoursystemandhowmanyfilesyouhave,sopleasebepa4ent.

Onceascancompletes,youhavetwoviewingop4onsavailable:

ShowUsagebyFileType–Thiswilldisplaywhatfiletypesaretakingupthemostspaceonyourselectedvolume(forexample,whatpercentageofyourdiskdriveisoccupiedbyphotoormoviefiles).

ShowLargestFiles–A+erscanningtheselectedvolume,SpeedToolsU4li4eswilldisplaythelargestsizedindividualfilesbasedonwhatyouenterintothetextbox.Bydefault,thelargest100fileswillbeshown,butyoucanchangethisfromanynumberbetween1and1000.

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FilesdisplayedintheresultslistwhileinShowLargestmodecanbeopenedtotheirloca4onwithasimpledouble‐click,andyoucanthenremoveorarchiveanynon‐essen4alfilesinordertorecoverspaceonyourMac.

YoucansortthecolumnsbyclickingonthecolumnheadersRank,File,Owner,FileSize,or(%ofUsed).

Note:DonotremoveanyfilesyouarenotfamiliarwithoryoususpectisacriRcalfileneededbyyouroperaRngsystemorapplicaRonsthatyouuse.OnlyremovefilesyouknowwillnotharmyourMac.AgoodruleofthumbistonotremoveanyfilesthathavetheOwner“root”.

Backup/RestoreVolume

Backup/RestoreVolumecanbeusedtomakeacopyofasinglevolumeorspecificfilesandfoldersasneeded.IfyoubackupavolumeasaDiskImagefile,youcanalsorestoreavolumefromthediskimageusingSpeedToolsU4li4es.

Therearethreemainop4onspresentedas“tabs”whenusingBackup/RestoreVolume:

BackupVolume

UseBackupVolumetocopytheen4reselectedsourcevolume’scontentstoeitheraNewDiskImageFile,orOtherDiskVolume.

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BackinguptoNewDiskImageFileprovidestwoadvantages:First,youcanbackupmul4plevolumestoasingledes4na4onwithoutfearofcopyingoverfileswiththesamenamewhichmayalreadybeonthedes4na4on.Thisisbecausetheen4rebackupwillbecontainedinasingle,restorablefile.Second,thediskimagefileiscompressedandtherefore,willtakeuplessspaceonthedes4na4on.However,youcan’tbootfromadiskimagefileifyourprimarybootvolumebecomesdamagedorincapableofboo4ng.Toturnadiskimagefilebackintoaharddiskthatisbootable,youwillneedtorestoreit(SeeRestoreFromDiskImagelaterinthissec4on).Ifyouneedtogetspecificfilesfromadiskimage,youcanmountitbydouble‐clickingthediskimagefile itself.Doingthiswillmountthediskimageonyourdesktopjustlikeanormalharddisk.

BackinguptoOtherDiskVolumeprovidestheabilitytobootyourcomputerifyourprimarybootvolumefails.Whenfinished,theOtherDiskVolumewillhaveexactlythesamefileandfoldercontentsoftheselected“Source”volume.However,youshouldnotbackupmul4plevolumesofdatatoasingledes4na4on.Otherwise,youwillruntheriskofreplacingsimilarlynamefilesandfolders.Withthismethod,youcanalsochoosetoEraseDesRnaRon(cleanoffthevolumeyouare backinguptopriortosavingyournewbackuptoensureanexactcopy).IfyouchooseNOTtoEraseDesRnaRon,itemswhichhaveauniquenamewhicharealreadyonthedes4na4onvolumewillremain.

Whenready,clicktheBackupbuJontobegin.

ArchiveSelectedItems

UseArchiveSelectedItemstobackupimportantfilesandfolderstoacompressedZIParchivefile.Unlikecrea4ngZipfilesusingtheFinder,youcaneasilyadditemsfrommul4plefolderloca4onsandfromanywhereontheselectedvolume.Addi4onally,youcanselectaspecificdes4na4onforthearchivefile.Ifyoumakeamistake,clicktheRemovebuJontoremovetheselecteditemorclicktheClearbuJontoremoveallitemsfromthelist.ThenchooseaDesRnaRontosaveyourbackupto.

Note:ArchiveSelectedItemsdoesNOTremovetheoriginalitems.

Whenready,clicktheBackupbuJontobegin.

RestoreFromDiskImage

Usethisop4ontoreplacethecontentsoftheDes4na4onvolumewiththecontentsofapreviouslysavedDiskImagefile.Torestoreyourboot(startup)volumefromaDiskImagefileyouwilleitherneedtobootfromanotherharddiskandrunSpeedToolsU4li4es,orbootfromyourMacOSInstalldiscanduseApple’sDiskU4litytorestoreyourharddisk.

A+erselec4ngaDiskImagefile,clicktheRestorebuJontobeginrestora4onofthevolume.

Inaddi4on,youcanschedulebackupstorunatany4meusingtheScheduleop4oninthemainSpeedToolsU4li4estoolbar.Formoreinforma4ononthis,readtheScheduleanAutomatedTasksec4onofthismanual.

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FindandRepairBrokenAliases

Analiasisasmallfilethatessen4ally“points”toanotherfile,applica4on,folder,removablemedium,printerorotheritemonyourMac.Double‐clickingonanaliasactsinthesamewayasifyoudoubleclickedtheoriginalfile:itopensit.

MacOSXsupportsbothaliasfilesandUnixsymboliclinkfiles.Asymboliclinkisbasicallyasimplis4cformofanaliasfile.Asymboliclinkstoresapath(orrela4vepath)totheoriginalfile,whilealiasfilesstorepathsandaddi4onalinforma4onabouttheoriginalfile.O+en,thisaddi4onalinforma4oncanhelpanaliasfindtheoriginalfile‐evenifithasbeenmovedtoanotherloca4ononyourharddisk.

Some4mes,aliasfilesandsymboliclinkfilesbecomebrokenandlosetheirabilitytofindtheoriginalfile.SpeedToolsU4li4escanquicklyscanforbrokenaliasandsymboliclinkfiles,andhelpyourepairthemifneeded.

Tobeginfindingbrokenaliasfiles,firstselectavolumefromtheVolumeListonthele+sideofthemainwindow.

Youhavetwoop4onsforscanning,andcanselectbothop4onsifdesired.

• FindBrokenAliasFiles–Selectthisop4onifyouwanttofindbroken“Apple‐style”aliasesontheselectedvolume.

• FindBrokenSymbolicLinkFiles–Selectthisop4onifyouwanttofindbroken“Unix‐style”aliasesontheselectedvolume.

ClicktheFindbuJonwhenyouarereadytobeginthescan.

ArunningprogressisdisplayedasSpeedToolsU4li4essearchesyourselecteddiskvolumeforbrokenaliasesand/orsymboliclinks(dependingonwhatop4onsyouselectedatthetop).

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Oncethescancompletes,alistofunresolvedaliasfilesand/orSymboliclinkfileswillbeshown.Witheachitem,anaJemptwillbemadetogetanddisplayinforma4onabouttheoriginal(target)itemthatthealiasorsymboliclinkfileoncepointedto.Inmanycases,youcanyouusethisinforma4ontohelptrackdowntheoriginalitemifyouwishtorepairthebrokenaliasfile.

Oncethelistisdisplayed,theLinkTargetcolumnwillbeginwitheitherofthefollowingtwostatements:

1) Unfoundtarget–Thisindicatesthatthevolumethealiasoncepointedtowasfound butthetargetfileorfolderwasnot.Inotherwords,thelinkisbroken.

2) UncheckedlocaRon–Thisindicatesthatthetargetfileorfolderresidesonavolume thatisnotcurrentlypresentonyoursystem.Therefore,thetargetcouldnotbechecked forvalidity.Thisdoesnotmeanthatthealiasisbroken,itjustsimplycouldnotbe checked.

Inaddi4ontorepairingbrokenaliasfiles,SpeedToolsU4li4esprovidestheabilitytodeletethefilesorleavethemunchanged.

RepairAliasOpRons

• RepairAlias–SelectafilefromtheresultswindowandclicktheRepairAliasbuJon.Abrowserwindowwillopenthatallowsyoutoselectanewaliastarget.Thismeansyoujustmanuallyselectwhichitemonyoursystemyouwantthebrokenaliastoopen.

• DeleteSelected–SelectafilefromtheresultswindowandclicktheDeleteSelectedbuJon.Thiswillaskforaconfirma4onfromyoubeforeyouremovethisaliasfromyoursystempermanently.Youshouldonlydeletealiasfilesthatyouarefamiliarwith;beverycarefuldele4ngsystemaliasfiles.Youcanalsosavesome4mebyselec4ngmorethanonefileintheresultswindowanddeleteallatonce.

Toseewhereaselectedbrokenaliasislocated,clicktheShowinFinderbuJon.

Note:Some4mesfilescannotbeautoma4callyshownintheFinder,suchaswhenafileislocatedinafolderthatyouruseraccountdoesnothaveaccessto.IfyouclickontheShowinFinderbuJonandthefiledoesnotappearintheFinder,youcanhoveryourmouseoverthelistitemtoshowtheitem’sfullpathasaHelpTag.

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VolumeOpRonsandSefngs

Thissec4onincludesop4onstoconfigureanalertwhenavolume’sfreespaceisbecominglowanda“HideVolume”serngwhichcanhelpshieldyourprivatedatafromotherpeoplewhomayuseyourcomputer.

HidethisVolumefromFinder

Thisop4onallowsyoutopreventthevolumefrombeingdisplayedinFinderwindows,onyourDesktopandinFileDialogs,whilecon4nuingtoallowaccesstoapplica4ons.

Inotherwords,thevolumeiss4llthereandaccessible,youjustcan’tseeit.Youcanusethisfeaturetopreventthevolume’sdatafrombeingeasilyviewedbyothers,suchasbychildrenusingyourcomputer.Addi4onally,thisfeatureisgreatforbackupvolumesthatyoudon’twantcluJeringupyourdesktopand/oraccidentallymodifyingwhiles4llprovidingaccesstobackupapplica4onslikeSpeedToolsU4li4es.

Note:Hidingavolumeusingthisfeatureisnotasecurewaytorestrictaccesstoavolumefromothers.Ifasecurelevelofrestrictedaccessisdesired,considerpurchasingacommercialvolumeencryp4onu4lityoruseApple’sFileVault.

Note:Hidingavolume“follows”thevolume.Thatis,ifyouhideaUSBorFireWirevolumeonyourcomputerandthenmovethedevicetoanothercomputer,thevolumewillremainhiddenonthenewcomputerun4litiseitherreformaJed,erasedortheHideVolumefeatureisunselectedusingSpeedToolsU4li4es.

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Note:Thisop4onisnotavailableinMacOSX10.3.x.

Youcannotusethisop4ononyourboot(startup)volume,butyoucanuseitonallotherMacOSExtended(HFSplus)formaJedvolumes/devicesconnectedtoyourcomputer.Tounhideavolume,simplyuncheckthecheckboxwhilethehiddenvolumeisselectedintheVolumeList.

AlertMeWhenaVolume’sFreeSpaceBecomesLow

Thisop4onallowsyoutobewarnedwithanon‐screenmessagewindowifavolume’sfreespacefallsbelowalevelthatiscomfortableforyou.Addi4onally,youcanchoosehowo+entheselectedvolume’sfreespaceischecked.Agraphofthevolume’scurrentused/freespaceisprovidedtohelpyoumakeyourchoices.Ifyouwish,eachofyourvolumesmayhaveanindividualFreeSpaceAlertserngandcheck4me.

S.M.A.R.T.DiagnosRcs

Anythingmechanicalhasreliabilityissues,includingdiskdrives.Theactualdutycyclestheycanwithstandareunknown.Allyoucanknowforsureisthateverydiskdrivewillfailatsome4me.Somemayfailbeforetheires4matedlifespan,whileothersmaycon4nuerunningyearsbeyondwhatanyonewouldexpect.

HowapersonusestheirMaccanalsomakeadifference.Forexample,asystemsengineerdoingintensiveworkontheircomputereverydaymayreducethelifespanoftheirharddiskmorequicklythanacasualuserwhoonlylogsonacouplehoursadaytobrowsetheInternetandrespondtoemail.

So,whatcanyoudoaboutit?

Sinceafaileddiskdrivecannoto+enberepaired,itisimportanttosavethedataonadrivebypredic4nganimpendingfailurebeforeithappens.Thiscanallowyoumore4metosaveorbackupthedatabeforethedrivefullyfails,whichcanbewithinminutesoruptoseveraldaysorevenweeks.

ThisiswhereS.M.A.R.T.DiagnosRcscomesin.S.M.A.R.T.standsforSelf‐MonitoringAnalysisandRepor4ngTechnology.Thisallowsdiskdrivestomonitoraspectsoftheirownhealthandstatusandreportthemtoyouusingso+warelikeSpeedToolsU4li4es.

Today’sS.M.A.R.T.representstheculmina4onoftheeffortofthemajordiskdrivemanufacturerstoaddressoneofthegreatestdrawbacksofmodernharddiskdrivestoragetechnology:hardwarefailureresul4nginpar4alortotaldataloss.Beawarethattherearetwokindsofhardwarefailure:predictableandnon‐predictable.Luckily,manyfailuresarepredictablebecausetheyaretheresultofagradualdeclineinthereliabilityofadriveover4me.Thisprogressivedegrada4onofreliabilitycanusuallybedetectedbythedriveitselfandimpendingfailurecanbepredictedBEFOREcatastrophicdatalossoccurs.

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TheSpeedToolsS.M.A.R.T.DiagnosRcstaskisacompleteharddiskdrivediagnos4cu4litywithpowerfulandintelligentreport‐viewingandearlywarningcapability.

SpeedToolsU4li4esalsoprovidesapre‐failurealarmwhichvigilantlykeepswatchoveryourdrivesandalertsyouatthefirstsignoftrouble,bothlocallyand/orremotely.Thinkofitasanearlywarningsystemforyourdiskdriveswhichwill,inmanycases,providevaluablewarning4metobackupyourcri4caldataBEFOREcatastrophicdrivefailureoccurs!SeeConfiguringSMARTAlertformoreinforma4onaboutautoma4cS.M.A.R.T.monitoringandno4fica4ons.

TheS.M.A.R.T.DiagnosRcsWindow

YoucanviewcurrentS.M.A.R.T.reportinforma4onfortheselecteddiskdrivebyselec4ngtheS.M.A.R.T.DiagnosRcsitemintheMainTaskMenu.

NOTE:Notalldiskdevicesand/orinterfacessupportS.M.A.R.T.diagnosRcs.Currently,theMacintoshanditsdriverssupportS.M.A.R.T.onATAandSATAdevicesexclusively.S.M.A.R.T.capabilityonFireWireandUSBinterfacesisNOTsupported.

Fromhereyoucanseethedateand4meS.M.A.R.T.Diagnos4cswaslastrun(LastUpdated),andthestatusofthatcheck(LastStatus).IftheLastStatusdisplaysagreencirclenextto“Verified”thentherearecurrentlynothresholdsexceededfortheselecteddevice.Ifawarningisdisplayed,findoutwhatisfailingfromtheresultswindowbylookingatthestatusforeachitem.

TocheckS.M.A.R.T.Diagnos4csmanually,clicktheCheckbuJon.Theresultsshoulddisplaynearlyinstantly.

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ImportantNoteaboutA_ributesandtheirThresholds

Drivemanufacturesusetheterm“threshold”todenoteareliabilityboundaryforanygivenS.M.A.R.T.“aJribute”.S.M.A.R.T.aJributesdeemedworthyofmonitoringiswhollyuptothemanufacturerofthedrive.TherearetwotypesofaJributes:“Pre‐Failure”and“LifeSpan”.

ALifeSpanaJributethathasexceededthemanufacturer’sthresholdboundaryisnotconsideredtobeanimpendingfailureforagivendevice.However,thiscondi4onshouldnotbetakenlightly.Thiscondi4onmeansthatagivencomponentofyourharddiskisnowrunningbeyondthemanufacturersexpectedlifeexpectancy.Eventhoughthiscondi4ondoesnotdirectlycons4tuteafailure,forsafetywebelievethatyoushouldreplacethedevice.

APre‐FailureaJributethathasexceededthemanufacturer’sthresholdboundaryisanimmediatepredic4onofdevicefailure.Assuch,youshouldbackupthedatacontainedonthedevicetoanotherdeviceandreplaceitimmediately.Tobeclear,4meiscri4calhere,youmaynothavemuch4mebetweenfailurepredic4onandactualfailure!

AutomaRcS.M.A.R.T.MonitoringwithS.M.A.R.T.Alert

SpeedToolsmakesiteasytonotworryaboutconstantlycheckingtheS.M.A.R.T.statusofyourconnecteddevices.UsetheSMARTAlertop4onintheMainToolbartoautoma4callyrunregularS.M.A.R.T.statuschecksandno4fyyouwithanalertand/oremailifafailureisabouttooccur.

TheS.M.A.R.T.AlertfeatureisonlyavailableinProversionsofthisso+ware.

CheckS.M.A.R.T.Status

Bydefault,theCheckS.M.A.R.T.Statuspopupmenuhas“DoNotAutoma4callyCheckS.M.A.R.T.Status”selected.Tochangethis,choosefromanyoftheop4onsshowninthepopupmenu.Ifyoursystemisrela4velynew,youwillprobablybefinechecking“OnceatUserLoginandEvery12HoursA+er”,whichwillrunaS.M.A.R.T.checktwiceaday.Ifyouareusingacomputerthatisseveralyearsold,itmaybeagoodideatoselectanop4onthatchecksS.M.A.R.T.statusmorefrequentlythroughouttheday(atleasteveryhour).

Ifyouarerunningonalaptop,youcanchoosetodisabletheS.M.A.R.T.checkinordertoconserve baJerystrength.Todothis,checkthe“Donotautoma4callycheckwhenrunningonbaJerypower”op4on.OnceyourlaptopispluggedbackintoACpower,theS.M.A.R.T.checkwillcon4nuebasedontheCheckS.M.A.R.T.Statuspopupmenuselec4on.

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Note:Ifyourdeviceisabouttofailthereisnowaytodeterminewhenitwillbecomeunusable.Thiscouldbewithinminutes,ormaylastoutforseveralmoredaysorweeks.Thealertand/oremailno4fica4onmaygiveyouenoughwarning4metosavecri4calfilesorbackupyoursystembeforeitfails.

S.M.A.R.T.FailureNoRficaRonOpRons

Therearethreewaysofbeingno4fiedofaS.M.A.R.T.failure:showcurrentS.M.A.R.T.statusinastatusmenu,openanalertmessage,and/oremailanalert.Youmaychoosejustoneop4onoranycombina4on.

ShowSMARTAlertStatusMenu–DisplaysS.M.A.R.T.Statusinyourmainsystemmenubar(shownbelow).AlsoshownisaniconkeyofthevariousSMARTstatusindicators.Checkthisboxtoac4vatethismonitoringandno4fica4onmethod.

PostAlertMessage–Willdisplayanalertmessageonyourscreenwhenadriveisabouttofail.Checktheboxtoac4vatethisno4fica4onmethod.Youcanalsoclickthe“ShowTestWarningMessage”buJontoviewasamplealertno4fica4on.

SendAlertEmail–Sendsanemailno4fica4ontoyouwhenadriveisabouttofail.Checkthisboxtoac4vatethisno4fica4onmethod,butyouwillalsoneedtoenterinforma4onintotherequiredfieldsthatbecomeac4vewiththisop4on.Theseinclude:

• OutgoingMailServer(theoutgoingSMTPmailserver;ifusingAppleMailyoucanfindthisintheAccountssec4onofPreferences)

•MailFromAddress(thisistheemailaddresssetupundertheoutgoingmailserveryouareusing)

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•MailToAddress(thisshouldbetheemailaddressyoucheckmosto+en)

•MailSubject(don’tchange,unlessyouthinkadifferentmessagewouldbemoreno4ceabletoyou)

Enteranemailaddressintothe“CCMailToAddress”ifyouhaveasecondemailaddressthatyouwanttheno4fica4ontobesentto.

AdvancedOpRons–Theseop4onsshouldnotbechangedunlessyouknowchangesarerequired.ThiscanincludeadifferentServerPort(25isthedefaultformostoutgoingservers,but587alsoworkswellfor.macandMobileMeaccounts),andwhetherornotyouroutgoingserverrequiresauthen4ca4ontosendanemail.Ifauthen4ca4onisrequired,checkthe“UseAuthen4ca4on”boxandaddyourUserNameandPassword.

Ifyouwouldliketobeno4fiedbyemail,itisstronglyrecommendedthatyousendatleastonetestemailtomakesurethatyourserngsareworking.Theemailwarningfunc4ondependsoncertainInternetconfigura4onvaluestobesetcorrectly.Theonlysurewaytovalidatetheemailwarningfunc4onalityistoactuallysendatestmessage.

Note:Ifyouareunsureofthesesefngs,youcancontactyourInternetServiceProvidertofindoutwhattheoutgoingmailserverisnamed,iftheysuggestadifferentport,andwhatyourUserNameandPasswordareifauthenRcaRonisrequired.

OnceyourS.M.A.R.T.AlertNo4fica4onSerngsarecomplete,clicktheOKbuJontosaveyourserngsandclosethewindow.ClicktheCancelbuJontoclosethewindowwithoutsavinganychanges.

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PreferenceFileInspector

PreferencefilesandotherPropertyListformaJed(.plist)filesareusedbyyourSystemandapplica4onstostoreserngsandotherimportantinforma4on.Informa4oninthesetextfilesarestoredusingtheExtensibleMarkupLanguage(aka:“XML”)format,whichfollowsastructured“key‐value”layoutsystem.IftheXMLstructureisbroken,thefileisdamaged.Thisistrueevenifthefileisreadablebyanotherapplica4on,suchasatexteditor.Whenthestructureisbroken,applica4onswhichrelyonthestructureforreadingthedatacancrashorbehaveunpredictably.

StarRnganInspecRon

ThePreferenceFileInspectorfeatureprovidesaquickwaytofinddamagedpreferencefilescontainedanywhereontheselectedvolume(includingtheSystemFolder)orinaspecificfolder,suchasaUser’sFolder.Toselectaspecificfolder,clicktheInspectPreferenceFilesinFolderop4on.Next,clickthe“Choose...”buJontoselectyourfolderofchoice.

Tobeginaninspec4on,clicktheInspectbuJonattheboJom‐rightofthemainwindow.A+eraninspec4onhasstarted,theInspectbuJonwillchangetoaCancelbuJon,allowingyoutostoptheinspec4onatany4me.

Note:Beforeremovingoreditinganyfileusingthissoftware,itisstronglyrecommendthatyoubackupallofyourimportantdatafirst.

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Ifoneormoredamagedfilesarefound,youhaveafewoptionstoresolvetheproblem:

1) Youcanreplacethedamagedfilefromabackup.Todothis,double‐clickonthefileintheDamagedPreferenceFilelist.ThiswillrevealthedamagedfileintheFinder.Next,locatethebackupversionanddragitoverthedamagedfile’siconintheFinder.ThiswillusuallyprompttheFindertoaskyouifit’salrighttoreplacethefile.Note:Itmayalsobenecessarytoprovideyouradministrator’spasswordtoreplacethefile.

2) Youcandeletethefilebyclickingthe“RemoveSelected...”button.Thisactionwillusuallycausetheapplicationwhichcreatedthefiletocreateanew“default”file.Note:Thisoptionmaycausetheparentapplicationtorequestnewinformationfromyousuchasaserialnumberthenexttimethatyoulaunchit.Additionally,theapplicationmaynotremembercertaincustompreferencesthatyoupreviouslytoldittoretain.

3) YoucanopenthefileusingApple’sTextEditapplicationbyclickingthe“OpenSelectedFile...”button.Thisactionwillallowyoutoviewand/oreditthefile.IfyouarefamiliarwiththeXMLformat,youmaybeabletorepairthemissingordamagedstructurewithouthavingtoremovethefile.Tohelpyouwiththisoption,clickthe“ShowProblem”checkbox.Thiswillrevealanarea,belowtheDamagedPreferencefilelist,whichcandirectyoutotheoffendingstructure.

4) Youcanuseacombinationofthepreviousoptions:Youcould,forexample,openthefileusingthe“OpenSelectedFile...”button.AfterthefileisopenedinApple’sTextEdit,saveacopytoyourdesktop.Then,deletetheoriginalfileusingthe“RemoveSelected...”button.Often,informationstoredinpreferencefileswillbereadabletoyou.Asaresult,youmaybeabletousetheopenedcopytohelprestoresomeorallofthesettingswhileyouruntheassociatedapplication.

AbouttheXML/PropertyList(.plist)Format

ApplehasprovidedseveraldocumentsontheuseofthisformatwithMacOSXontheirwebsiteandwiththeiropera4ngsystem.Fromtheplistmanpage:

“PropertylistsareconstructedfromthebasicCoreFounda4ontypesCFString,CFNumber,CFBoolean,CFDate,andCFData.Tobuildacomplexdatastructureoutofthesebasictypes,youputtheminsideaCFDic4onaryorCFArray.Tosimplifyprogrammingwithpropertylists,anyofthepropertylisttypescanalsobereferredtousingareferenceoftypeCFPropertyListRef.

InaCFDic4onary,dataisstructuredaskey‐valuepairs,whereeachkeyisastringandthekey'svaluecanbeaCFString,aCFNumber,aCFBoolean,aCFDate,aCFData,aCFArray,oranotherCFDic4onary.WhenusingCFDic4onaryasapropertylist,allkeysmustbestrings.

InaCFArray,dataisstructuredasanorderedcollec4onofobjectsthatcanbeaccessedbyindex.Inapropertylist,aCFArraycancontainanyofthebasicpropertylisttypes,aswellasCFDic4onaryandotherCFArrayobjects.”

Formoreinforma4ononPropertyLists,seeApple’sonlinedocumenta4onat:hJp://developer.apple.com/mac/library/documenta4on/CoreFounda4on/Conceptual/CFPropertyLists/CFPropertyLists.html

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http://developer.apple.com/mac/library/documentation/CoreFoundation/Conceptual/CFPropertyLists/CFPropertyLists.html




Device/VolumeInformaRon

Usethisfeaturetoviewdetailedinforma4onabouttheselectedvolumeanditsparentdevice.

Tobegin,firstselectavolumefromtheVolumeListonthele+sideofthemainwindow.Youwillseetwoop4onsavailabletoyou:VolumeInformaRonorDeviceInformaRon.

VolumeInformaRon

Viewinginforma4onaboutyourvolumesisagoodwaytofurtherdis4nguishbetweentwoormorevolumeswhichmaylooksimilarintheSelectedVolumepane.Otherinforma4ondisplayedhereincludesthenumberoffilesandfolderscontainedontheselectedvolume,andthedatethevolumewaslastformaJed/erased(seeCrea4onDate),forexample.

DeviceInformaRon

TheDeviceInforma4onop4onprovidesinteres4nginforma4onaboutthecapabili4esoftheselectedvolume’sparentdevice.Thisincludesinforma4ononthemediacapacity,whetheritisS.M.A.R.T.compa4ble,theserialnumber,firmwarerevision,productname,andmountablevolumes,amongotherthings.

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RepairandMaintenanceLog

TheRepairandMaintenanceLogallowsyoutoquicklyviewanyrepair,maintenanceandtaskresultperformedbytheSpeedToolsU4li4esso+ware.SimplyselectavolumefromtheSelectedVolumepaneonthele+toviewanyrelatedlogentries.

Youcansortthelogentriesby“NewestEntryLast”(descending)or“NewestEntryFirst”(ascending).ThetotalnumberofLogEntriesisshownattherightoftheSortop4ons.

Eachlogentrywillincludea“Successindicator”(GreenLEDforsuccessorRedLEDforfailure),ataskdescrip4on,thedateand4methetaskwasrun,andsomeaddi4onalsummarydetailsfortheresultsofthetask,whichcanbeseenbyclickingthedisclosuretriangleofthelogentryyouwanttoview.

Youmayalsoexpandorcollapsealllogentryitemsallatonce.Todothis,holddowntheOpRonkeyonyourkeyboardwhileclickinganydisclosuretrianglenexttoalogentry.

UsetheExport...buJontosaveyourloginfotoanRTFcompa4bletextfile.Thefilewillbesavedwiththedisclosuretrianglesopenedorclosedexactlyasyouhavethemonscreen.

Toremovealllogentriesforaselectedvolume,clicktheClearbuJonandconfirmtheremovalofthelogentries.

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SchedulinganAutomatedTask

Tostart,clicktheSchedulebuJonintheSpeedToolsU4li4esMainToolbar.WhentheSchedulewindowopensyouwillseeanemptyScheduledTasklist.Youwillalsoseethreeop4ons atthetopofthewindow:

AddNew–AddsanewScheduledTask.ChoosebetweenBackupVolume,BackupFolder,RepairBadSectorsandDefragmentFiles.

EditTime–Allowsyoutoeditthescheduled4mefortheanexis4ngScheduledTask.Youcanchoosebetweenhavingthetaskrepeat,havingthetaskoccuronlyonce,changethe4me/day/month,andwhetherornottoputyoursystemtosleeporshutitdowna+er

thetaskcompletes.YoucanalsoopentheEditTimeop4onsbydoubleclickingonataskintheScheduledTasklist.

Remove–RemovestheselectedtaskfromtheScheduledTasklist.Thiswillautoma4callystopthetaskfromrunning(although,ifascheduledtaskisalreadyrunning,itwillnotstopthecurrentprocess…onlystopitfromrunningagain).

AddingaNewScheduledTask

A+erclickingtheAddNewbuJon,youwillbegivenfourchoices:

Clickthetaskiconthatyouwishtoschedule.A+erwards,op4onswillbe providedwhichareapplicabletotheselectedtask.Theseop4onsaredescribedbelow:

• BackupVolume–Makesureyoufirstselectavolume(yourBackupSource)andthenselectaBackupDesRnaRon(eitheranothervolumeoraDiskImage).Ifyouareselec4ngavolumebackupofyourboot(startup)volumethenyoucannotselectyourbootvolumeastheBackupDes4na4on.Youcanfindmoreinforma4ononperformingavolumebackupintheBackup/RestoreVolumesec4onofthismanual.

A+erserngthe4me/day/month,youcanalsosetyourcomputertosleeporshutdowna+erthescheduledtaskiscomplete.ShurngdownyourMacmaybepreferableifyouarerunningthescheduledtaskovernightanddon’twantyourcomputertoremainonallnight.

• BackupFolder–Thisop4onallowsyoutobackupaspecificfolderthatcontainsimportantdataasacompresseddiskimagefile.Tostart,clicktheChoose…buJonbelowFoldertoBackup.This willdisplaythestandardMacOSfolderselec4onwindow.NavigatetothefolderthatyouwanttobackupandclicktheSelectbuJon.Next,clicktheChoose…buJonbelowBackup

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DesRnaRonandnavigatetowhereyouwantthisdiskimagetobesaved.Ifyouareperformingthistaskrepe44vely,each4methetaskruns,anewdiskimagewillbecreatedreplacingthepreviousone.

A+erserngthe4me/day/month,youcanalsosetyourcomputertosleeporshutdowna+erthescheduledtaskiscomplete.ShurngdownyourMacmaybepreferableifyouarerunningascheduledtaskovernightanddon’twantyourcomputertoremainonallnight.

• RepairBadSectors–Makesureyoufirstselectavolumetorunthistaskon(RepairBadSectors),andthenchooseyourScanTypeandScanOpRons.Youcanfindmoreinforma4ononthescantypesintheScanandRepairBadSectorssec4onofthismanual.


• DefragmentFiles–Makesureyoufirstselectavolumetorunthistaskon(DefragmentFiles),andthenchoosewhethertoCheckforFragmentaRonorDefragmentAllFiles.Forascheduledtask,theop4ontoDefragmentAllFileswouldberecommendedinordertoactuallyfixthefragmenta4onsomeofyourfilesmaybeexperiencing(ratherthanjustcheckingtoseeifthereisanyfilefragmenta4on).Youcanfindmoreinforma4ononfragmenta4onintheDefragmentFilessec4onofthismanual.


Note:Youcanscheduletaskstooccuratthesame4me.Ifthesetasksaretooccurondifferentvolumes,theywilltakeplacesimultaneously.Ifthesetasksaretooccuronthesamevolume,theywilltakeplacesequen4ally(i.e.onea+eranother)intheorderofthescheduledtasklist.

Tip:AderaddingataskintheScheduledTasklist,youcansimplyuncheckitscheckboxtostopthescheduledtaskfromrunningagain.Youcanthenchecktheboxoncemoretoac4vatethescheduledtaskwithouthavingtoaddanewtaskoreditanexis4ngone.

Tip:Itisnotnecessaryforyoutoleaveyourcomputerpoweredonforascheduledtasktooccur.Ifyouwish,youcansetyoucomputertoautoma4callyturnonorwakeupbeforeascheduledeventusingApple’sEnergySaverfeature.ThisfeatureislocatedinSystemPreferencesundertheAppleMenu.Tousethis,clicktheEnergySavericonintheSystemPreferencesPane.Next,clicktheSchedule…buJonattheboJom‐rightofthewindow.MakesurethatyouconfiguretheStartuporWakeeventtooccur5minutesbeforeyouwanttheSpeedToolsscheduledeventtooccur.Also,makesurethatyourcomputerissettosleepifitisinac4vefor10minutesormore,sothatitdoesnotsleepbeforetheSpeedToolsU4li4esscheduledeventcanoccur.

ClosetheScheduleTaskswindowwhenyouarefinished.Anyac4vatedscheduledtaskswillcon4nuerunningonyoursystemattheirgiven4me(s),evenifyoucloseSpeedToolsU4li4esorswitchbetweenusers.

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ViewingaScheduledTaskinProgress

Whenascheduledtaskbegins,asmallfloa4ngprogresswindowwillbedisplayed.Thewindowwillshowthetaskname,thevolumenamethatthetaskisworkingonandtheprogressofthetask.Ifmul4pletasksstartduringthesame4me,theprogresswindowwillgrowtoshowthosetaskstoo(shownbelow).IfyouruntheSpeedToolsU4li4esapplica4onwhileascheduledtaskisrunning,progressforthescheduledtaskwillalsobevisibleinthemainwindow.

Preferences

AlthoughmostofwhatyouneedforeachtaskinSpeedToolsU4li4esisfoundintherespec4vetaskarea,thereareaddi4onalop4onsavailabletoyou.ToopenPreferences,selectPreferences…fromtheSpeedToolsU4li4esapplica4onmenu(neartheApplemenuatthetopofthescreen).

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WhenthePreferencewindowisdisplayed,youwillbegiventhefollowingopRons:

• Playasoundwhenataskcompletessuccessfully

• Playasystembeeptoalertyouwhenataskfails• ShowthedisknumberassociatedwitheachvolumeintheSelectedVolumepane

• RememberLastWindowHeight

• Show/HideCPUMeter(seeDescribingtheMainWindow#8inthisguideformoreinfo)

• RequireAdminpasswordeach4meSpeedToolsU4li4esstartsup(StronglyRecommended)

• Automa4callycheckforupdatestoSpeedToolsU4li4es• ShowSo+wareVersioninWindowTitleBar

• AllowCPUSleepDuringTasksonACPower

• AllowCPUSleepDuringTasksonBaJeryPower

• PreventALLScheduledTasksonBaJeryPower• RememberTask…

• AutoSelectRememberedTask

ManyofthesePreferencesarestrait‐forwardintermsofwhattheydo.However,thereareafewop4onswhichwefeelcouldusesomeaddi4onalinforma4on:

RememberLastWindowHeight–Thisfeatureisespeciallyusefulforthosewhopreferthe“Grid”icontaskview.Ifyouenlargethewindowsothatmoretaskrowsbecomeexposed,thisfeaturewillrememberthenewwindowheightandautoma4callyexposetheaddi4onaltaskiconrowsthenext4meSpeedToolsU4li4esisrun.AllowCPUSleepDuringTasksonACPower–Bydefault,SpeedToolsU4li4eswillpreventautoma4cCPUsleepingwhiletasksarebeingperformedinboththemainapplica4onandscheduleapplica4onwhenyourcomputerispluggedintoanACpowersource.Thisisdonesothatlonger‐runningtaskscanfinishwhileyouareawayfromthecomputer.Otherwise,thetaskmaybepausedwhileyoursystemgoestosleepandthenresumedwhenyoursystemwakesup.ItisimportanttonotethatwhiletheCPUwillbepreventedfromsleepingbydefault,yourscreenwillcon4nuetofollowthenormalsleepserngsofthecomputer.Addi4onally,SpeedToolsU4li4eswillNOTpreventmanualSleepselec4onsfromtheApplemenu.Ifthisserngischeck‐markedandthesystemaskstheSpeedToolsso+wareifitisOKtosleep,itwillbeallowed.

Pleasenote:Constantdiskac4vitymaypreventtheCPUfromsleepingasnormalonsomesystems.Asaresult,the“AllowSleep”serngsofthisso+waremaynotalwayswork.Thisisbecausethesystemmaynotaskrunningso+wareifitsOKtosleepduringheavydiskac4vity.Instead,thesystemmayelecttokeeptheCPUawakeun4lthediskac4vityhascompletedonitsown.

AllowCPUSleepDuringTasksonBa_eryPower–Bydefault,SpeedToolsU4li4eswillNOTpreventautoma4cCPUsleepingwhiletasksarebeingperformedinboththemainapplica4onandscheduleapplica4onwhenyourcomputerisrunningonbaJerypower.Youmayuncheckthisboxtooverridethisbehavior.

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ShowZoomEffectwithTaskIconSelecRons–Selec4ngthisop4onwillshowaquickgraphicseffectthatmakestheselectediconappeartozoomouttowardsyouduringataskselec4on.

PreventALLScheduledTasksonBa_eryPower–Bydefault,SpeedToolsU4li4esWILLpreventallscheduledtasksfromoccurringwhenrunningonbaJerypower.Thisincludescheckingonandpos4ngLowFreeSpaceAlerts.Youmayuncheckthisboxtooverridethisbehavior.

RememberTask–Selec4ngthischeckboxwillautoma4callymovetheMainTaskSelectortothetaskselectedintheadjacentpopupmenuthenext4methatSpeedToolsU4li4esislaunched.

AutoSelectRememberedTask–Selec4ngthischeckboxwillautoma4callyselecttheRememberedTask(seeabove)andmakethetaskimmediatelyusable.Thisitemwillbegrayedoutun4ltheRememberTaskcheckboxhasbeenchecked.

TorevertallPreferenceserngsbacktotherecommendedserngs,clicktheDefaultbuJon.

Whenyouaredonewithyourpreferencechanges,clicktheOKbuJontosaveyournewserngsandclosethewindow.

DiskBenchmarking

OEMVersionsofthisso+wareincludeavolumebenchmarku4litywhichwecallQuickBench.WhilethePROVersionincludesQuickBenchandanotherdevice‐levelbenchmarkingu4litycalledZoneBench.Togetstarted,clicktheBenchmarkbuJonlocatedintheMainToolbar.InthePROVersion,amenuwillbepresentedprovidingtwoop4ons:BenchmarkVolume(QuickBench)andBenchmarkDevice(ZoneBench).OEMversionswillsimplystartQuickBenchautoma4cally.

• QuickBenchisanapplica4ondesignedtotesttheperformanceofamountedvolumeinthesamewaythatyoursystemandotherapplica4onsusethevolume.Inotherwords,itprovides“real‐world”performancemeasurements.

• ZoneBenchwasdevelopedtotesttheperformanceofyouren4redevicefromthebeginningofthemediatotheend.Thistypeofbenchmarkingcanbeespeciallyusefulfordeterminingpar44onsizessinceperformancewillreduceasdataisaccessedfurtherandfurthertowardthephysicalendofthedisk.SeeUsingZoneBenchformoreinforma4on.

UsingQuickBench™

TheQuickBenchapplica4onisasimpleyetpowerfuldiskdriveperformanceevalua4ontool(a.k.a.Benchmarker)whichhasfourmaincomponents:a"Standard"testsuitewhichmeasuresrela4velysmallrandomandsequen4alreadandwritespeeds;a"Large"and"Extended"testsuitewhichmeasuretwolargertestsizesets,and,lastly,a"Custom"test.TheCustomTestallowsyoutodesignyourowntestaccordingtoyourpersonalrequirements.QuickBenchisextremelysafesincealltestsareperformedbyreadingandwri4ngtotemporarytestfilesexclusively.Tobegin,firstselectavolumefromtheSelectedVolumepopupmenu.

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Note:QuickBenchalwayspresentsbytesizesinpowersoftwo.Forexample,aKilobyteisconsideredtobe1024(2^10)Bytes,NOT1000(10^3)Bytes.AMegabyteisconsideredtobe1024Kilobytes,NOT1000Kilobytes,etc.AlthoughthisisnolongerthepreferrednomenclatureaccordingtotheU.S.Na4onalIns4tuteofStandardsandTechnology,SpeedToolsU4li4escon4nuestousethislabelingsystembecausethisiswhatApple,Inc.supports.KeepingthisuniformwithwhatAppleusesshouldbetheleastconfusingtoSpeedToolsU4li4escustomers.

QuickBenchRequirements

TheStandardtestrequires153MBoffreespace.TheLargetestrequires198MB,andtheExtendedtestrequires594MBoffreespace.

GlobalTestOpRons

Inthegroupboxatthetopofthemainwindow,totherightoftheSelectedVolumepopupmenu,aretwocheckboxes:

• AsynchronousI/O–QuickBenchusesstandardfilesystemcallstoperformreadandwritespeedmeasurements.Broadlyspeaking,therearetwodifferentmodesinwhichtheserou4nescanbeexecuted:synchronouslyandasynchronously.Itisbeyondthescopeofthisguidetoexplainthedetailsoftheseconcepts,butitisworthno4ngthatsomeimprovementinwritespeedscansome4mesbeachievedbytransferringdataasynchronously,especiallyonfasterdevices.

• AllowCacheEffects–Runningatestwiththisboxcheckedwillresultinaveryshortpause(delineatedinmilliseconds)betweeneachtransfersizebeingtested.Amillisecondisathousandthofasecond.

NotethatintheStandardTests,thesepauseswilloccura+erevery1MBofdatatransferred.Also,thisserngisignoredduringrandomtes4ng.

SefngReadandWriteDelayValues

Whenthe"AllowCacheEffects"featureisenabled,theseshortpausescanhaveadrama4c,posi4veeffectonmeasureddrivespeeds.

Furthermore,op4mizingthesepausevaluescansignificantlyimprovemeasuredpeakperformance.Itisrecommendedtobeginchangingthesevaluesusing5millisecondincrements.

Note:Onlyvaluesbetween1and1000millisecondsareallowedforthereadandwritedelays.

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• ReadDelay–Thisserngcontrolshowmuch4meisprovidedtothedrivebetweenreadrequests,allowingthedrivetoan4cipatethenextreadrequestandpre‐fillitscacheduringthepause.Ifthedriveactuallyperformsreadaheadcaching,someorallofthedatawillbereadytotransferdirectlyfromthecachewhenthenextreadrequestactuallyoccurs,significantlyimprovingperformance.

•WriteDelay–Thisserngcontrolshowmuch4meisprovidedtothedrivebetweenwriterequests.Thisallowsthedrivetocommitdataitmayhavestoredinitswritecachetothephysicalstoragemedium.This,inturn,freesthedrive'swritecachetobefullyavailableforthenextactualwriterequest.

TestOpRon:Cycles

ACyclesserngisavailableineverytestmode.Anewtestcyclerepeatstheexactsametestforas manycyclesasarespecifiedandthencalculatesthesimplemeanaverageforeachresult.A+er5cycles,thelowscoreforeachtransfersizeisdiscarded.Thishelpscompensatefor,butdoesnotfullyprevent,occasionalrandomsystemac4vityfrominterferingwiththetes4ng.SeeQuickBenchBenchmarkingTipsattheendofthissec4onforadiscussiononthisandotherissues affec4ngbenchmarktes4ng.

Sincethereiso+enagreatdegreeofvarianceinspeedsforanygivensinglereadorwrite,theaddi4onofmul4pletestcyclescangreatlyassistinaccuratelyandrepeatabilityquan4fyingadrive'sperformanceatagiventask.This,sheddingamuchmoreconsistentlightontheperformancecomparisonoftherela4vemeritsofonedriveversusanother.

TestcyclesareaveragedbyQuickBenchon‐the‐fly,soeachsuccessivetestcycleprovidesanincreasinglyaccurateandrepeatablepictureofadrive'scapabili4es.Ingeneral,toincreasetheaccuracyandrepeatabilityofthetestresultschoosealargernumberoftestcycles.Justkeepinmindthatthemorecycleschosen,thelongerthetestwilltaketocomplete.

ViewOpRon:LineorBarGraph

Thisop4onsimplydisplaythetestresultsineitheralineorbargraph.

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TestStatus

OnceyoustartQuickBenchbyclickingtheRunTestbuJon,thissec4onwilldisplaythenameofthetestcurrentlyrunning.

TheStandardTestSuite

TheStandardTestsuitemeasuresninedifferentdatatransfersizesunderfourdifferentscenariosforupto100cycles:Sequen4alReads,Sequen4alWrites,RandomReadsandRandomWrites.Thetestresultsreflectthefollowinginfluences:thedrive'sinternalmediatransferrate,seek4meandcacheefficiency,theefficiencyofthevariousdriverscontrollingthedriveand,lastly,thespeedofthebusinterfaceconnec4ngyourdrivetoyourMacintosh.

QuickBenchmakeseveryaJempttolimittheinfluenceoftheMacOSfilesystemcachebecause,inourview,theMacOScachemakesittoodifficulttodeterminethedrive’strueperformance.

TheStandardTestsuitecanberunwhiledisplayingtheresultsineitheragraphicalrepresenta4onorasortablenumericrepresenta4on(whichshowsmeasuredspeedswithmuchgreaterprecision).Notethatthegraphicalandnumericviewsperformexactlythesametests,butjustdisplaytheresultsdifferently.Ingraphicalmode,onetestop4on,"Cycles,"andoneviewop4on,"Linevs.Bar"chart,areavailable.Innumericmode,onlythe"Cycles"op4onapplies.The"Cycles"op4onappliestoboththegraphicalandnumericmodes.

LargeandExtendedTests

TheLargeandExtendedTestsareprovidedtomeasurethedrive'sabilitytosustainlargeamountsofdatatransferredtoandfromyourMacintosh.TheLargetestmeasurestransfersizesfrom2through10MBinsize.TheExtendedtestmeasures20through100MBtransfers.Notethat,asopposedtotheStandardTests,boththeLargeandExtendedtestsarenotaseriesofsequen4alreadsandwritesaveragedtogether.Eachtransfersizetestconsistsofonlyasinglereadorwriteofthetesttransfersize.However,eachtransfersizeistestedsequen4allyrela4vetotheprevioustransfersizesothatthesameareaofthediskisnotaccessedmorethanoncewithinasinglereadorwritetestset.Thishelpspreventdriveswithverylargecachesfromreceivinganunfairadvantage.

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CustomTest

TheCustomTestsec4onofQuickBenchprovidesanearlyunlimitedrangeofsequen4alread/writetestswhichcanbeperformed.Therearethreetestparameterswhichmustbechosenandonetestop4onavailable.ThethreetestparametersareTransferSize,TransferCount,andTestCycles:

• TransferSize–ThetransfersizeistheamountofdatatobereadfromandwriJentothedriveforeachrequest.ThepopupmenuallowsthesizeyoutypeintobedelimitedasKilobytesorMegabytes.ValidvaluesrangefromoneKilobyteto1024MegabytesandisfurtherlimitedbytheamountofavailablephysicalRAMinstalledonyourcomputer.Forexample,ifyouhave512MBofRAMinyourcomputeryouwillnotbeabletouseaTransferSizeabove512MB.Infact,theamountofactualmemoryavailablefordatatransferswilllikelybefarlessthan512MB.

• TransferCount–Thetransfercountisthenumberofsequen4alreadsorwriteswhichwillbeperformedwiththechosentransfersizeforeachtestcycle.

Note:WhenusingtheCustomTest,youwillneedtobemindfuloftheamountoffreespaceavailableonthetestvolume.ThesizeofthetestfilewhichneedstobecreatedisequaltotheTransferSizemul4pliedbytheTransferCount.Forexample,aTransferSizeof10MegabytesandaTransferCountof100willrequire1000Megabytesoffreespaceonthetestvolume.

• TestCycles–Testcyclesareexplainedearlierinthismanual,butno4ceintheCustomTestthattestcycles,liketheothertwoparameters,aretobetypedinratherthanselec4ngapre‐definedvaluefromamenu.Validvaluesforthenumberofcyclestobeperformedare1to1,000,000(onemillion).

TestOpRon:ForceConRguousTestFileSpace

Afileisconsideredcon4guouswhenalloftheblocksallocatedforthefilearearrangedonthevolumeinasingleloca4on.Afileisconsideredfragmentedwhenitisarrangedintwoormoreseparateloca4onsonthevolume.CheckingtheForceConRguousTestFileSpaceboxwillforceQuickBenchtoonlyallocateacon4guoustestfile.Ifthereisnotenoughcon4guousfreespaceonthetestvolume,thetestwillNOTbeperformed.Notethatifyoudonotcheckthisbox,QuickBenchwills4lltrytoallocateacon4guoustestfile,butfailingthatalloca4on,QuickBenchwillaJemptanewalloca4onallowingthetestfiletooccupymul4plefragments.

Whenyouarereadytobeginbenchmarking,clicktheRunTestbuJon:

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SavingTestResults

Testresultscanbesavedintoeitherawordprocessorfriendlyfileoraspreadsheetfriendlyfile.Thespreadsheetfriendlyfileisspecificallydesignedtofacilitatethecrea4onofquickandeasygraphicalcharts.Tosaveanyandalltestresultsintoafile,gototheFilemenuandselectoneofthetwodataformatop4ons(youalsowillbeabletotogglefileoutputformatsfromtheSaveFilewindow).

ThewordprocessorfriendlyfileisformaJedwithspacesanddesignedtobeviewedbyanywordprocessingapplica4on.Forbestviewing,chooseamonospacedfont,suchasMonaco.ThespreadsheetfriendlyfileisformaJedwithtabsbetweenthedatawhichshouldbeassignedtocolumnsandcarriagereturnsfordatatobedisplayedinrows.

QuickBenchBenchmarkingTips

1)Quitallothernon‐essenRalprograms.DuetothewayMacOSXsplitsprocessor4meevenlyamongallrunningapplica4onsandotherprocesses,itisstronglyrecommendedthatyoucloseallunnecessaryapplica4onswhenusingQuickBench.Compe44onforprocessor4mecansignificantlyaffecttestresults,especiallyduringheavyCPUusage.Addi4onally,manyapplica4onsandotherprocessesgeneratediskaccesswhichalsocanadverselyaffectreliabilityoftheQuickBenchtests.

2)FreshFormat.Ifpossible,youshouldre‐formatavolumepriortobeingtested.BecauseQuickBenchtes4ngisfile‐based,otherfilesonthetestvolumecanaffecttheaccuracyofQuickBenchwithrespecttootherotherwiseiden4caltestconfigura4ons.FormarngasHFSExtendedwithoutjournalingishighlyrecommendedsincethisisthena4vefilesystemofMacOSX,andjournalinggeneratesaddi4onal,unaccountedfordiskaccessduringtes4ng.

3)Smootherisbe_er.Testwithatleast5cycles,ifpossible,especiallyintheStandardTestsandtheLargeTests.Ifyourtestresultslooksimilartoasawblade(up,thendown,thenupagainetc.),tryincreasingthecyclecountun4lthepaJernflaJensout.Ifyouaretes4ngwithcacheeffectsenabled,youmayneedtoadjustthedelay4meupordowntosmoothouttheresults.

4)Re‐testifnecessary.Some4mesanunrelatedprocesswillgeneratediskaccessonthediskyouaretes4ngrightinthemiddleofaQuickBenchtestset.Thiswillproduceaclearanomalousresultwhichshowsupasanunexplaineddropinperformanceatsomearbitrarypointinthetest.Ifthishappens,pleaseignoreitandretest.Ifithappensrepeatedly,youmayneedtotrackdownwhichprocessisgenera4ngtheI/Oandterminateitbeforetes4ng.

5)DonotputQuickBenchintothebackgroundduringtesRng.Strictlyspeaking,thisshouldhavenoeffectontestresults.ButweassumethatifyouputQuickBenchintothebackground,youdidsoinordertodosomethingelse.Itisthis"somethingelse"ac4onwhichmayadverselyaffectthebenchmarkingresults.

6)Maximumaccuracy.MacOSXregularlyreadsandwritesdatatothebootvolumeatfairlyrandomintervals.WhenaccessesoccurduringaQuickBenchtestset,itmayadverselyaffectthetestresults.Thisis trueevenifyouaretes4ngadifferentvolumewhichbelongstothesamedriveasthebootvolume.Forop4mumresults,donottestadrivewhichsharesadatabus(channel)withthebootdrive(suchasamaster/slaveATApair)sinceonlyonedrivewillbeabletosend/receivedataoverthebusatone4mewhichcouldtheninduceaboJleneck.

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UsingZoneBench™

ZoneBenchisabenchmarkingapplica4ondesignedtomeasurethereadandwritespeedsoveranen4relocalstoragedevice.Thatdevicecanbeeitherlogical(suchasadiskvolumewhichisactuallyaRAIDarraymadeupoftwoormorediskdrives)orphysical(suchasyourinternalATAdiskdrive).ZoneBenchalsohasthecapabilitytomeasurethespeedofread‐onlyvolumessuchasamountedCDorDVDdatadisc.ZoneBenchdoesnotmeasurethespeedofburningrecordableCD/DVDdiscs,however.

Measuringspeedsacrossanen4redeviceisimportantbecausemoststoragedevicesdonotmaintainconsistentspeedsacrosstheiren4restoragearea.Forexample,allmodernharddiskdrivesgetslowerasdataisaccessedfurtherandfurthertowardthephysicalendofthedrive.Conversely,CDandDVDROMdiscsgetfasterasyouaccesstowardthephysicalendofdisc.(ThisisbecauseCD'sandDVD'sarereadstar4ngatthecenterofthediscmovingprogressivelyoutwards.

Warning:ZoneBenchisdesignedtobenon‐destrucRve.However,becauseZoneBenchreadsandwritesdirectlytoyourstoragedevice,thereisalwaysapossibilityofdatacorrupRon.Pleasemakesureyouahavecurrentbackupofanywritabledeviceyouwishtotest.

ZoneBenchwascreatedwithmaximumflexibilityinmind.Allzonetestvariablescanbeeasilymodifiedtosuitalmostanytes4ngsitua4on.Testresultscanbesavedintotab‐delimitedtextfiles suitableforimpor4ngintoyourfavoritespreadsheetapplica4onorwordprocessor.

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Lastly,asofversion2andhigher,ZoneBenchincludesaRandomReadandWritetestwhichmeasures10,000small(4KB)transfersoverallpartsoftheselecteddriveorvolumeandreportstheaveragespeed.Thistestdemonstrateshowquicklyadriverespondstomul4pledatarequestswhichareoutofsequenceandwhichspantheen4retestarea.

PleasenotethatZoneBenchisverydifferentfromQuickBench.QuickBenchcreatestestfilestoreadandwritefromandteststhespeedtoaccessthesefilesusingstandardfilesystemaccessrou4nes.ZoneBenchusesdirectreadandwritecallstothedeviceitself(logicalorphysical),bypassingthehigh‐levelfilesystemaltogether.ThismeansthatQuickBenchcanrequireseveralhundredMBoffreespaceonatestvolume.ZoneBenchdoesnotrequireanyfreespaceatall.

WhenyoustartZoneBench,itsmainwindowwillbedisplayed(asshowinthepreviousimage).Thetestop4onswillbedefaultedtoa10Megabytetransfersize,3itera4onscovering7equally‐spacedloca4onsor"zones"onthetestdevice.Feelfreetochangetheparametersatany4me.Seeacompletediscussionofthetestop4onsinthefollowingsec4on.

Tobeginabenchmarkingrun,youwillneedtoselectaphysicalorlogicaldevicetobetested.Physicaldevicesusuallycorrespondtoasinglediskdrive,butnotalways.IfyouhavesetupaRAIDgroupusingDiskU4lity,forexample,youcantesttheen4reRAIDgroupbyloca4ngitinthepopupmenulocated"Drives"tabpane.Ifyousimplywishtotestasinglemountedvolume,clickonthe"Volumes"tab,andlocatethevolumeyouwhichtotestusingthepresentedpopupmenu.Oralterna4vely,draganddropavolume’sdesktopiconontothevolumestabpanearea.Avolumecancorrespondtoasinglepar44onofasingledisk,orcanbeapar44onofmul4plediskswhicharepartofaRAIDarray.Theonlyrequirementisthatalldevicesbe"local"tothecomputer(i.e.theycannotbenetworkedstoragedevices).Onceyouhaveselectedadevicetobetested,youcaneitherbeginthetest,ormodifythetestparameters.

ChangingtheZoneTestOpRons

Ifyouwanttochangethewaythetes4ngwillbeperformedorsetupasemi‐opaquespeedtargetoverlay,clickthe"ChangeTestOpRons..."buJon.Thiswillbringupthewindowshownbelow:

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TransferSize

ThefirstchangeableitemisTransferSize.TransfersizeisthenumberofMegabyteswhichwillbetransferredforeachreadandwriterequest.Themaingoalwhenselec4ngan"ideal"transfersizeistousethesmallestpossiblesizewhichs4llallowsthedevicebeingbenchmarkedtodeliveritsbestperformance.Thisidealsizewillvaryfromdevicetodevice,butitispossibletooffersomeroughsugges4onsforstar4ngvalues.

ForslowerdevicessuchasCD/DVDROMdiscs,atransfersizebetween5and10Megabytesshouldbesufficienttoyieldthemaximumspeedfromthedrivewithoutconsuminganenormousamountof4metoperformthetest.FireWire400andUSB2.0devicesusuallyhitmaximumspeedbetween50and100Megabytetransfersizes.Firewire800andfastATAdrivesreachmaximumspeedbetween100and200Megabytes.Lastly,fastRAIDsystemsshouldusethemaximumpossibletransfersize:511Megabytes.Currently,511MegabytesisthemaximumtransfersizeallowedbyMacOSX.

Note:WhatevertransfersizeyourequestwillrequireanequivalentamountofavailableRAM.IfyouaJempttotestwithatransfersizewhichexceedstheamountofavailableRAM,youwillgetanerror,butnoharmwilloccurtoyourtestdisk.Simplyreducethetransfersizeun4lthetestrunssuccessfully.

IteraRonsPerZone

Thisserngcontrolshowmany4mesthespeedwillbemeasuredateachzone.Inordertogetabalancedresult,werecommendatleastthreeitera4ons.However,itera4oncountbecomeslessimportantasthetransfersizesgetverylargewhichtendstonormalizetheresultsautoma4cally.

ZonesToMeasure

ZoneBenchcanmeasureupto50evenlyspaced,discreteloca4ons(i.e."zones")acrossanylocalstoragedevice.

Note:Pleasebeawarethattheconceptofa"zone"inZoneBenchisNOTthesameasanddoesnotcorrespondtoanactualphysicalzoneonaharddiskdriveorop4caldisc.

Theapproximatestar4ngloca4onofeachzonecanbeseenrightbelowthemainwindowgraph.Foravisualexample,seetheimageonthefollowingpage.Theexactstar4ngloca4onwillbepresentedinthesavedresultsfile.See"SavingTestResults"laterinthissec4onformoredetails.

TargetSpeedOverlay

Atargetspeedoverlayisawhitelineorsemi‐opaquerectangle(ifyouareusingasafetymargin)whichisdrawnsuperimposedovertheresultsgraphonthemainwindow.ThelinecorrespondstothetargetspeedmeasuredinMegabytespersecond.Toenablethetargetspeedoverlayfeature,checkthe"TargetSpeedOverlay"boxandtypeinyourdesiredtargetspeed.Ifavisiblesafetymarginisdesired,selectavaluefrom5to100percentfromthepopupmenu.Foravisual

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example,seetheimagebelowofatestperformedonaninternal500GBUSB2.0harddiskdrive.No4ceinthisexamplea20MBpersecondtargetrateissa4sfiedallthewayacrossthedriveun4ltheveryend(shownasatransparentwhiterectangleinthegraph).Forfinergranularity,youcouldincreasethenumberofzonesandre‐runthetesttogetamuchmoreaccurateloca4onofwherethetransferratefallsbelowthedesiredsafetymargin.

Clickthe"Done"buJonwhenfinishedchangingthetestop4ons.Yournewserngswillberememberedthenext4meyourunZoneBench.

Note:Theremustbeactualtestresultsavailableinorderfortheoverlaytobevisible.

RandomReadandWriteTesRng

TheRandomReadandWritetestwillperform10,000readsandthen10,000writes4KBinsizetothetestdrive/volume(i.e.target).Thistestemploysa"buJerfly"paJern.ThisbuJerflypaJernmeansthatZonebenchfirstdividesthetesttargetinto10,000equallyspacedloca4ons(baseduponthesizeofthetarget)andproceedstotestbackandforthbetweenthebeginningandendofthedisk,progressivelyworkingtowardandfinishingatthetarget'smiddle.

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Forexample,ifthetesttargetis100GBinsize,eachtestloca4onwouldbeabout10MBapartfromthenextloca4on.Thetestwouldbeginbyreadingfromtheverylasttestloca4ononthetarget.Thenextreadwouldoccurattheverybeginningofthetarget.Thefollowingreadwouldoccurabout10MBfromthelastloca4on.Thenextreadwouldwouldoccuratthebeginningofthetargetplusabout10MB,andsoonun4lthetestfinishesinthemiddleofthestorageareaofthetarget.

Atargettestsizeof4KBwaschosenbecauseitrepresentsthemostcommonlyusedblocksizeemployedbyMacOSX.Sodrivesthatperformwellonthistestrela4vetootherdrivesshoulddowellwithlargenumbersofsmallreadsandwritestonon‐sequen4alareasofthedisk.Adatabaseprogramwouldbeanexcellentexampleofthiskindofdataaccess.

Notethattherewillbemul4plefactorsaffec4ngdriveperformance.Forreads,thedominantfactorwilllikelyberota4onalspeed.Thefasteradriverotatesitsmedia,thefasteritshouldperform.Forwrites,thesizeandefficiencyofthediskcachewillplayadominantroleinthetest.Rota4ngmagne4crecordingstoragedevicessuchasharddiskdrivesgenerallyperformmuchfasteratrandomwri4ngthanreading.Conversely,solidstatedrivessuchamemorycarddevicesforcamerasgenerallyperformfasterreadingthanwri4ng.ReadonlydevicessuchasDVD'scanonlyperformrandomreadtes4ng,naturally.

SavingZoneBenchTestResults

A+eranybenchmarkingrun,the"File‐>SaveResultsAs..."menuitemwillbecomeac4ve.Allavailabletestresultsdatawillberecordedinthetestresultsfile.Twofileformatoutputop4onsareavailable:spreadsheetfriendlyandwordprocessorfriendly.Thespreadsheetfriendlyfileisspecificallydesignedtofacilitatethecrea4onofquickandeasygraphicalcharts.

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SpeedToolsURliResMenuOpRons

TheSpeedToolsU4li4esmenuop4onsincludethefollowingchoices:

SpeedToolsURliRes(mainapplicaRonmenu)

• AboutSpeedToolsURliRes–Viewinforma4onabouttheso+ware,includingversionnumberandcopyrightinforma4on.

• Preferences–ChangepreferenceserngsforSpeedToolsU4li4es.(seePreferencesinthisguide)

• HideSpeedToolsURliRes–Hidestheapplica4onwindow.• HideOthers–Hidesotheropenapplica4onsandwindows,leavingSpeedToolsU4li4esopen.• QuitSpeedToolsURliRes–Closestheapplica4on.Anyscheduledtaskswillremainac4vebasedonscheduledserngs.

File

• ShowTask–Openstheselectedtaskinthemainapplica4onwindow.•MountSelectedVolume–MounttheselectedvolumetotheDesktopifthevolumeiscurrentlyunmounted.

• UnmountSelectedVolume–UnmounttheselectedvolumefromtheDesktopifthevolumeiscurrentlymounted.Youcannotunmountyourboot(startup)volume.

• EjectSelectedVolume–EjectsaselectedvolumefromtheDesktopifthevolumeiscurrentlymounted.Youcannotejectyourboot(startup)volume.UseEjectforCD/DVDsandforotherejectablestylemedia.

• OpenDiskImage–OpensabrowsertolocateadiskimageyouwouldliketoopenandmountonyourDesktop.

• OpenRecentDiskImage–ShowsalistofdiskimagesyourecentlyopenedusingSpeedToolsU4li4essoyoucanquicklyopenthemagainatalater4me.Thisremainsemptyun4lyouusetheOpenDiskImagemenuop4on.

Advanced

• RunSelectedTaskOnAllVolumes–AllowsyoutoquicklychooseatasktorunonallvolumeslistedintheSelectedVolumepane.

• StopAllCancelableTasksNow–Anytasksthatarerunningonyourvolumesthatcanbecanceledwillbestopped.TasksthatcannotbecanceledincludeVerifyandRepairVolume,andsomeinstancesofBackupVolume(ablocklevelcopy).Sometasksmaytakeabitof4metocancel,sopleasebepa4ent.

• ShowLogInfoforMissingVolumes–Displaylogentries(inaseparatewindow)forvolumesthatarenotcurrentlymountedorconnectedtoyourcomputer.

• ClearLogInfoforAllVolumes–Willremovealllogentriesforallvolumes,notjustaselectedvolume.

• ClearAllLowFreeSpaceAlertSefngs–WillremoveallFreeSpaceAlertserngsforallvolumes,notjustaselectedvolume.

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PRO

• ForceUnmountSelectedVolume–Canforcefullyunmountaselectedvolumeifthenormalunmountop4onisnotworking.Thiscannotbeusedonyourboot(startup)volume.

• UninstallthisSodware–CompletelyremovesSpeedToolsU4li4esfromyourcomputer.

Update

• ViewRevisionHistory–Opensawindowwhichdisplaysinforma4onaboutfeaturesaddedand/orfixedinpastrevisionsofthisso+ware‐star4ngfromversion3.0.

• CheckforUpdatesNow–TellsyouifyourcurrentversionofSpeedToolsU4li4esisup‐to‐date,oropensanupdatewindowifanewerversionisavailable.

• LastUpdateCheck–Anon‐selectablemenuitemwhichdisplaysthe4meanddatethatcheckingforalaterversionofthisso+warewaslastpreformed.

• AutomaRcallyCheckforUpdates–CheckthisifyouwantSpeedToolsU4li4estocheckforanewerversionwheneveryouopentheapplica4on.

Help

• VisitIntech’sWebsite–OpensyourdefaultwebbrowsertotheIntechSpeedToolswebsite.• OnlineSupport–Opensyourdefaultwebbrowsertothesupportsec4onoftheSpeedToolswebsite.

• ViewUsersGuide–OpensaPDFversionofthismanualonyourcomputer.• CommonMacOSErrorCodeTable–Showasmallfloa4ngwindowwithcommonMacOSFileSystemrelatederrorcodesandadescrip4onforeach.

FrequentlyAskedQuesRons

Q.DoIneedtorunSpeedToolsURliResfromabootCDinordertousetheuRliResonmyboot(startup)volume?

A.OtherutilitysuitesrequireyoutoruntheirutilitiesfromtheirbootDVDorCD,oraseparatevolumeinordertoworkwiththebootvolumebecausetheyhavetofirstunmountthevolume.SpeedToolsUtilitiesdoesn’trequirethisforanyofitsutilities,unlessyouarerepairingyourbootvolume(theVerifyandRepairVolumefeature).SpeedToolscanalsodefragment99.99%ofyourbootvolumeon‐the‐fly.

Q.CanyouuseSpeedToolsURliResonanetworkvolume?

A.No.SpeedToolsU4li4esrequiresdiskdrivestobephysicallyaJachedtothecomputeryouareusingtheso+wareon.

Q.WhattypesofvolumescanSpeedToolsURliResworkwith?

A.SometaskslikeDefragmentFiles,BackupandVerify/RepairworkwithHFSandHFS+volumesexclusively.Othertasks,suchasScanforBadSectors,TestDataTransferIntegrity,AnalyzeCapacityUsage,FindandRepairAliasFiles,SMARTDiagnos4cscanworkwithvirtuallyanyfilesystemtype.

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Q.CanIscheduleanyoftheuRliRestorunwhenIamawayfrommycomputer?

A.SpeedToolsU4li4esallowsyoutoschedulewhentodefragmentfiles,repairbadsectorsorbackupafolderorvolume…aso+enasyouwant.Thismeansthatyoucanruntheseu4li4eseverynightwhenyouarenotworkingonyourMacsothatyoursystemwillbeop4mizedandsafe eachmorningwhenyoureturn.

Q.CanIrunSpeedToolsURliResonmorethanonevolumeataRme?

A.Absolutely.RunSpeedToolsU4li4esonasmanyvolumesasyouwantsimultaneously.Thiswillsaveyou4mefromhavingtoruntestsorrepairmul4plevolumesoneata4me.

Q.WhatwillhappenifthepowergoesoutonmyMacwhilerunninganimportantprocessinSpeedToolsURliRes?

A.OneofthefeaturesthatmakeSpeedToolsU4li4esstandoutfromtherestishowithandlesanimportantprocess,likedefragmen4ngyourfilesforexample.Fragmentedfilesarecopiedtoatemporaryloca4ontobeputbacktogetheragain;oncethisisdone,thefileismovedbackwholeoncemore.Ifapoweroutageoccurswhilethisishappening,youroriginalfragmentedfilewillmostlikelyremainsafesincethedefragmentprocesshadnotyetcompleted.Inaddi4on,sincetherestofthefilesonyoursystemarenotbeingworkedonatthesame4meandsincethelow‐levelCatalogFileisnotbeingdirectlymanipulatedbySpeedToolswhiledefragmen4ngfiles,youwon’tneedtoworryaboutyouren4resystemgerngwipedoutshouldaninterrup4oninpoweroccurunlikewithsomeotherfiledefragmentandop4mizingu4li4es.

Q.DoesSpeedToolsURliRessupportMacOSX10.3.9?

A.Yes.Currently,SpeedToolsU4li4essupportsMacOSX10.3.9andlater.

Q.HowcanIuninstallSpeedToolsURliRes?

A.SpeedToolsU4li4esprovidesaneasybuilt‐inuninstaller.TouninstallSpeedToolsU4li4es,choosethe“UninstallthisSo+ware…”op4onfromtheAdvancedmenu.Thenjustfollowtheinstruc4ons.

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SpeedToolsURliResKeyboardCommandsKeyboardcommandshelpyouquicklyaccesscertainop4onsorfeaturesinSpeedToolsU4li4es.

GeneralKeyboardMenuCommands

Keystroke DescripRon

Command‐, OpenPreferences

Command‐H HideSpeedToolsU4li4es

Op4on‐Command‐H HideOthers

Command‐Q QuitSpeedToolsU4li4es

Shi+‐Command‐U UnmountSelectedVolume

Shi+‐Command‐M MountSelectedVolume

Command‐E EjectSelectedVolume

Op4on‐Command‐O OpenDiskImage

Command‐Z StopAllCancelableTasksNow

DownArrow SelecttheNextVolumeintheList

UpArrow SelectthePreviousVolumeintheList

Le+Arrow(whileshowingmaintaskicons) MoveTaskScrollbarPosi4onLe+

RightArrow(whileshowingmaintaskicons) MoveTaskScrollbarPosi4onRight

Command‐/(whileshowingmaintaskicons) ToggleTaskIconView

Shi+‐H ViewRevisionHistory

Shi+‐C CheckForUpdatesNow

Shi+‐W VisittheIntechWebsite

Shi+‐A ShowCommonMacOSErrorCodeTable

Shi+‐? OpenUser’sGuide

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ShowTaskKeyboardCommands


Command‐M MainTaskMenu

Command‐1 ScanandRepairBadSectors

Command‐2 DefragmentFiles

Command‐3 TestDataTransferIntegrity

Command‐4 VerifyandRepairVolume

Command‐5 S.M.A.R.T.Diagnos4cs

Command‐6 AnalyzeCapacityUsage

Command‐7 Backup/RestoreVolume

Command‐8 VolumeOp4onsandSerngs

Command‐9 PreferenceFileInspector

Command‐0 FindandRepairBrokenAliases

Command‐I Device/VolumeInforma4on

Command‐L RepairandMaintenanceLog

ShowVolumeHeadingInformaRonCommands


Shi+‐1 ShowVolumeFormat

Shi+‐2 ShowDeviceSerial/Revision(firmware)

Shi+‐3 ShowDeviceConnec4onType

Shi+‐4 ShowDevicePar44onScheme

Shi+‐5 ShowCapacityInforma4on

Shi+‐6 ShowCapacityInforma4on(aspercent)

Shi+‐7 ShowFile/FolderCounts

Shi+‐8 ShowVolumeCrea4onDate

Shi+‐9 ShowLastVolumeModifiedDate

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user’s guide & reference manual

Documents