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Back DiskWarrior 5 macOS 11 Big Sur FAQ Guides System Requirements Support News Support Form DiskWarrior 4 DiskWarrior 4 Archive DiskWarrior 3 DiskWarrior 2.1 & Earlier MasterJuggler Support. DiskWarrior is a utility program designed from the ground up with a totally different approach to preventing and resolving directory damage which is the leading cause of Mac instability. 6) DiskWarrior 5.2 now runs within macOS 10.14 Mojave Recovery. 7) The Preview application in DiskWarrior can now copy files to APFS disks when recovering data from a failing Mac OS Extended (HFS Plus) disk. 8) Numerous minor updates were made to accommodate additional security measures in macOS 10.14 Mojave.
DiskWarrior, from Alsoft, is a one-trick pony: it repairs and optimizes files and disk directories. I am a long-time fan.
However, over the years, as I moved from single drives to RAIDs and shared storage, I let my version of DiskWarrior fall out of date until, finally, with the update to Catalina, I took it off my system.
This last week, as I was upgrading both my network (read about it here) and two of my production RAIDs, I was talking with the support team at OWC. As we discussed a variety of issues I was running into – all of which were fairly quickly resolved – Mark mentioned that I should run DiskWarrior on all my spinning drives “once a month, or so.”
I had never considered using DiskWarrior on a RAID. But, I trust Mark’s advice, so I bought a copy yesterday to see if it would make a difference. And it did.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
DiskWarrior, by Alsoft, is “the world’s most advanced repair and data recovery tool.” (Alsoft website). It repairs files or hard drives, then optimizes the disk directory to maximize performance.
I thought both my RAIDs were running fine. But, after running Disk Warrior to repair and optimize the directories on both, speeds on my fastest RAID improved 122%!
Alsoft is a Mac-only developer. DiskWarrior supports macOS 10.5 through 10.15 (Catalina). The program is award-winning, safe and easy to use. It should be part of everyone’s toolkit.
BIG NOTE: The current version of DiskWarrior – 5.2 – does NOT support APFS volumes. The next version will. If you only have an internal SSD drive, DiskWarrior will not help you until the next version is released.
Developer: Alsoft
Product: DiskWarrior
Website:https://www.alsoft.com
Price: $119 (US). Upgrades are available.
Product: DiskWarrior
Website:https://www.alsoft.com
Price: $119 (US). Upgrades are available.
OPERATION
Purchase DiskWarrior from the Alsoft website. Installation is the same as any other program purchased outside the Mac App Store – download the DMG file, then double-click it to install.
The software requires a serial number to run, which Alsoft sends via email, but installation took just a couple of minutes.
(Click for larger image.)
The software can repair disk directories (the default setting), files, and check your media hardware. Truthfully, I’ve only used DiskWarrior to repair directories.
Select your hard disk or RAID, remember the current version will not work with internal APFS drives, and the thermometer on the right shows the current chaos level of your storage.
Click the Rebuild button to repair the drive.
The more disorganized RAID took six hours to repair. The less disorganized one took 20 minutes. So, the time of the repair will depend upon the state of your directory and files.
NOTE: I was really puzzled why one RAID took six hours to fix, while the other, similar, RAID took about 20 minutes. The reason, I discovered later, was that the first RAID had more than 4 MILLION files on it. (I was using it for Time Machine backups.) With that many directory entries to verify, no wonder it took so long!
During this analysis and repair, a LOT of data is moving between the computer and RAID. In this screen shot, data transfer is close to 300 MB/sec. I saw speeds approaching 600 MB/sec when my fastest RAID was being analyzed.
THE RESULTS
(Test conducted by AJA System Test Lite. Click for larger image.)
Here is the speed of the drive before starting the repair.
Here is the speed after repair was complete – a 122% improvement!! I was stunned at the difference.
(Test results from Blackmagic Disk Speed Test. Click for larger image.)
Here are the specific numbers from Blackmagic Disk Speed Test. The improvement was amazing.
(Click for larger image.)
DiskWarrior even provides a report explaining what it found was wrong and how it was fixed.
Keep in mind that every system is different and your numbers won’t match mine. But the performance difference was so striking, I wanted to share the benefits of using DiskWarrior.
SUMMARY
Disk Warrior is an essential Mac-based trouble-shooting, repair and optimization tool for any Mac system accessing spinning hard drives. I’ve used it for years and highly recommend it.
Bookmark the permalink.What's New in DiskWarrior?
DiskWarrior 5 is now the one utility program that solves all of the common problems you'll likely encounter on your Mac. Just look at these new features:
• 64-Bit
Today's large disks can have large directories. Using the latest 64-bit technology allows DiskWarrior 5 to handle even the largest disks.
Today's large disks can have large directories. Using the latest 64-bit technology allows DiskWarrior 5 to handle even the largest disks.
• Ships on a bootable flash drive to repair your startup disk
Flash drives start up much faster than DVDs and can be updated as needed.
Flash drives start up much faster than DVDs and can be updated as needed.
• Includes the new DiskWarrior Recovery Maker
New Macs have new macOS startup requirements. DiskWarrior Recovery Maker updates your DiskWarrior Recovery flash drive with the latest macOS.
New Macs have new macOS startup requirements. DiskWarrior Recovery Maker updates your DiskWarrior Recovery flash drive with the latest macOS.
• Runs from macOS Recovery (Recovery HD)
In an emergency, you no longer need a separate startup disk to run DiskWarrior on your startup disk unless your startup disk has partition table damage.
In an emergency, you no longer need a separate startup disk to run DiskWarrior on your startup disk unless your startup disk has partition table damage.
• Repairs partition table damage
Sometimes the damage is to the map that describes all your drive's partitions which makes all your partitions unavailable. DiskWarrior 5 can repair standard Mac GUID partition tables when started from the DiskWarrior Recovery flash drive.
Sometimes the damage is to the map that describes all your drive's partitions which makes all your partitions unavailable. DiskWarrior 5 can repair standard Mac GUID partition tables when started from the DiskWarrior Recovery flash drive.
• New architecture
Updated to use the newest macOS technologies while still supporting older PowerPC* and Intel Macs that can no longer run the latest macOS.
Updated to use the newest macOS technologies while still supporting older PowerPC* and Intel Macs that can no longer run the latest macOS.
• Significantly faster
For many disks, directory rebuilding is twice as fast as the previous version.
For many disks, directory rebuilding is twice as fast as the previous version.
• Recovers more data from drives with hardware malfunctions
Recover your important files from most failing drives, possibly saving you thousands of dollars in professional recovery costs.
Recover your important files from most failing drives, possibly saving you thousands of dollars in professional recovery costs.
• Detects and repairs more disk problems than ever
The best is even better.
The best is even better.
• New Directory Optimization Index
You can tell how efficient your directories are at a glance.
You can tell how efficient your directories are at a glance.
• Repairs Time Machine backup disks
Drives containing Time Machine back ups can have enormous directories that were often too large for DiskWarrior 4. The 64-bit memory addressing of DiskWarrior 5 allows these drives to be repaired or recovered.
Drives containing Time Machine back ups can have enormous directories that were often too large for DiskWarrior 4. The 64-bit memory addressing of DiskWarrior 5 allows these drives to be repaired or recovered.
• Plus a lot more
Purchase a new copy or upgrade now from older versions of DiskWarrior.
Purchase a new copy or upgrade now from older versions of DiskWarrior.
* Please note that to install DiskWarrior 5, your Mac must start up in Mac OS X Leopard (10.5.8) or later. This is a change from DiskWarrior 4 which supported installation on older versions of Mac OS X. Please read the system requirements for DiskWarrior 5.
Diskwarrior 6 Release Date
* Note: Already own DiskWarrior 5? Get the latest update here. *