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Warning: Do not run DiskWarrior or similar utilities on Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
DiskWarrior and other tools that modify or rebuild the directory of volumes should not be run after installing Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) until further notice or updates from the developers of these tools.
As part of our special report on preparing for Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) published yesterday we noted that previous major Mac OS X releases have made significant disk directory changes that can react adversely to the processes used by these applications.
Alsoft, the developer of DiskWarrior, has now released a statement on compatibility that is somewhat confusing. It reads:
"[...] until we have a copy of the final build of Leopard, we cannot completely comment on Leopard compatibility.
"We will absolutely support Mac OS X 10.5. While we have the early builds of Mac OS X 10.5 to test with, Apple does not tell us ahead of time what changes or enhancements they plan to make until they provide us with the software and documentation. Apple engineering may make changes right up to the last few days before the release and we wouldn't know about them until after the fact.
"As for your current version of DiskWarrior, you can run the application knowing no harm will come to the hard drive or to your data. If a newer version of DiskWarrior is required, DiskWarrior will simply not allow the replacement of the old directory.
"When DiskWarrior 3 was released 3 1/2 years ago, Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar), was the current version of the operating system. When Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) was released we updated DiskWarrior for compatibility at no charge. The same is true for when Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) was released - no charge. Each of these updates was available through the process of downloading an updater which helps you burn an updated DiskWarrior CD. More information will be posted on the Alsoft website, once Leopard is released.
Essentially it looks like Alsoft is claiming:
- They can't guarantee compatibility of the current DiskWarrior iteration with Leopard
- The current version of DiskWarrior won't cause damage to Leopard disks because it will simply refuse to perform the process for which it is designed.
- The update for DiskWarrior that makes it compatible with Leopard will be free of charge.
Despite point #2, we highly recommend not running DiskWarrior at all after installing Mac OS X 10.5 until further information is available. All current indications are that the program will run, and rebuild directories on bootable Leopard volumes and could result in serious consequences, including an inability to startup from the drive.
Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.
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That said, I am sure v5's new feature list will be more than "works with Leopard"
I think you will see an upgrade fee for a host of applications. Leopard after all, is a new animal.
It's a shame that Apple has decided not to release the GM build to it's developers before Friday though.
Their support staff is going to have a busy weekend.
David
you are correct on that... my copy has a build date of last tuesday... and the changes are not even fixed since then...
A long time since a paid upgrade??? DW usually goes 3-4 years between major upgrades. I bought DW 4.0 the day it was announced... in March, 2007, if I remember correctly. That would suggest the next paid upgrade will come around 2010.
As a DW 3.0.x owner, I definitely got my money's worth out of DW 4.0. It's a great update. Unlike most other tech products it is 100% bug-free out the door. DW is one of the few programs that's never crashed or frozen any of my Macs. I can't speak highly enough about DiskWarrior.
I helped my local Apple Store sell a copy of DW to another Mac owner I met there just this morning. I ought to ask for a percentage commission. ;)
Bologna, on 3/1/07, I was charged $49.95 for an upgrade CD from Version 3 to 4.
If I'm running 10.5 can I run the utility from my system onto systems running earlier versions of Mac OS X or is there just some division by zero issue under the hood that will fail to work out too?
Is there any information about whether or not Applejack will still be compatible? It is the one utility I run after installing any program and is fantastic and free.
You can darn near replicate the actions of Applejack by doing a single-user starting up (hold down Com-S) and when the screen settles down to a prompt, type in fsck -y or fsck -f if your disk is Journalled. Repeat if there was a repair. At the end, just type reboot.
They say ?We haven?t tested yet so don?t test yourself with your your valuable data?. It is a very responsible action their part.
At least I know they won?t use this as an opportunity to leech another $25 or $100 more from their customers unlike some other big company.
Note: The sky is not falling.
<i>10/26/2007
DiskWarrior 4.0 will successfully rebuild a disk that has Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard installed or a disk that has been attached to a computer running Leopard.
However, some operating system functionality has changed within Leopard itself. As such, there are some compatibility issues when running an installed copy of DiskWarrior 4.0 while started up from Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Alsoft currently recommends that you do not run DiskWarrior 4.0 while the computer is started from Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.
Instead, to run DiskWarrior, you should start up the computer from either:
1) A DiskWarrior 4.0 CD.
2) Any disk that starts up in 10.4.x and then run DiskWarrior 4.0.
An updated version of DiskWarrior that has complete Leopard compatibility will be released soon as a free download for existing owners of DiskWarrior 4.0.
I started each MAC to be upgraded from the DiskWarrior 4.0 disk (pressed "C" key for a really long time ;-)) and initiated the permissions repair and file checks before running the actual DW application.
One iMac 24" 2.33 Core2Duo, one MacBook Pro 2.0 CoreDuo, one PowerBook G4 867 were all "conditioned" using DiskWarrior and the LEOPARD installatios on each machine were FLAWLESS.
As a long term DiskWarrior user, I would NOT try to run DiskWarrior immediately AFTER the new installation (there is no need to do so). It is always prudent to wait for each manufacturer (like Alsoft) to release comments and updates regarding use of their application in the new environment.
I am surprised that no-one at MacFixIt (or elsewhere) seems to mention the positive effect of using DiskWarrior PRIOR to installation of a major update like LEOPARD, but simply focus on that such applications should not be used AFTER the update to LEOPARD.
This easily sends out the wrong message giving the impression that DiskWarrior should not be used in the context of a LEOPARD migration.
DiskWarrior is in my opinion a very central and crucial part of the update process, and it must be used under TIGER prior to the update, and it should definitely be used from the DiskWarrior disk ("C"-key pressed during start) and ran from the DiskWarrior disk.
Cheers :-)
But i'll will not do it again like DriveGenius Or TechToolpro or Protogo
I'd like to test Protogo but i'm no shure he'll make a system smaller than 2 Go (ipod) that i was using
For Current tasks you got the latest release of ONYX and a cool one named Mainmenu (freeware too)
In fact, many people having dedicated small partition to run such utils (which is I suggest) haven't upgraded those 10.4.10 partitions and have run Disk Warrior to fix the mess which is in nature HFS+ perfectly. Some run BEFORE and AFTER installing Leopard.
What does Macfixit have against Alsoft? Does it have something to do with Alsoft's leecher rival who didn't even say a WORD about Leopard (since they are preparing V5 to leech more customers) advertising very frequently on Versiontracker?
APE is another deal, the excuse of "hacking the OS" (eww!) makes it perfect candidate for hit generating FUD but Alsoft Diskwarrior is one of the most native, stable OS X applications ever released.
Macfixit was called names by very serious Mac Journals as a result of this FUD against Diskwarrior and this story is at front page again.
Good work destroying the last remains of credibility.
- by tedf--2008 November 2, 2009 11:35 AM PST
- Waiting o hear more about DW/Leopard compatibility.
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