Symantec to fix Norton Utilities 8.0 "large disk" limitation in next update

Symantec officials have confirmed to MacFixIt that it will remove a limitation in Norton Utilities 8.0 that disallows scanning or repair of disks with too many files. The software currently provides this error:

"The directory structures on disk 'Macintosh HD' are too large for the current version of Norton Utilities. There is a large number of files on the hard disk you are examining or optimizing."

This error message appears in Speed Disk when optimizing a disk with more than 250,000 - 500,000 files. This is because Speed Disk has a problem optimizing disks with that many files. This is not directly related to the number of files on a disk, but to the number of nodes in the catalog B-tree that catalogs the files on your disk. When a catalog B-tree has more than 32,767 nodes (or about 250,000 - 500,000 files), Speed Disk cannot optimize the disk. The error message also appears in Norton Disk Doctor or UnErase when a disk has a catalog B-tree with more than 65,535 nodes, or about twice as many files.

Symantec representative Cary Kwok told us "Symantec is aware of Norton Utilities 8.0 for Mac's limitations on optimizing large files. The issue will be fixed in the next inline, which will be available to customer via LiveUpdate in a few months."

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

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