Diskwarrior and SSDs

Joined
Oct 6, 2016
Messages
184
Reaction score
6
Points
18
Given that Diskwarrior doesn't seem to be coming up with a new version which covers SSDs, is there anything similar on the market which will help those of us who think our directories need looking at and tidying up?

Ta.

Allen.
 

chscag

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
65,248
Reaction score
1,833
Points
113
Location
Keller, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
Because Apple has been so stingy until recently about releasing the details concerning APFS, there really isn't a comparable utility like DiskWarrior. Have you read through the latest information from AlSoft?

DiskWarrior 5.2 & Apple File System (APFS) — ALSOFT
 
Joined
Feb 1, 2011
Messages
4,407
Reaction score
2,098
Points
113
Location
Sacramento, California
Given that Diskwarrior doesn't seem to be coming up with a new version which covers SSDs, is there anything similar on the market which will help those of us who think our directories need looking at and tidying up?

DiskWarrior has no problems working with SSD's as long as they are formatted HFS+:
FAQ — ALSOFT

As has been mentioned, Apple hasn't released the full specifications for APFS, so NO ONE has been able to create a comprehensive third party hard drive repair utility for recent Macs using APFS (SSD OR rotating disk hard drive).

However, this may all be mostly moot. On a different discussion list for consultants it was noted that in recent years Apple's included Disk Utility/First Aid has become quite competent, and that very few folks ever need to resort to Disk Warrior anymore.

And in those very few instances where First Aid has failed and Disk Warrior seems warranted, Disk Warrior may still not be the best choice. You see, Disk Warrior is now $120. For $120 (or less) you can usually purchase a brand new replacement hard drive and clone your backup onto it, which is a better option than using Disk Warrior, because even though Disk Warrior may repair your damaged hard drive, once it has become so damaged that Disk Warrior was necessary to repair it, that drive becomes suspect with regard to its reliability.

I used to hear from folks all the time who needed and used Disk Warrior, and Disk Warrior pulled off a miraculous feat by resurrecting their hard drive. But those reports stopped years ago. I think that, at this point, Disk Warrior is an anachronism. Indeed, one of the very reasons for the existence of APFS is to ensure the integrity of your data more effectively than the outdated HFS+. APFS may sound the death kneel for Disk Warrior.
A ZFS developer’s analysis of the good and bad in Apple’s new APFS file system | Ars Technica
 

Rod


Joined
Jun 12, 2011
Messages
9,631
Reaction score
1,834
Points
113
Location
Melbourne, Australia and Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Your Mac's Specs
2021 M1 MacBook Pro 14" macOS 14.4.1, Mid 2010MacBook 13" iPhone 13 Pro max, iPad 6, Apple Watch SE.
Interesting, I too am of the opinion that Disk Utility First Aid has improved markedly of late. Shane run on Catalina it now effectively unmounts the Macintosh HD completely. The background goes blank and the desktop image disappears. Much like running from the Recovery partition. I am now wondering if there is any difference between the two methods. In the past the general opinion seemed to be for Disk Utility First Aid to be truly effective one needed to boot from Recovery and run it from there.


Sent from my iPhone using Mac-Forums
 
Joined
Jan 20, 2012
Messages
5,053
Reaction score
414
Points
83
Location
North Carolina
Your Mac's Specs
Air M2 ('22) OS 14.3; M3 iMac ('23) OS 14.3; iPad Pro; iPhone 14
Because Apple has been so stingy until recently about releasing the details concerning APFS, there really isn't a comparable utility like DiskWarrior. Have you read through the latest information from AlSoft?

DiskWarrior 5.2 & Apple File System (APFS) — ALSOFT

After upgrading my Apple laptops to Catalina, I did TM backups to 4 EHD (duplicate), all seemed to work but took a LONG time (checked a few and still on +HFS, as expected w/ TM) - however, the 4 spinner HDs for CCC (Carbon Copy Cloner) were another question, i.e. conversion from +HFS to APFS was the the first step, then copying, verification, and cache updating - 2 HDs (one for each laptop) did fine BUT the process was LONG (like 3 hrs), not unexpected; however, 2 HDs 'failed' CCC attempt to convert to APFS - I was able to reformat each w/ Disk Utility, but before using the reformatted spinners, I tried my new 1TB Samsung SSD T5 - NO GO! The SSD could only be formatted to +HFS - went to the Samsung community and found a LOT of '*****ing' about this issue w/ their SSD T5s - I'm assuming that Samsung can/will/maybe come up w/ a firmware update to these SSDs so that APFS can be used - if/when Apple decides to revamp TM to run on their newer disc format, my Samsung SSDs will be useless for those purposes, I guess? Dave :)
 

Slydude

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Nov 15, 2009
Messages
17,596
Reaction score
1,072
Points
113
Location
North Louisiana, USA
Your Mac's Specs
M1 MacMini 16 GB - Ventura, iPhone 14 Pro Max, 2015 iMac 16 GB Monterey
I used to keep Disk Warrior around for those situations where DU couldn't fix a problem. It was first recommended to me by a friend when my wife was bitten by an issue where putting her clamshell iBook to sleep resulted in enough directory damage that DU couldn't fix things.

Like most of you, I dropped DW quite some time ago. As others have mentioned, the drop in hard drive prices coupled with improvements in DU and other utilities rendered DW of little value. The final blow was when I updated one year and when the next update came out I realized I hadn't used DW once.
 

chscag

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
65,248
Reaction score
1,833
Points
113
Location
Keller, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
I tried my new 1TB Samsung SSD T5 - NO GO! The SSD could only be formatted to +HFS - went to the Samsung community and found a LOT of '*****ing' about this issue w/ their SSD T5s - I'm assuming that Samsung can/will/maybe come up w/ a firmware update to these SSDs so that APFS can be used - if/when Apple decides to revamp TM to run on their newer disc format, my Samsung SSDs will be useless for those purposes, I guess? Dave :)

Well, that's news to my Samsung T5 as it converted very easily to APFS using Disk Utility. As a matter of fact, I'm booting Catalina from it and it's fast and works well. How did you try converting it? Did you use Disk Utility?
 
OP
A
Joined
Oct 6, 2016
Messages
184
Reaction score
6
Points
18
Fascinating. I suppose I saw running DiskWarrior every six months as preventive maintenance; I shall rethink that strategy, thanks.

A
 
Joined
Jan 20, 2012
Messages
5,053
Reaction score
414
Points
83
Location
North Carolina
Your Mac's Specs
Air M2 ('22) OS 14.3; M3 iMac ('23) OS 14.3; iPad Pro; iPhone 14
Well, that's news to my Samsung T5 as it converted very easily to APFS using Disk Utility. As a matter of fact, I'm booting Catalina from it and it's fast and works well. How did you try converting it? Did you use Disk Utility?

HMMM - that's odd Charlie - the manual indicates only +HFS (as an Apple option) and in Disk Utility, I was not offered APFS - did you apply a firmware upgrade? I left a post in the Samsung community and will await any replies (not w/ much hope) - also, we drove to the coast today for 5 days and will not return until Friday - the SSD T5 is at home - I'll do some more exploring when I get back. Thanks for the comment. In the meantime, I'll let the ocean soothe my woes - ;) Dave
.
IMG_0444 copy.JPG
 

chscag

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
65,248
Reaction score
1,833
Points
113
Location
Keller, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
No firmware update was applied to the Samsung T5. It came from the factory formatted to NTFS and I erased it with Disk Utility and then formatted it to APFS. No problem whatsoever.

I also have a LaCie drive which I use for CCC backups but formatted that to HFS+ from the original NTFS. I don't understand why your Samsung T5 would not format to APFS, it should have.
 
Joined
Dec 4, 2007
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Dayton, OH
Your Mac's Specs
iMac 27 Late 2013
No firmware update was applied to the Samsung T5. It came from the factory formatted to NTFS and I erased it with Disk Utility and then formatted it to APFS. No problem whatsoever.

I also have a LaCie drive which I use for CCC backups but formatted that to HFS+ from the original NTFS. I don't understand why your Samsung T5 would not format to APFS, it should have.

I also was not offered the APFS option. I solved it by clicking on View and selected Show All Devices. View is in the top left corner of Disk Utility.
 
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
15,455
Reaction score
3,811
Points
113
Location
Winchester, VA
Your Mac's Specs
MBP 16" 2023 (M3 Pro), iPhone 15 Pro, plus ATVs, AWatch, MacMinis (multiple)
Ah, that explains it. Show All Devices shows the hardware, not just the volumes. So you need that view to get to where the hardware is formatted APFS.
 
Joined
Jan 20, 2012
Messages
5,053
Reaction score
414
Points
83
Location
North Carolina
Your Mac's Specs
Air M2 ('22) OS 14.3; M3 iMac ('23) OS 14.3; iPad Pro; iPhone 14
No firmware update was applied to the Samsung T5. It came from the factory formatted to NTFS and I erased it with Disk Utility and then formatted it to APFS. No problem whatsoever.

I also have a LaCie drive which I use for CCC backups but formatted that to HFS+ from the original NTFS. I don't understand why your Samsung T5 would not format to APFS, it should have.

Hi Charlie & Others - well, I'm back home and looking at the Samsung T5 SSD again - found this discussion from the CCC people which solved my conversion of the SSD to APFS - first step was to select 'View All Devices' > Select the Samsung Device > Now able to pick APFS & GUID partition. Final pic shows my SSD renamed and formatted as APFS - SUCCESS! Thanks to Bombich. Dave :)
.
SamsungT5_1.png
.
SamsungT5_2.png
.
SamsungT5_3.png
.
SamsungT5_4.png
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top