TechTool Pro has long been one of the foremost utilities for keeping your Mac running smoothly and efficiently. With the release of version 11, it has become more proficient than ever.
Main features:
- TechTool Protection - TechTool Pro 11 includes the option of installing a system preference pane to keep watch over your Mac. New features include check for I/O errors, Power On Self-Test errors, Mac notebook internal battery condition, and RAID status (if applicable). It also includes the same improvements to the SMART check in TechTool Pro. All of that, wrapped in an entirely new interface.
- Check Computer - Check Computer is a handy way to tell TechTool Pro to run the entire suite of tests to give you the best possible snapshot of your Mac's health. Sometimes, though, it's nice to be able to leave tests out, or to skip certain drives. Using the new configuration panel, you have total control of the Check Computer suite. Power to the people.
- Partition Map - TechTool Pro has long been known for testing your Mac's file system. It is important also to test the data structures that contain the Mac's file system: the Partition Map. The new Partition Map test checks the partition map of a given drive for errors. Partition map errors can cause entire volumes to go missing, or prevent a Mac from booting. If errors are found, they can be repaired usin the Partition Repair tool.
- Partition Repair - Along with Volume Rebuild, which repairs Mac file systems, the Partition Repair tool repairs the remaining portions of the drive which keeps track of the volumes on your hard drive. This includes hidden partitions which keep track of your Mac's startup process. The Partition Repair tool does just what it says, repairing the partition maps or drives where needed.
- SMART Check - Hard drives include a technology called SMART (Self Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) which can inform a computer about the health of its hard drives. In most utilities, just the overall results - passed or failed - are reported to the user. In the failed state, often there is little or no time to back up data before the drive fails entirely. Previous versions of TechTool Pro reported the overall status of each attribute, but some attributes don't contribute to the failure of a drive. Now, the SMART Check has gotten smarter. TechTool Pro now knows which attributes contribute to drive failure, and will report a failing result before the drive fails completely. Giving you time to rescue your data.
- Memory Test - TechTool Pro 7 took a revolutionary step in testing memory, making TechTool Pro's memory testing suite the most comprehensive test available for the Mac. In TechTool Pro 10, we've taken some of the additional advancements used by ATOMIC, our dedicated Memory Tester, and integrated them into TechTool Pro. Now, memory is 'cleaned' before testing, reclaimed from macOS, maximizing the amount of RAM that can be tested.
- Processor Benchmark - Get an objective measurement of your Mac's processor performance. The Processor Benchmark too uses industry-standard measurement algorithms to test processor performance. Using this tool, you can get metrics that can be used to compare processor speeds apples-to-apples. Avoids the confusion of comparison using Megahertz.
- Bluetooth - Most Macs depend on Bluetooth to connect to the tools we use to interact with our computers: the keyboard and mouse. Bluetooth problems can result in dropped connections with those devices, which can be very frustrating. Verify the proper operation of your Mac's Bluetooth hardware. Make sure that not only your input devices, but also your audio and fitness devices can connect to your Mac by checking the Bluetooth hardware on your Mac.
- Network Interfaces - Most Macs spend the majority of their lives connected to the internet. If the ethernet or wifi adapters in your Mac aren't working, the valuable connection to the internet can fail. The new Network Interfaces test can test any connected network interface for errors. It not only tests ethernet and wifi, but also any other supported internet connection, ethernet over USB, VPN connections, even a FireWire network conneciton. Ensure the reilability of your internet and intranet connections by testing your Mac's network interfaces.
Note: to read all the features that are available in this app visit this page.
Version 11.0.2:
Mojave Compatibility:
- Fixed a Partition Repair crash when an eDrive volume is present on the selected device.
- Fixed unmounted APFS volumes not displaying in the Volume Rebuild tool.
- Fixed gauge display for Network dial when using 10 Gbps network connection.
- Fixed gauge display for L3 Cache size on iMac Pro.
- Fixed Battery Check testing values for iOS devices running iOS 12.2.
- Fixed Volume Rebuild tool when booted from TechTool Protogo Minimal and Recovery HD volumes.
- Fixed inaccurate Partition Map and Partition Repair failures when booted from TechTool Protogo Minimal and Recovery HD profiled devices.
- Fixed loading System Maintenance tool for German localization.
- Fixed TechTool Protogo to resolve a reported kernel panic on 10.11 while booting from Mac OS X Basic profile device.
- Added a ‘Help Me’ button in the Full Disk Access instructions dialog.
- Updated eDrive to potentially avoid a mount/dismounting issue causing an application crash.
- Updated eDrive tool to list macOS operating system codename for selected source volume.
- Updated main stage gauge values to be consistent.
- Updated the Model detection routine in Check Computer.
- Updated the Full Disk Access instructions dialog.
- Updated iOS battery manufacturer listings for Battery Check test.
- Updated Sparkle update framework to version 1.21.3.
- Updated TechTool Pro 11 PDF manual.
- Updated English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Chinese localizations.
- Updated location and identification strings for Check Computer.
- Other minor fixes and enhancements.
Security Features:
- macOS Mojave introduces a number of new security features to keep you safe. In order for applications like Techtool Pro to have access to perform tests and repairs of certain disks, they must be granted 'Full Disk Access.' Techtool Pro 11 now supports this security feature helping to keep your Mac secure.
Home Permissions Tool:
- If you are being asked to enter your password to move files in your home folder, if apps that store documents in your home folder quit unexpectedly, or your Mac continues to run slowly after extensive troubleshooting, you may have permissions problems in your home folder. Techtool Pro 11 introduces a new tool to reset the permissions in your home folder to restore home folder performance.
Updated Technologies:
- Previous versions of Techtool Pro had to make certain compromises to support earlier versions of macOS. With Techtool Pro 11, we have been able to take advantage of more advanced methods to perform many of the tasks that make up the functionality in Techtool Pro. We have updated many of the tests and tools to use these technologies to keep your Mac running smoothly.
Results on the go:
- Techtool Pro supports iCloud Drive. Simply download the new Techtool Remote iOS app (free on the App Store), and open it. Techtool Pro will then send test results to any iOS device logged in to the same iCloud account. So if you have a long test (or tests) running that you want to know the results of, but you need to hit the road, you can now get notified of your results anywhere you have an internet connection.
What justifies the upgrade fee to TechTool Pro v9.5 is the APFS repair functionality added in v9.6. Micromat is the FIRST macOS utility developer to add this functionality. Otherwise, High Sierra users are stuck with Apple's meagre Disk Utility. Bravo to Micromat!
Keep in mind that this is 'initial' APFS compatibility. Further APFS functionality features are on the way. To quote Micromat:
"Trust us when we say that there is a lot going on with this new file system, so this is just *initial* support. Techtool Pro can now test and repair these disks, even eDrives on them, but we're still hard at work exploring the depths of this file system. Some more advanced features will be coming down the road."
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We're still waiting for:
- Alsoft DiskWarrior repair compatibility with APFS.
- Prosoft Engineering Drive Genius repair compatibility with APFS.
- Apple to finish APFS such that it is compatible with both conventional hard drives and Fusion drives. (Apple provided initial Fusion drive compatibility in the first beta of High Sierra, then removed it. There has been no sign of it since!)
Note that the inability of HFS+ Macs to access APFS Macs can be a CRITICAL problem. Therefore, unless your network consists of only SSD Macs, I currently recommend NOT upgrading to High Sierra. If you want your HFS+ Macs to access APFS Macs, you're thoroughly hosed. As such, I consider High Sierra to be an unfinished beta OS.
Hurry up Apple! We're beyond impatient here! (@_@)
Upgrade policy stinks.
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