Many of IOStream’s employees are using Macs as their primary home computer. As a result, we are often asked what tools and utilities we utilize to support the Apple systems used on our corporate network. So I thought I would focus on two pieces of software and one hardware device that I consider indispensable for keeping any OS X based system running at peak performance.

TechTool Pro

For the typical home or SOHO (Small Office/ Home Office) user, MicroMat’s TechTool Pro 4 is an all-in-one utility suite that can both repair and optimize any OS X installation. To quote MicroMat “TechTool Pro 4 is a complete Macintosh repair shop in a box. In fact, it’s so good that Apple includes a copy of its sibling, TechTool Deluxe, in its AppleCare Protection Plan. If you have ever experienced a system bomb, freeze, crash, or indecipherable error code, TechTool Pro 4 can help you get your computer running smoothly again.”

TechTool Pro 4 is $98 US for new users or $25 US for those upgrading from an earlier version.

DiskStudio

MicroMat’s DiskStudio is the only reliable, non-destructive partition manager I have found for OS X. Quote: “When a hard drive is first set up for use, it is partitioned into one or more logical volumes. These appear on your desktop as though they were separate drives. Using the standard disk tools that come with the Macintosh, there is no way to change this partitioning scheme without completely erasing the entire drive and starting over. With DiskStudio, this is no longer necessary.”

With DiskStudio you can:

• Add new partitions to your hard drive.
• Delete partitions previously created by Apple’s Disk Utility or DiskStudio.
• Erase and reformat existing partitions in a number of standard formats.
• Completely erase and repartition an entire hard disk.

Use DiskStudio to:

• Install a new copy of Mac OS X, but keep your original copy intact.
• Install a completely different operating system, such as Mac OS 9, on a new partition.
• Create a partition to hold special projects, such as audio or video files.
• Create a partition to hold scratch space for programs such as Adobe Photoshop.

DiskStudio is $49 US for new users or $25 US for those upgrading from an earlier version.

Protege

Okay, now this is my favorite tool for the Mac OS. MicroMat’s TechTool Protege is a Kanguru Portable Firewire Flash Drive with full versions of TechTool Pro 4 and DiskStudio! Again, quoting MicroMat:

“Introducing Techtool® Protege. The pocket-sized toolbox for the Macintosh professional. This tiny FireWire-based device contains 1 gigabyte of memory and comes complete with the latest version of Mac OS X, the latest version of TechTool Pro and our latest drive utility DiskStudio. And there’s still room left over for your other utilities as well.

That means the next time you need to work on a Macintosh, you can plug in TechTool Protege, boot very quickly and get right to work. No messing around with CDs, portable drives, installers and the myriad of other items you’d usually keep in your toolbox.”

TechTool Protege comes with everything you need to start troubleshooting and repairing any Mac system:

• TechTool Protege FireWire flash drive
• Latest Mac OS X Boot System
• TechTool Pro User Manual
• TechTool Protege Backup & Restore Application on CD
• TechTool Protege Quick Start Guide

MicroMat’s TechTool Protege runs $229.00 US which is quite a bargain when you add up the cost of a 1GB Kanguru Portable Firewire Flash Drive [~$99] plus the cost of full versions of TechTool Pro 4 [$98], DiskStudio [$49] and the latest Mac OS X Boot System [$129].

Protogo

Now, for you DIY’ers (read: Hard Core Nerds) reading this post and wondering if you could easily build your own TechTool Protege thumb drive – why yes you can! MicroMat’s Protogo software allows you to build your own customized, bootable diagnostic and repair toolkit on any portable hard drive or flash drive.

“TechTool Protogo ships on a DVD that includes the Protogo configuration application, TechTool Pro Classic (for Mac OS 9 systems and below), TechTool Pro 4 (for Mac OS X), and DiskStudio. Protogo includes several profiles for standard system/utility configurations so that you can easily set up a device for your particular needs.”

The MicroMat Protogo DVD lists for $135 US, but is only $87 US for TechTool Pro 4 or TechTool Deluxe (AppleCare Protection Plan) owners.