Norton utilities, FWB and Tech Tool Pro Comparison.

Norton Utilities, Tech Tool Pro, or Hard Disk ToolKit? Which is recommended for use on your hard working hard drive? The tech who helped assemble our RAID system said specifically not to use Norton Utilities. At first we find FWB Hard Disk ToolKit offered more options.

Both are yellow, both handle your hard disk, but Norton Utilities stumbled on the newer Mac operating systems.

FWB was all prepared for the new Mac operating systems and has become popular both in Europe and across America.

We have both. At first we prefered FWB Hard Disk ToolKit. Yet several times when our Mac hard disk had problems, it turned out to be easier to use Norton Utilities. Norton Utilities came out with an enhanced updated version last year.

If you have a Mac, especially an aging Mac, it is essential to have Norton Utilities to keep your older disks in working condition. In the FLAAR test center we have to use Norton Utilities several times a week due to the quantity of hard disks in use on the several computers.

Conclusion: both Norton Utilities and Hard Disk ToolKit have their strengths and their weaknesses. Each software program has a different philosophy. Over the last several months I have been on the road (with a Mac laptop). With no technician available to rescue my hard drive I am sure glad I have both Norton Utilities and also Hard Disk ToolKit. I usually try first one, then the other. In almost all cases one or the other can solve the problem.

So what about TechToolPro? Last week a 34 GB hard drive failed (got indigestion during a complex transfer of large digital files). The error message indicated the software had problems. I tried to mount the drive with both my other programs. One could not find the drive at all, the other did not rescue it either. Possibly if a technician were available he or she could have rescued the drive with either, but if you are stuck at a university that favors PCs it is hard to get help for a Mac. So the lone Mac technician on campus brought over Tech Tool Pro, and was able to enter the drive, find all files, and copy them to a backup disk.

So just as soon as I can get a review copy of TechToolPro I will report on the details. Hopefully our review will be upcoming shortly. In the meantime, a 34 GB drive got indigestion because I did something stupid. But with my trusty Norton Utilities it was possible to repair the hard drive and rescue all the data. I thus rate having Norton Utilities as absolutely crucial.

Most recently updated August 02, 2001.