I have put together a list of what are, in my opinion, the ten best Mac disk repair software and other excellent Mac tools for troubleshooting, diagnosing, and repairing a Mac. Many of them are free or offer a free trial. As Macs continue to gain market share, there is an increased likelihood that you will have to support them if you are a tech. And even if you aren’t a tech, it’s good to know which tools are the best to use when it comes time to repair your own.
Introduction to our Top 10 Mac Repair Software. Did you know there are several Mac disk repair. Download and install the best free apps for Diagnostic Software on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android from CNET Download.com, your trusted source for the top software picks.
Mac OS from Apple WWDC2019
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Disk Warrior Trial
Free Mac Disk Repair Software
Drive Genius – is it the Best Mac Repair App
Introduction to our Top 10 Mac Repair Software
Did you know there are several Mac disk repair options that each function differently and one may suit your needs better than another? I detail several for you below so you can decide.
More than just a list of disk repair software, I provide many Mac software solutions for you and your clients! Even better, some are free!
Want to clone a Mac drive? Want to monitor a Mac’s hardware sensors? Want heroic system recovery for mere mortals?! Oh, there are some great software here! Read on.
TechTool Protogo
TechTool Protogo is a Mac repair program suite which contains three of Micromat’s best Mac repair tools; TechTool Pro 8, TechTool Pro Classic, and DiskStudio.
Protogo creates a bootable Mac repair toolbox with these tools as well as any of your own tools on a portable hard drive or flash drive.
You can then boot from this drive, bypassing the OS, and run diagnostics on a computer to determine problems.
Protogo also allows you to repair and recover data from problematic hard drives as well as defragment, optimize, and securely delete data.
Cost: $129.99
Memtest OS X
Memtest OS X is a memory testing program for Mac OS X. It is a command line utility so it can be ran in OS X or in Single-User Mode if your Mac will not boot.
It is great for testing intermittent system problems when you are having trouble determining if it is a memory problem.
If you prefer memtest with a GUI front-end, then be sure to check out Rember.
Rember will run in OS X but will not work in Single-User Mode so Memtest OS X is the better option.
Cost: $1.39
Mac Disk Repair – DiskWarrior 5
Disk Repair for Macs – DiskWarrior utilizes a unique disk repair method for Macs
DiskWarrior is arguably one of the best hard drive repair programs for the Mac.
It works differently than other data repair programs.
Instead of trying to rebuild the damaged data itself, DiskWarrior builds replacement data based off of the original data.
It then verifies the new data structure based on the original to make sure it is error free.
You can also use DiskWarrior as a preventative maintenance utility for hard disks.
When run, it rebuilds your directory eliminating any damage that you may not be aware of. It also optimizes the directory for better performance.
Cost: $99.95 but look for a trial.
If it is more serious and your Mac’s hard drive has crashed, I have provided an extensive data recovery guide with a list of Hard Drive Recovery Tools in my article How to Recover Data from a Crashed Hard Drive.
First Free Disk Repair-Mac – OnyX
Onyx is a maintenance, optimization, and personalization utility for Mac OS X.
It allows you to run hard drive diagnostics, run system maintenance tasks, delete caches, and configure tons of OS X hidden features.
Even if you aren’t using it as a repair utility, it is a great application to help keep your Mac running in top shape.
Cost: Free!
Mac Data Rescue
Data Rescue is a data recovery program that focuses purely on recovering data from corrupt drives instead of hard drive repair.
It scans the corrupt drive analyzing all of its contents and allows you to choose which data you would like to recover.
It even scans for deleted files. Data Rescue II restores the data to a separate drive leaving the original data intact.
It comes with an emergency boot CD that you can use to recover data when the computer will not boot and it also works on drives that won’t mount.
Cost: $99.00
AppCleaner
AppCleaner may not be classified as a repair tool but it can be used as one.
When you are having trouble with an application in OS X, you can simply remove it by dragging it to the Trash.
However, this still leaves behind the applications preferences, caches, and other files that could still cause the same problem after you reinstall it.
AppCleaner will remove all of these files making sure that the app is completely gone before you attempt a reinstall.
Interesting interface!
Cost: Free!
Drive Genius – Is this the Best Mac Repair App?!
Drive Genius is a disk utility application for Macs.
Its main features include:
- defragmenting,
- running benchtests,
- directory repair,
- integrity checks,
- surface scans,
- repartitioning,
- cloning,
- shredding data, and more.
With all these features, you can see why I ask is it the best Mac repair app overall!
This is actually the same program used to defrag Macs at the Genius Bar in Apple Stores.
Oh yes, Apple uses it.
Drive Genius also comes on a bootable DVD so you can run it even when a Mac will not boot.
Cost: $99.00
Mac Backup – Carbon Copy Cloner
Carbon Copy Cloner is a simple yet very effective backup utility for the Mac. Like most other backup utilities, it can be scheduled to backup your Mac on a regular basis.
The best part, however, is its ability to completely clone a hard drive with it still being bootable.
This tool comes in very handy when you are replacing hard drives, setting up multiple Macs, or recovering from a system crash.
Carbon Copy Cloner is donation-ware so you can download it for free without any restrictions.
Maybe you will be so pleased you will buy them a coffee anyway!
You can also check out SuperDuper which has more features but costs $27.95.
However, if you just need a simple backup and cloning utility, Carbon Copy Cloner does a great job.
Cost: Free! (donation-ware)
Apple Mac Disk Repair – AppleJack
AppleJack is a troubleshooting utility for Mac OS X. It runs under Single-User Mode so it can be used even when OS X will not boot.
AppleJack will repair disks, repair permissions, cleanup cache files, validate preference files, and remove swap files.
You can select these tasks individually or have AppleJack run all of them and even reboot when finished.
Unfortunately, at the time of writing this article, AppleJack is not yet compatible with Leopard but a new version is in the works. Be sure to check their page frequently for an update because this is an invaluable tool.
When I updated this article for 2020, I checked on SourceForge and there were over 600 downloads last week!
Cost: Free! (open-source)
Hardware Monitor
Hardware Monitor is a utility that allows you to view data from the hardware sensors in a Mac.
It currently has support for temperature readings, battery data, voltage, current, fan speed, power and load, ambient light, as well as user-defined artificial sensors.
It’s a great utility to use when simply trying to find out if your hardware is malfunctioning.
Cost: € 7.00 (can also be purchased with U.S. Dollars)
Also consider
OSX disk repair
This is kind of a nice segway into handy hardware tools and toolkits. Click on the following link if you want to see some great ideas on what I recommend for your Mac or PC Repair Toolkit.
As you may know, I believe your should support Macs in your Computer IT Consultant Business. I state my case here in my article on Why You Should Support Macs With Your IT Business.
Well if you were counting, that is 4 totally free Mac OSX disk repair utilities, and one so cheap it may as well be free!
The best Mac repair disk software may well be a paid one depending on your exact needs, and I’ve shown you my pick for the best of those too.
If you know of other great Mac software let me know in the comments below. What Mac OS X repair tools do you like? Is there another Mac Disk Repair utility you’d suggest? Please leave a comment to help others, or if the above tools have helped you.
And as for hardware, click this link if you want to repair hard drive-Mac for more details.
Summary of Best Mac Repair Software:
Excellent Mac disk repair software is provided above, for you to consider and try their features for yourself. I didn’t stop there. This list contains some other handy Mac software I consider to be the best tools for techs and Mac owners.
Related posts:
Mac can be conveniently purchased from the Apple store and most of configuration allows you to upgrade the memory so that you don’t need to open the case and take the risk in using an incompatible memory which would cause system lockups.
The only thing is the upgrade from Apple store cost a lot more money if compared to the one that it purchased from a computer store. For example, an additional 2GB of memory cost $50 at Apple Store while it only cost less than $10 if you search in Pricewatch. If you’re willing to take the risk in adding extra memory in your Mac either to save money or perhaps you have a few lying around, it is best to run a memory test to make sure that the RAM is fully compatible and won’t make your Mac unstable.
Here we suggest 3 different methods to easily run a memory test on your Mac OS X including the latest Mountain Lion 10.8.
1. RemberRember is actually a GUI for the popular command line memory testing tool called Memtest OS X. Instead of typing commands in terminal, you can run the test by clicking a button. You are able to test a selected amount or all of the memory, specify the number of times the tests should run and also viewing of the log. Rember includes Memtest OS X in the package so there is no need to manually download and install the memtest. Running Rember will show a table displaying the detected memory on your Mac. Select the amount of memory to test, number of loops and click the Test button to start checking the memory. When the tests is finished, Rember will show the test results.
Rember runs in Mac OS X which means that not all of the ram can be tested due to a portion of RAM being reserved for housekeeping.
Download Rember
2. Memtest86+
If your Mac has a SuperDrive, you can burn the pre-compiled bootable ISO image of the Memtest86+ and boot up the Mac with the disc. Just press and hold the C key when starting up Mac to boot from the disc.
The good thing about Memtest86+ is it runs by itself without relying on the operating system, giving you a more accurate memory test result.
Download Memtest86+
3. Apple Hardware Test
This is the recommended way by Apple to test your memory using their diagnostic tool. If you have an installation disc, insert the disc, restart your Mac, press and hold the C key. Select the language for the Apple Hardware Test and click the Test button to start testing. You can also tick the “Perform extended testing” option which would perform a more thorough test that takes considerably more time to complete. On the latest Mac OS X Mountain Lion, the Apple Hardware Test is already pre-installed and it doesn’t come with an installation disc. Simply boot up, press and hold the D key to start the Apple Hardware Test.
You can also see the amount of memory installed on your Mac at the Hardware Profile tab to confirm that the memory is correctly installed and detected. There are some Apple Hardware Test images that can be downloaded for older models. Do note that the Apple Hardware Test images are machine specific meaning that you cannot use the iBook version on a Mac Mini.
Download Apple Hardware Test
You might also like:
3 Ways to Test your RAM with Microsoft Windows Memory Diagnostic6 Free Programs to Check Your Video Card Memory For Errors10 Popular Web Browsers Tested for Memory and CPU UsageDownload Sony Memory Card File Rescue Software for Free.NET Framework Setup Verification Utility‘Closing all apps’ is an option which can be set or disabled in the Rember preferences.
ReplyI’m trying to test DRAM one bank at a time in mid-2010 Mac mini with 2 banks of 4GB Kingston DRAM each.
Rember run overnight on max cycles (255) showed when both banks were full (8GB total), there was a DRAM failure. But run overnight on max cycles (255), Rember is so slow it’s completed less than 30 cycles. I tried this twice.
Is it not possible to check one 4GB stick at a time? (Mid-2010 Mac mini standard RAM is 1GB module in each bank for total 2GB.)
ReplyI have several DDR3 DIMMs I want to install, but the memory timing is not printed on them. Is there an app for Macs that can tell you what the timing is on installed DIMMs?
ReplyRember doesn’t shut down existing programs… you do that yerself
ReplyRember is an amazing app! In regards to the comment above:
it closes all windows because to free-up whole RAM memory for tests.
It’s understandable that you must save your work before you open any diagnostic app.
Works great on latest 2019 iMac where Memtest failed and Apple Diagnostic Tool is a JOKE
ReplyRember
I ran this app and it closed all open windows and running apps without asking or warning me. That is bad software. Who knows what data I lost as a result, let alone time in reopening what I can remember was running. memtest does not do this.
ReplyMac Diagnostics Tool
Hope this works well, thanks!