Can u defrag on a Mac

M

mykelee

Registered
I am new to a Mac so excuse the questions

1) On a PC I can defrag or look at partitions. Can I defrag on my iMac 17" G4?

2) Can I also create new partitions in a Mac? Will I lose data by doing this.
On a PC there was a product called Partition Magic which allowed you to create paritions etc without losing your data.

3) Can the iMac 17" G4 I recently purchased (about 2months ago) have the harddisk upgraded to a bigger sized one?


Thanks

Michael
 
Hey Michael
1) Basically there is no need for defragmenting your mac disc. Take a look at this:
http://macosx.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38962
Anyway, if you think there should be a need, you might want to take a closer look at Drive 10
2) You can create a new partition on your mac using Disk Utility. However, it is not possible to partition your disc without formating it. There is no such tool like Partition Magic for mac, AFAIK.
3) of course you can upgrade. I don't think you will be able to add another disc, but you will be able to replace your current one with a bigger. IDE pc discs (3.5) are completely compatible to mac. But if there is a need for a second disc, take a look at firewire discs (portable discs with firewire or usb connection). Works just like a regular disc...
 
Hard Disk Toolkit used to be able to dynamically repartition drives but I'm not sure if there's an OSX version out. I'm sure Google will tell you.
 
Your PBook 17, if less than 2 months old, has an 80 GB HD. Anyone see a larger laptop hard drive yet? (PC or Mac?)
There is no product that will dynamically repartition HD in OS X, and Partition Magic for PCs is not a perfect player by any stretch (always use with caution, with backups)
 
iMacs don't have notebook harddisks, and I guess he's talking 'bout his iMac. So: Yes, you can replace it, basically, with a larger IDE harddrive.
 
FYI: Mac OS X DEFRAGMENTS itself (on an HFS+ volume)!

I found this information from

http://www.kernelthread.com/mac/osx/

from a Slashdot article here:

http://apple.slashdot.org/article.p...tid=185&tid=190

The specific information is listed in "Mac OS X Filesystems" section.

Now, here's a direct quote of what I'm referring to:

HFS+ also has a few specific optimizations. When a file is opened on an HFS+ volume, the following conditions are tested:

* The file is less than 20 MB in size
* The file is not already busy
* The file is not read only
* The file is fragmented (the eighth extent descriptor in its extend record has a non-zero block count)
* The system uptime is at least 3 minutes

If all the above are satisfied, the file is relocated (de-fragmented) - on-the-fly.

Another optimization is "Hot File Clustering". This is a multi-staged (the stages being DISABLED, IDLE, BUSY, RECORDING, EVALUATION, EVICTION and ADOPTION) clustering scheme that records "hot" files (except journal files, and ideally quota files) on a volume, and moves "hot" files to the "hot" space on the disk (0.5% of the total filesystem size located at the end of the default metadata zone - at the start of the volume). The scheme uses an on-disk B-Tree file for tracking (/.hotfiles.btree on a volume):

# ls -l /.hotfiles.btree -rw------- 1 root admin 196608 17 Dec 10:09 /.hotfiles.btree

At most 5000 files, and only files less than 10 MB in size are "adopted" under this scheme.
End Quote

Given that Mac OS X defrags itself with use, I only defrag by archiving all my data (user folder) to another hard disk (I have another internal UltraSCSI, and an external 80GB firewire HD), wiping the current operating system, and installing a FRESH operating system. I only do this with major upgrades, like going from Jaguar 10.2.8 to Panther 10.3.2. You can keep things more organized longer by storing your files in large read/write disk images. I think Disk Utility has a preference setting for keeping the disk image optimized when writing to it.

Regarding upgrading to a larger internal hard drive, don't bother, just go get an external FireWire hard drive from GVP (see MacMall.com/ClubMac.com), LaCie, etc... The FireWire drives are REALLY FAST, transportable, reliable, and DO NOT REQUIRE installing drivers - just plug it in and use it (you don't have to power down to plug-in and un-plug the HD). If you install a non-Apple standard internal HD in your computer, you could end up relying on drivers from a third party manufacturer.

For internal hard drives, Apple uses IBM because THESE hard drives have a unique technology that can predict when the hard drive is going to fail. When a hard drive failure is imminent, Mac OS X WILL TELL YOU TO BACKUP YOUR FILES AND GET A NEW HARD DRIVE. This information is in the Panther "Help" for Disk Utility OR the operating system. There are advantages for paying the Apple premium for a personal computer. Don't expect this kind of technology from The Borg.
 
"For internal hard drives, Apple uses IBM because THESE hard drives have a unique technology that can predict when the hard drive is going to fail. When a hard drive failure is imminent, Mac OS X WILL TELL YOU TO BACKUP YOUR FILES AND GET A NEW HARD DRIVE. This information is in the Panther "Help" for Disk Utility OR the operating system. There are advantages for paying the Apple premium for a personal computer. Don't expect this kind of technology from The Borg."
Interesting opinion, but not factual...
S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) is implemented into all of the modern hard disks. A special program inside the disk constantly keeps tracking the condition of a range of the vital parameters: driver, disk heads, surface state, electronics, etc. At the present time, S.M.A.R.T. technology is able to predict up to 70% of all hard disk problems! 'The Borg' has used this monitoring to some degree since at least WinME. if the hard drive provided the data.
Nothng unique to IBM, all drive manufacturers use this SMART technology. So IBM is not the only one! (when was the last time you saw an IBM hard drive in a new Mac (IBM doesn't put their name on hard drives now, it's Hitachi) All I usually see, working in Mac service, is western digital, seagate, and Maxtor, all of which also support S.M.A.R.T.
 
DeltaMac said:
"For internal hard drives, Apple uses IBM because THESE hard drives have a unique technology that can predict when the hard drive is going to fail. When a hard drive failure is imminent, Mac OS X WILL TELL YOU TO BACKUP YOUR FILES AND GET A NEW HARD DRIVE. This information is in the Panther "Help" for Disk Utility OR the operating system. There are advantages for paying the Apple premium for a personal computer. Don't expect this kind of technology from The Borg."
Interesting opinion, but not factual...
S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) is implemented into all of the modern hard disks. A special program inside the disk constantly keeps tracking the condition of a range of the vital parameters: driver, disk heads, surface state, electronics, etc. At the present time, S.M.A.R.T. technology is able to predict up to 70% of all hard disk problems! 'The Borg' has used this monitoring to some degree since at least WinME. if the hard drive provided the data.
Nothng unique to IBM, all drive manufacturers use this SMART technology. So IBM is not the only one! (when was the last time you saw an IBM hard drive in a new Mac (IBM doesn't put their name on hard drives now, it's Hitachi) All I usually see, working in Mac service, is western digital, seagate, and Maxtor, all of which also support S.M.A.R.T.
Click to expand...


I standard corrected, but the last time I saw an IBM hard drive in a Mac was inside my PowerBook520c and my Blue and White G3, both ordered from Apple (not purchased used or through a reseller), both came with IBM hard drives.
 
I was referring to more recent systems, but Apple certainly has used IBM drives, as well as other brand names. IBM made a bad name for HDs 2 or 3 years ago with reliability issues, perhaps one of the reasons for selling out to Hitachi.
 
You can have your iMac HD updated, but you cannot do it yourself (unless you have a good electronics experience): opening an iMac is not difficult, but closing the iMac without damaging the heat sink qualities is requiring experience.
 
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