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.
Jun 20, 2018. Aug 06, 2015.
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! Free apple macbook pro.
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:
Disk Utility can find and repair errors related to the formatting and directory structure of a Mac disk. Errors can lead to unexpected behavior when using your Mac, and significant errors might even prevent your Mac from starting up completely.
Before proceeding, make sure that you have a current backup of your Mac, in case you need to recover damaged files or Disk Utility finds errors that it can't repair.
Open Disk Utility
Start up from macOS Recovery, then select Disk Utility from the Utilities window. Click Continue.
If you're not repairing the disk your Mac started up from, you don't need to start up from macOS Recovery: just open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
Locate your disk in Disk Utility
Choose View > Show All Devices (if available) from the menu bar or toolbar in Disk Utility.
The sidebar in Disk Utility should now show each available disk or other storage device, beginning with your startup disk. And beneath each disk you should see any containers and volumes on that disk. Don't see your disk?
In this example, the startup disk (APPLE HDD) has one container and two volumes (Macintosh HD, Macintosh HD - Data). Your disk might not have a container, and it might have a different number of volumes.
Repair volumes, then containers, then disks
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! Free apple macbook pro.
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:
Disk Utility can find and repair errors related to the formatting and directory structure of a Mac disk. Errors can lead to unexpected behavior when using your Mac, and significant errors might even prevent your Mac from starting up completely.
Before proceeding, make sure that you have a current backup of your Mac, in case you need to recover damaged files or Disk Utility finds errors that it can't repair.
Open Disk Utility
Start up from macOS Recovery, then select Disk Utility from the Utilities window. Click Continue.
If you're not repairing the disk your Mac started up from, you don't need to start up from macOS Recovery: just open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
Locate your disk in Disk Utility
Choose View > Show All Devices (if available) from the menu bar or toolbar in Disk Utility.
The sidebar in Disk Utility should now show each available disk or other storage device, beginning with your startup disk. And beneath each disk you should see any containers and volumes on that disk. Don't see your disk?
In this example, the startup disk (APPLE HDD) has one container and two volumes (Macintosh HD, Macintosh HD - Data). Your disk might not have a container, and it might have a different number of volumes.
Repair volumes, then containers, then disks
For each disk that you're repairing, start by selecting the last volume on that disk, then click the First Aid button or tab.
In this example, the last volume on the disk is Macintosh HD - Data.
Click Run to begin checking the selected volume for errors.
- If there is no Run button, click the Repair Disk button instead.
- If the button is dimmed and you can't click it, skip this step for the item you selected, and continue to the next item.
- If you're asked for a password to unlock the disk, enter your administrator password.
After Disk Utility is done checking the volume, select the next item above it in the sidebar, then run First Aid again. Keep moving up the list, running First Aid for each volume on the disk, then each container on the disk, then finally the disk itself.
In this example, the repair order is Macintosh HD - Data, then Macintosh HD, then Container disk2, then APPLE HDD.
Best Mac Os X Utilities Restore
If Disk Utility found errors that it can't repair
If Disk Utility found errors that it could not repair, use Disk Utility to erase (format) your disk.
If your disk doesn't appear in Disk Utility
If Disk Utility can't see your disk, it also can't see any containers or volumes on that disk. In that case, follow these steps:
Free Mac Utilities
- Shut down your Mac, then unplug all nonessential devices from your Mac.
- If you're repairing an external drive, make sure that it's connected directly to your Mac using a cable that you know is good. Then turn the drive off and back on.
- If your disk still doesn't appear in Disk Utility, your disk or Mac might need service. If you need help, please contact Apple Support.
