Onyx VS Cocktail VS Tinkertool System

Question

Onyx VS Cocktail VS Tinkertool System

Hi everybody!

Well, I'm new in the Apple forum and I'm going to receive my first Apple Notebook, that's the new MacBook Air 13.
Actually, I'm looking for a system utility software to take care of my new Mac. May you help me in this choice with your comments and feedback..?
I've read many articles about, and now I ask you what's the best between Onyx, Cocktail and Tinkertool System..
Thanks a lot for your attention and for your help!
And all the best for the new year!
Bye

Alberto R Air

MacBook Air 13, Mac OS X (10.6.6)

Posted on Jan 12, 2011 7:19 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

varjak paw

Level 10

170,200 points

Jan 12, 2011 7:28 AM in response to Alberto R Air

Hello, Alberto, and welcome to the Discussions and the Mac community.

Others may and probably will have other opinions, but I would suggest that at this time you don't get any of those utilities unless and until someone tells you that you need one to solve a problem. Most people never need any of those utilities, and some have features that can get you into serious trouble if you don't know exactly what you're doing.

If you at some point should encounter a problem with your Mac, post back in these forums and there will be many friendly people who will attempt to help you solve your trouble. If any of those utilities will at that time help, you'll be told what to get and how to use it. Then eventually, when you know more about your Mac and how it operates, you can look into the features of the various utilities and decide for yourself which if any you wish to have available.

Regards.

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Answer 2

Jan 12, 2011 12:31 PM in response to varjak paw

@ Dave Sawyer

First of all, thanks for your welcome and reply!
Well, actually I'm so familiar with system utilies because of my Windows OS, that I think it will be a good idea to install from the beginning a same software in my new Mac to take care of it... But you're certainly more expert than me in this field.
So, I regard your advice and thanks.
I'm waiting for others opinion too.
Thanks, bye.

Alberto R Air

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Answer 3

varjak paw

Level 10

170,200 points

Jan 12, 2011 1:15 PM in response to Alberto R Air

Don't judge your needs on a Mac by your experience with Windows. Windows often requires utilities and functions that a Mac usually does not. While I can't say that you would never need any of these utilities, and I am most certainly not saying that Mac OS X never goes wrong, Mac OS X does not require the sort of frequent maintenance that Windows usually requires. So again, I would say to avoid any of these utilities until you know you need them.

Regards.

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Answer 4

Jan 12, 2011 1:31 PM in response to Alberto R Air

Hi and welcome and congrats on your new MBAir!

Rule of thumb. Acquaint yourself with the Mac OS X before installing any third party software. I've been a Mac user since 1998, and have never used a third party utility for any kind of maintenance. There's a utility pre installed with the Mac OS X called Disk Utility which can be found in your Applications/Utilities folder. You can verify and repair the startup disk using that utility among other features.

Some links here that may help you. You may want to "Bookmark" them in your Safari browser. From the Safari menu bar click Bookmark/Add Bookmark.

How to migrate from PC to Mac

Featured Mac Basic Tutorials

MacBookAir Support help here.

If you need more help, you can post in the MacBookAir forum here.

Or the Snow Leopard v10.6.x here.

Happy New Year to you too!

Carolyn 🙂

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Answer 5

a brody

Level 10

82,941 points

Jan 12, 2011 1:32 PM in response to Alberto R Air

The only utility you need is a backup utility. The how and when to backup is here*

http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html

everything else requires a good backup plan before put in use, so just start with that.

- * links to my pages may give me compensation

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Answer 6

Jan 12, 2011 1:47 PM in response to Alberto R Air

Alberto,

Welcome to Discussions.

I have been using Cocktail for a long time and am very happy with it. Run it manually once a week before backing up to my clones. Never caused a problem. Plenty of features. I also like that it is OS version specific. Never used Onyx but it is highly rated.

If you haven't already, you might want to check out reviews and comparisons at these sites.

CNET Download.com
http://download.cnet.com/mac/?tag=hdr

MacUpdate
http://www.macupdate.com/

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Answer 7

Jan 12, 2011 11:53 PM in response to varjak paw

@ Dave Sawyer

Hi Dave. Ok, understand what you mean. Thanks so much for your reply and advice!
See you soon.

Alberto R Air

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Answer 8

Jan 12, 2011 11:59 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

@ Carolyn Samit

Hi Carolyn! Thanks for your welcome and to appreciate my new MAC too..!
oh, very well.. Thanks for your advice to use the preinstalled application. So, actually, the MAC should be really powerful and without need to ongoing maintenance. Then I'll be very satisfied.
Finally, thanks for the helping links!
Bye.

Alberto R Air

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Answer 9

Jan 13, 2011 12:15 AM in response to a brody

@ a brody

Hello. All right, thanks for the link. And in your opinion, which software should I use..? Anything else besides Apple Time Machine..?
Thanks, bye.

Alberto R Air

Message was edited by: Alberto R Air

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Answer 10

Jan 13, 2011 12:22 AM in response to Peter Bannon

@ Peter Bannon

Hi Peter. Thanks for your reply!
Well, up to now you're the only who told me to use an utilities software. Anyway, I read you use it only once a week, confirming the view of other users that Mac doesn't need ongoing maintenance.
Actually, I'll take into account your advice about Cocktail.
Thanks! Bye

Alberto R Air

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Answer 11

Alancito

Level 7

27,382 points

Jan 13, 2011 1:16 AM in response to Alberto R Air

Alberto ~ On a related note, you may like this free, colorful battery monitor for the menu bar — click on the thumbnail:

http://www.orange-carb.org/SBM/index.html

And this free Dashboard widget provides a convenient way to see what TIme Machine has been doing:

_Time Machine Buddy_

Also this free app can be useful:

Caffeine

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Answer 12

Jan 13, 2011 1:27 AM in response to Alberto R Air

You're welcome! 🙂

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Answer 13

Jan 13, 2011 5:00 AM in response to Alancito

@ Alancito

Hello! Thanks so much for your links!
I think they will be very interesting and useful!
Bye

Alberto R Air

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Answer 14

Jan 13, 2011 5:01 AM in response to Carolyn Samit

@ Carolyn

Many thanks again! You're very kind!
Bye

Alberto R Air

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Answer 15

a brody

Level 10

82,941 points

Jan 13, 2011 5:08 AM in response to Alberto R Air

Superduper is my favorite cloning software. At least with a clone software, all you need is a drive the same size as your original. With Time Machine, it is better if you have double the drive size.

I don't recommend Onyx, Cocktail, or Tinkertool, unless you are troubleshooting an issue on a backed up system.

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