Techtool Deluxe

TechTool Deluxe was a special subset of TechTool Pro commissioned by Apple for distribution as part of the AppleCare Protection Plan. It was discontinued quite a while ago - I know I got it with the APP for the Powerbook I bought in early 2004, but I don't think it was included with my MBP's APP at the end of 2008.

It seems like every time Apple updates the OS, Micromat charges for an update or upgrade to TT Pro. I've paid for two updates since my original purchase was compatible with OS 10.4 and now they want to charge again to update because I've gone to 10.6. Since OS X has become so stable, I'm wondering if there is still a need for TT Pro or Disk Warrior. I've already invested almost $150 in TT Pro alone. I know the diagnostics are very robust, etc. But, I'm tired of paying for each update/upgrade...and even then one has to jump thru hoops because MIcromat ineviatably doesn't recognize ones original serial number or registration.

Other users thoughts on the efficacy of TT Pro and DW are very welcome.

I swore by DiskWarrior for at least ten or twelve years, and recommended it without reservation. There came a time a few years ago when a DW upgrade was late being released, and I took advantage of a "crossgrade" offer from Micromat to buy TechTool Pro (v. 5). I had once owned a much earlier version of TTP that I used for hardware testing before the Apple Hardware Test was introduced. With its greatly enhanced disk-related capabilities, I thought TTP would be a useful replacement for DiskWarrior, at least until the new version of DW was finally released.

I've never needed either utility at all. Ever since I got my MBP in December 2008, it has been completely free of any problems that DW or TTP would have been useful to diagnose or fix. I see no reason any more to advise anyone to buy either one.

I must also say that the hardware testing and diagnostic capabilities of TTP for anything other than hard drive faults have drastically diminished since the late '90s. Those capabilities used to be the primary reason to buy it, but now that it has been substantially repurposed as a disk utility, hardware testing is nothing more than a lightweight incidental feature in it.

'eww',

I have to agree. Although a lot of people do have HDD failures etc, I've found that the OS AND the hardware, both Apple and 3rd party, have become quite stable and reliable. I need to knock on wood before I type, "I've never had a HDD failure".

Heck, I'm not even sure any longer of the efficacy nor need to do 'repair permissions' starting with OS 10.5, definitely since 10.6. It used to be automatically required with any installation of apps. I don't think so any longer. Kudos to Apple.

When a HDD failure is imminent, I believe I'll know it...unless it's sudden and catastrophic. But there are usually plenty of warning signs.

I'm not saying there's never a need for TTP nor DW; just that today's Macs don't seem to have the need for them as in the past. And, they way they keep charging for updates/upgrades is onerous. Three or four free disk utilities should do the trick (eg a cache cleaner, OnyX, Macaroni, et al).

Agree entirely.

I too have had these utilities for years with multiple upgrades and almost no use. Once in a great while I would run DiskWarrior, when something screwy was going on, which cured the problem. With the creation of an external bootable clone drive it is about as easy to reverse clone than than mess around trying to fix a tenacious problem.

I do like TinkerTool System as the Emergency Tool is available in single user mode like AppleJack but unlike AppleJack it is kept up to date. (still no 10.7 update for AppleJack).

On 5/15/2012, Micromat announced the release of TechTool Deluxe 3.1.4, which includes compatibility for Lion.

TechTool Deluxe 3.1.4 is downloadable free to all registered users, including those who received it as part of their AppleCare Protection Plan.

To update from previous versions of TechTool Deluxe, launch an installed copy of the TechTool Deluxe application and select the "Check For Update…" option located under the Services menu, where users can register for the new updater.

Actually, Micromat did not charge for updates each time Apple updated the OS, but like most utility developers they had a 1-2 year product for cycle TechTool Pro and charged an upgrade free for those new versions, which included new features as well as compatibility to the new Mac OS, which seemed to move to a new version too.

Until early 2011 when they went downloadable with TechTool Pro 6, they also offered a DVD subscription service, that would automatically mail a new physical boot DVD to subscribers who wanted to keep up with any new Macs that had shipped. Early on, that could be several times annually, however it became more sporatic as Apple provided the frameworks to drive utility developers less often, so all those developers had this issue.

TechTool Deluxe is updated free thru the software, there's no fee's for it.