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The TechTool Protogo Interface
TechTool Pro is a user-friendly and versatile macOS application that helps you scan your CPU, RAM, video hardware and other components to identify various symptoms that would help you prevent. Because TechTool Pro works with the computer hardware at the lowest levels, it was necessary for Micromat to completely re-engineer the software from the ground up. In order to support the new models, Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) is required to run the program. TechTool Pro ships on DVD for both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs.
You can run TechTool Protogo either from the installed version on your hard drive or directly from the TechTool Protogo DVD. To launch the program, double-click the Protogo icon. After the program has launched, you will see the main TechTool Protogo window.
The main window is divided into three panes with a button bar at the bottom. The upper pane is the Profile Viewer. This is a visual summary of the currently selected device and the profile. The two panes beneath the Profile Viewer display information about the storage devices attached to the computer and about the available device profiles, including any custom profiles you may have created. Use the New and Delete button below the Profiles pane to create or delete profiles. Click the Edit button to bring up the Profile Editor to set up a device profile the way you wish. Click the Build TechTool Protogo button to completely erase the selected device and configure it using the selected profile. These options are covered in more detail below.
Profile Viewer
The upper pane in the Protogo window is the Profile Viewer. The top left of the pane displays an icon for each Mac OS version included in the profile. Beneath this is a series of icons indicating the applications that are included on the volumes in the profile. The application icons move across the screen and disappear into an icon of the currently selected device. The lower portion of the pane displays the profile name and the beginning of the profile description. To view the full description, click the Edit button at the bottom of the screen (or double-click the profile name in the Profiles pane).
Devices Pane
The Devices pane is the lower left pane in the TechTool Protogo window. It displays an icon for each device available for use by Protogo.
Click on a device icon to select it for use by the program. Listed next to each device icon is its name, device type and identifier (e.g. External FireWire (disk1)), and size.
Click on the Eject button beneath the Devices pane to eject the selected device.
Profiles Pane
The Profiles pane is the bottom right pane in the TechTool Protogo window.
A profile is a complete device configuration, including any volumes (partitions) and their contents. Both the included default profiles and any custom profiles you have created will be displayed in the Profiles pane. You can create profiles for use on devices ranging from 2GB flash drives containing a minimal bootable system with one or two utilities all the way up to large hard drives with full installations of Mac OS 9, Mac OS X, and multiple utilities or other software.
The Profiles pane displays a Profile Strip for each available profile.
Each Profile Strip includes the profile name, the number of volumes on the profile, and a brief description of the selected profile.
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On the right side of the strip is a bar graph indicating the amount of used and free space on the device.
The graph colors indicate the following:
- green–space used on the selected device by the profile.
- white–free space available on the selected device.
- red–insufficient space on the selected device to build the profile.
TechTool Protogo includes eight default profiles:
- Mac OS X Intel Profile–will create a bootable Mac OS X partition based on a minimal system installation that boots Intel-based Macs (similar to a bootable CD or DVD with no Finder).
- Mac OS X PowerPC Profile–will create a bootable Mac OS X partition based on a minimal system installation that boots PowerPC Macs as well as Intel Macs that are capable of booting Mac OS 10.5.8 (similar to a bootable CD or DVD with no Finder).
- Mac OS X Basic Profile–will create a minimal copy of the active Mac OS X system installation.
- MacOS X Recovery HD Profile–Backup your Mac OS X Lion Recovery partition. (Available on Macs with Mac OS X 10.7 installed and a valid Recovery HD)
- Mac OS X Full Copy Profile–will create a full copy of the active Mac OS X system installation.
- Mac OS X Intel & Mac OS 9 Profile–will create a partition based on the Mac OS X Intel Profile and a second partition based on the Mac OS 9 Profile.
- Mac OS X PowerPC & Mac OS 9 Profile–will create a partition based on the Mac OS X PowerPC Profile and a second partition based on the Mac OS 9 Profile.
- Mac OS 9 Profile–will create a bootable Mac OS 9 partition.
NOTE Users of Mac OS X 10.7 that have FileVault 2 enabled will be unable to access their encrypted volumes unless they use the Basic Profile to create a device that contains Mac OS X 10.7.x.
All profiles contain a default list of applications. For Mac OS X, these are:
- TechTool Pro 6
- Activity Monitor
- Console
- Disk Utility
- Preview (Basic Only)
- System Profiler
- Terminal
For the Recovery HD Profile, the partition will contain:
- Disk Utility
- Safari
- Console
- Terminal
For Mac OS 9 the defaults are:
- TechTool Pro 3.1.1
- Disk First Aid
- Drive Setup
Use the following buttons beneath the Profiles pane to work with profiles:
- New–click this button to bring up the Profile Editor screen and create a new profile. Details about the Profile Editor are covered below.
- Delete–click this button to delete the selected profile.
- Edit–click this button to bring up the Profile Editor screen with information about the selected profile. You can then alter the configuration as desired. Details about the Profile Editor are covered below.
- Build TechTool Protogo Device–click this button to copy the contents of the selected profile to the selected device.
WARNING Be sure that any important data on the device is backed up before choosing Build TechTool Protogo Device, since the entire device, including all volumes currently on it, will be completely erased. Any data on the device will be lost.
Profile Editor
Click the New button or Edit button beneath the Profiles pane to bring up the Profile Editor. The Profile Editor is where you create and/or configure a device profile to your specifications.
At the top of the screen is the Profile Name field. Simply enter the desired name for the profile into the field.
On the right of the Profile Name field is the Select Profile to Copy pop-down menu. Use this menu if you wish to copy an existing profile's attributes into the Profile Editor so that you can produce a modified version of that profile. This is often easier than creating a new profile from scratch.
Beneath the Profile Name field is the Description field. Enter whatever you like in this field for a profile description. This information will be displayed in the Profile Viewer on the main Protogo screen.
On the left, below the Description field, is the Volume List. This displays a Volume Strip for each volume currently included in the profile.
The Volume Strip shows an icon for the device. To the right of the icon are a number of fields:
- Name–enter the desired name for the volume.
- System–choose what Mac OS version, if any, to install on the volume from the pop-down menu.
- Format–choose the desired volume format from the pop-down menu.
- Disk Usage–this field displays the total amount of disk space used by the volume.
- Additional Space–enter the amount of additional space you wish to include on the volume. Use the pop-down menu on the right of the field to choose whether this will be indicated in MB (megabytes or million bytes) or GB (gigabytes or billion bytes).
Click the Add Volume button beneath the Volume List to add a new volume (partition) to the profile. Click the Delete Volume button to delete the selected volume (partition) from the profile.
To the right of the Volume List is the Content List. This displays a list of the utility programs on the selected volume.
Click the (+) button to bring up a File/Folder Selection dialog to select a file or folder containing a utility you wish to add to the selected volume. It will be placed in the Applications/Utilities folder on the volume. Click the (-) button to delete the currently selected file or folder from the list. Click the Show File button to display a Finder window showing the original location of the selected file or folder.
NOTE Not all application programs are self-contained. If a program consists of multiple parts, then simply copying a program file into a profile may not produce a working program on the device.
Click the Save button on the lower right of the Profile Editor to save the current state of the profile and return to the TechTool Protogo window. Click the Cancel button to cancel any changes made in the current Profile Editor session and return to the TechTool Protogo window.
NOTE The profiles are saved in the file '~/Library/Preferences/com.micromat.protogo.profiles.plist' (where '~' refers to the current user's folder).
Using a Protogo Device
Once Protogo has finished building a bootable device, it can be used to start up a Mac to perform a variety of troubleshooting tasks. There are several ways to start up from the new device.
Micromat Launcher
To start up from devices created using the Mac OS X Intel and PowerPC profiles, double click the Micromat Launcher. The Mac will then restart from the Protogo Device.
Startup Disk
Once Protogo has finished configuring your device, it will be visible in the Startup Disk Preference Pane under System Preferences. Select the device to boot from, then click the Restart... button.
Startup Manager
A Protogo device can also be selected using the Startup Manager. To start up from a device in this way, do the following:
- Startup or restart your Mac.
- Immediately upon hearing the startup chime, hold down the Option key until the Startup Manager appears. The Startup Manager is a screen which displays the disks available that can start up your Mac.
- Using the arrow keys, select the device you wish to start up from.
- Press the Return key.
The Mac will now start up from the selected device.
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Your Macintosh counts on you to keep it running at its best. And other people may count on you to keep their own computers running at their best as well. Whether you're a single user or you support many other Macintosh users at work, you'll want to get the latest version of Techtool Pro. After many, many months of development, we're proud to announce version 13 of the ultimate utility for Macintosh. Shipping now, this is the most feature-rich release of Techtool Pro ever. Check out the new features below and order your copy today!
Techtool Pro 13 will receive a free update this Fall with Big Sur compatibility after thorough testing with the final release version of Apple's latest OS. |
Techtool Pro 13 now includes data recovery options for APFS volumes. Create longer lasting APFS snapshots that can be used to recover accidentally deleted files, even if a backup is unavailable. Create snapshots automatically using the new Snapshot Usage feature in Techtool Protection, and mount and recover from your snapshots using the Snapshot Recovery tool. |
Techtool Pro 13 introduces a new tool to measure disk speed. Drive manufacturers advertise speeds that may not be realistic for real-world use, depending on the connection used, etc. Find out how your drive actually performs using the Drive Speed tool. |
Techtool Pro 13 continues to improve internally. We continue to update many of the tests and tools to use newer technologies to keep your Mac running smoothly. You may experience some of these improvements in the Battery Check test and in the Techtool Protection preference pane. |
Learn More
To learn more about Techtool Pro's other features, read on. To order a new copy or upgrade from your current version, click here.
Using the new Check Computer Suites, you can set up a variety of test suites for your needs. Use the built-in Full, Intermediate or Quick suites or make your own suite of tests to perfectly suit your needs. The Full Suite does what it sounds like, running every test and checking every drive. The Intermediate Suite leaves out the Surface Scan test to help save time, while the Quick Suite tests your Mac excluding your disks, for a quick look at the health of your Mac's hardware. Customize any of these or create your own suite from scratch to test your Mac exactly as you would like. |
Your Mac's hard drive, even if it is a Solid State Drive, is more likely to experience problems than any other component on your Mac. Because data changes so frequently, it can sometimes get scrambled. So, it's important to be able to test drives for problems and then repair them. Sadly, if something is physically wrong with the drive, it will need to be backed up and replaced, but the sooner this type of damage is detected, the fewer files - like cherished memories and important personal documents - will be lost. Most drive problems, however, result from data being in the wrong place, and can be repaired using Techtool Pro’s Volume Rebuild tool. In addition to native Mac drive formats, Mac OS Extended and APFS, Techtool Pro supports testing and repair of MS-DOS (FAT32) and ExFAT formatted volumes. |
If your startup disk stops working, and you need another startup disk, Techtool Pro’s eDrive steps in to help. The eDrive is what you’ll use to test, rebuild or defragment your main hard drive, but it is really helpful if your main startup disk goes missing. Instead of fumbling for your install DVD, or relying on the Recovery HD’s limited functionality, the eDrive gives you quick access to Techtool Pro along with several handy Apple utilities. You can even add other programs if you like. Customize the size of your eDrive, up to 128 GB. |
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The best way to prevent data loss is to be prepared. In addition to a backup, Techtool Pro includes Techtool Protection, which keeps an eye on your trash, allowing you to undelete that file you didn’t mean to delete. You can also back up your directory structures, the ‘map’ of where your data lives, so that if you need to recover data from a corrupt drive, Techtool Pro’s Data Recovery tool will know exactly where to look. Better yet, use Techtool Pro’s Volume Cloning tool to create an additional backup. |
The portability of Techtool Protogo is included with every copy of Techtool Pro. Techtool Protogo allows you to create a bootable diagnostic device that contains Techtool Pro and all of its most powerful tools as well as any of your own utilities you may wish to install. You can then use this device to boot, check, maintain, and repair Macintosh computers as needed. Simply launch Protogo, choose Protogo from the Mode menu, and use it to set up a diagnostic disk. Here are a list of recommended drives that work well as Protogo devices. |
Techtool Pro includes the most comprehensive hardware testing in the industry. On some machines there are more than 100 electrical and temperature sensors that Techtool Pro will check. If any of those sensors report values outside of their acceptable operating range, the new Sensors test will let you know. Techtool Pro also tests your Mac's cooling system, and can test laptop batteries as well, so you can catch small problems before they become big ones. In addition, test networking ports, WiFi and more using the Network and Bluetooth tests. |
Techtool Pro's memory testing suite is the most comprehensive among general hardware utilities. Techtool Pro, takes advantage advancements used by ATOMIC, our dedicated Memory Tester, and integrates them into testing your memory. Now, memory is 'cleaned' before testing, reclaimed from macOS, maximizing the amount of RAM that can be tested. |
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Techtool Pro has been able to test your Mac's battery for quite a while. But, recent reports have shown that battery condition can affect the performance of your iPhone and iPad. If your iOS device is connected to your Mac, Techtool Pro can now test your device's battery, and give you a host of other important battery data as well. Find out if your iPhone or iPad is running at its full potential. |
Techtool Pro supports iCloud Drive. Simply download the new Techtool Remote iOS app (free on the App Store), and open it. Techtool Pro will then send test results to any iOS device logged in to the same iCloud account. So if you have a long test (or tests) running that you want to know the results of, but you need to hit the road, you can now get notified of your results anywhere you have an internet connection. |
Diagnostics and Repair Start with Check Computer to perform a complete diagnostic check of your Mac and hard drives. A single click of your mouse runs a SMART Check of your hard drive to detect impending drive failure, a RAM test, analysis of disk directories and more. If problems are found, advice is provided on how to proceed to repair the problem. Use Check Computer regularly as a part of your preventive maintenance program. Customize testing using built-in preferences. | |
Drive Testing and Repair Techtool Pro will test, rebuild, and repair damaged directories on corrupted Mac OS Extended hard drives, and optimize the data directories when they are repaired. Techtool Pro can also repair Apple's new APFS file system, standard Mac OS Extended volumes, as well as MS-DOS (FAT32) and ExFAT formatted volumes. When rebuilding Mac OS Extended volumes, Volume Rebuild will display a comparison chart before directory data is replaced. Use Volume Rebuild to keep your drives operating at their peak performance. | |
Smarter SMART Check Hard drives include a technology called SMART (Self Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) which can inform a computer about the health of its hard drives. In most utilities, just the overall results - passed or failed - are reported to the user. In the failed state, often there is little or no time to back up data before the drive fails entirely. Previous versions of Techtool Pro reported the overall status of each attribute, but some attributes don't contribute to the failure of a drive. Now, the SMART Check has gotten smarter. Techtool Pro now knows which attributes contribute to drive failure, and will report a failing result before the drive fails completely. Giving you time to rescue your data. | |
Partition Map Techtool Pro will test and repair hard drive partition maps. The Partition Map test will verify the health of the partition map and the Partition Repair tool will repair any errors found in the partition map. | |
Memory Test RAM problems are quite prevalent and can cause a variety of crashes, program errors and even data loss. We've seen many cases where a user will be chasing down a disk or extension problem when their issue was simply a faulty and inexpensively replaced memory module. As part of the RAM test, we've also added an SPD report that shows you an enormous amount of technical and other interesting information about your computer's memory. | |
eDrive Using Techtool Pro, you can easily create an eDrive, an extra startup partition based on the active system volume, which can be used as an emergency startup partition or to perform regular maintenance on your Mac. The eDrive is based on your specific Macs system and includes Techtool Pro's tools for Mac repair. Using the eDrive, there's no need to reformat or to boot from a DVD or secondary hard drive. If needed, the eDrive's size can be expanded to fit your needs. | |
Volume Cloning Volume Cloning creates exact duplicates of your volumes for trouble-free archiving to backup your data and applications. Cloning volumes can also be helpful if you are upgrading from a smaller size hard drive to a larger drive. You have the options of creating a duplicate of an entire disk, file syncing by adding only the changed files to a clone, or cloning to numerous disc image formats. If you have an available drive, you can even use the tool to optimize disks that are especially fragmented. | |
Volume and File Optimization Techtool Pro performs both file and volume optimization. File optimization defragments individual files on the hard drive. Volume optimization consolidates the free space on a hard drive. For full optimization, perform Volume Optimization after File Optimization. The resulting optimization simplifies the file storage layout and may enhance the overall performance of your drive.** | |
Data Recovery Techtool Pro helps you recover your data from corrupted drives or volumes that don't mount on the desktop to save the data to another location.† Use the Trash History feature to track the location of deleted files and increase the chance of their recovery in the case of an accidental deletion. | |
Processor Benchmarking Get an objective measurement of your Mac's processor performance. The Processor Benchmark too uses industry-standard measurement algorithms to test processor performance. Using this tool, you can get metrics that can be used to compare processor speeds apples-to-apples. Avoids the confusion of comparison using Megahertz. | |
Network and Connectivity Testing Techtool can test your Bluetooth, Wifi, Ethernet and any other network network interface. Troubleshoot problems staying connected to wifi, or problems connecting to Bluetooth peripherals such as speakers, keyboards, and more. | |
Network Monitoring and Connectivity Techtool Pro will monitor the configuration of your local area network (LAN) by revealing the active services and ports on each selected machine or Bonjour supported device on your LAN. This information is important for strengthening security on a specific machine, Bonjour supported device or your overall LAN, and is also helpful in tracking what devices have been in use in the past that are no longer available since the last time monitoring was performed. | |
Protection Preferences Techtool Pro includes the option to install the Techtool Protection system preference, where you configure automatic functions that operate in the background. In particular, you can configure Protection to track deleted files, monitor the free space on your hard drives, save backups of critical directory data to help with recovery in the event of drive corruption, and to monitor the SMART routines of your hard drives. Checks include scanning for i/o errors, power on self-test alerts, battery problems and RAID errors. If problems are found, Protection delivers onscreen and email alerts. | |
Techtool Pro is feature-packed with benefits that all Mac users need for comprehensive diagnostics, repair, and maintenance. To ensure your Mac stays optimized and trouble-free, make sure you use Techtool Pro regularly and keep your Mac running at peak performance. |
System Requirements:
- Intel-based Macs
- OS X 10.11 up to macOS 10.15 'Catalina'
- 2 GB RAM or higher
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Additional information about APFS compatibility.
†Note: Data Recovery may not recover data in all circumstances. For best results, enable Techtool Protection before data loss.
In most cases, data recovery is not possible on Solid State Drives (SSDs).
In most cases, data recovery is not possible on Solid State Drives (SSDs).
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**Note: Defragmenting (Optimizing) is not supported for APFS volumes, and is not advised for any drive with a Solid State component. Solid state drives do not benefit from defragmentation, which only serves to wear out those drives sooner. Optimization for APFS rotational drives is not yet possible with the current amount of APFS documentation provided by Apple, which currently provides insufficient documentation for defragmenting a disk.