disk

One of the best ways to maximize your PC's storage capacity is to create drive partitions that separate Windows system files from your data and programs. Partitioning makes backups faster and simpler. It can also improve overall system performance on machines with little unused storage space.

A serious limitation to the disk-partitioning utility built into Windows 7 is that you can't extend whichever partition is the farthest right. For some reason, partitions can only be extended to the right. Unfortunately, the … Read more

Many times when systems have troubles that may take an extensive amount of troubleshooting to sort out, the easiest solution is to perform a system reinstallation. Before doing this, though, it is always advised to have a backup of your system (or your data at the very least); however, in instances where you cannot boot your system, this may seem impossible to do. Despite this, if you have a system that cannot boot but you need to back up, there are some options available to back up the drive before wiping it clean.

The first thing you will need is … Read more

Our utilities update report is a column on updates for Mac utilities that have been released in the past week. Though a utility can be any tool that helps you perform a routine task (including image manipulation and synchronization), our focus in this column is on bringing you those tools that help in troubleshooting Mac hardware and software problems. This week there were updates for a couple of popular maintenance packages and a new cloud-based maintenance option, some file management tools, and a RAID monitoring utility.

Maintenance This week MacCleanse and Snow Leopard Cache Cleaner were updated. The Snow Leopard Cache Cleaner … Read more

More details about Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 have apparently leaked onto the Web, revealing new surprises and some makeovers to existing features.

A greater peek into the next version of Windows is coming from Windows 8 Milestone 1, also known as Build 7850, which started popping up at various FTP and file-sharing sites last week. This build was released to Microsoft partners late last year. Milestone 2 has since been released, while Milestone 3 has reportedly been compiled. But combined with details from more recent builds, Windows users can get a glimpse into what the future may hold.

One … Read more

Disk Drill for Mac is an easy-to-use data-recovery tool with a limited free version and more-robust (and more expensive) Pro, Expert, and Enterprise packages. The free Disk Drill Basic can help you protect your computer from future data loss (whether accidental trashing or as the result of more serious hardware problems), while you'll need to pay for at least Disk Drill Pro if you've already lost data that you need to recover.

What sets Disk Drill apart is its slimmed-down interface and almost painfully user-friendly documentation. If you're looking for a data recovery app with a good … Read more

Our utilities update report is a column on updates for Mac utilities that have been released in the past week. Though a utility can be any tool that helps you perform a routine task (including image manipulation and synchronization), our focus in this column is on bringing you those tools that help in troubleshooting Mac hardware and software problems. This week there were updates to some maintenance and filesystem tools, including a major update of TechTool Pro, and some hardware and process management tools.

Maintenance Some standard maintenance programs were updated this week. The tools OnyX and Maintenance are made … Read more

Whisper Systems today began offering hard disk encryption for Android--an app called WhisperCore that is free for individuals to use.

The app includes full disk encryption for all data stored on the device and allows for SD (Secure Digital) card encryption as well, said Moxie Marlinspike, co-founder and chief technology officer of Whisper Systems.

The beta release is limited to the Nexus S, but will be expanded to other devices soon, he told CNET. Meanwhile, pricing for commercial use is based on the size of the deployment.

Once the app is installed on the phone, the user sets a passphrase, … Read more

Hard-disk drives are becoming so inexpensive that prices alone--seemingly improbable a couple of years ago--garner headlines. So, how will speedy yet pricey solid-state drives keep up?

Beyond the above-the-fold "2TB for $75" attention-getters, laptop hard disk costs have also been dropping like a rock, pushing mobile hard drives far below solid-state drives. The laptop market is one of the primary markets for flash memory-based SSDs, which are generally faster--in some cases much faster--than HDDs.

Case in point: the Hitachi Travelstar 7K500 HDD. The $64.99 price at Newegg.com not only gets you a 500GB capacity drive in … Read more

Many users are aware of some boot commands for Mac OS X that provide different functionality for your system. The following is a more comprehensive list of the keyboard commands you know and many you may not.

A recent tweet from @superfetz reminded me of several boot commands I've learned over the years, so I thought a more comprehensive list would be useful for MacFixIt readers.

While you cannot run any code from Terminal or otherwise to set an order of boot devices, you can easily control where your Mac boots via keyboard commands. The following key combinations can … Read more