Weekly troubleshooting utilities update

Our utilities update report is a list of 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 to bring you those tools that help in troubleshooting Mac hardware and software problems.

In the past week only a few troubleshooting utilities have been updated, and these are primarily the ones that could help you manage hardware issues.

Hardware

The first hardware-based utility is SwitchResX, which can be used to fine-tune monitor display outputs for various monitors. This can be exceptionally helpful if you are using odd or specialized display setups. The latest version fixes a few problems with applescripts and contextual menu plugins, and fixes small issues with memory errors showing in the Console. SwitchResX has a 10-day limited trial, and will cost 14 euros (about $18.50) for a license.

iPartition is another updated utility, which is solely dedicated to managing partitions in OS X. The new version adds cloning support for volumes, and addresses some crashes with certain nonstandard GUID partition maps. In addition, you can now create bootable DVDs from the iPartition menu. iPartition has a free demo available, but it will cost $44.95 for a license.

The last hardware utility is GeekBench, which is not a direct utility of sorts, but as a benchmarking suite it can be used to help gauge your computer's performance over time. Benchmarking is not something you need to do regularly, but having a performance baseline for comparison in the future will help you determine if a system update or other software configuration change has resulted in better or poorer performance. Geekbench is a limited free download but will cost $19.95 to unlock the full feature set including the 64-bit and Rosetta benchmarks.

File Management

In file management utilities, only DupeGuru has been updated. This utility is one of several that can help you find duplicate files on your hard drive, which may happen from a number of tasks such as migrating to a new account or importing files into an iTunes library. The latest version fixes a few minor interface elements, and addresses a few crashes associated with column sorting and scanning. DupeGuru is $19.95 for a license.

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