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IF YOU WONDER how you can keep your favorite Mac working beautifully day after day, you have two great utility programs to choose from-Tech Tools Pro 2.5 and Norton Utilities 4.0 (although 5.0 is available). A utility program is like a toolbox with many software tools, each of which can solve a particular problem-or crisis. One can repair your hard drive (files, not mechanical problems); another can recover lost or accidentally deleted files. Yet others can test the ports and the motherboard (the main circuitboard where the processor, memory, and other items that make up the computer live) and start your Mac from her internal hard drive (a requirement for some repairs) Mac when she won't, or can't. On top of this, most utility packages have a tool that will optimize your hard drive by organizing the files in an orderly fashion. These are only some of the many features available to you when you buy a Mac utility.

It had always been my belief that utilities often are more trouble than they are worth. I was not disappointed in this belief during a recent wrangle with TK. While I had apparently had TTP 2.5 running seamlessly in the background of my G3, strange things were happening. I was doing a routine housecleaning of my hard drive and had either deleted, or stored on ZIP and deleted about 400MB of data files. But I noticed that the available disk space on my drive was not increasing. What was up?

I explored me Hard Drive, to no avail. I ran the file structures and file checks in TTP. Everything appeared OK. It wasn't until I opened the TTP Control Panel, clicked on Trash Cache, and displayed the cache files, that I discovered that TTP caches all files deleted from the trash and saves them as invisible files on the HD. The lesson: If TTP is installed on your Mac and TTP protection is running, first open the TTP control panel, click on Trash Cache, and use the toggle to turn the darn thing OFF! A dialog box will appear asking if you want to return the cached files to the trash. Say NO! I did, and happily emptied my trash. Aha, more HD space.

Now the fun started. As far as I can figure, TTP removed other cached files on my HD in addition to removing those cached files in the Trash Cache, (I'm speculating here). Now my Mac was acting very strangely. Tasks it used to do with ease now required much churning of the old HD, if they worked at all.

The first thing I lost was my Internet setup. TTP said that the GetMyIP script was damaged. After checking all my settings, I wrote a new Internet configuration, dumped preferences, rebuilt PRAM, and uninstalled and reinstalled from the 8.5 CD. Nothing worked. All that failing, I backed-up, low-level formatted, and rebuilt the entire system. Royal pain! It was the first rebuild I'd had to do in about a year and a half.

Anybody got SoftWindows? I lost mine (got it with a "bundle" from the local Mac shop that was good for only a couple of things, but it impressed the hell out of the PC guys).

So now I went to the Micromat site, downloaded a new TechTools update. V.2.5.3, which fixes a bug in the Trash Cache (I know about that!) and boasts some other features. I'm still researching but will keep you posted. Please forward this to other Mac users you think it would interest. And Mac SIG members, would you kindly send me your e-mails again? Yup, I lost my saved mail.

I WAS PUSHING the envelope of discovery on my G3 Macintosh one day when I did something that caused me problems for weeks to follow. The machine began performing erratically when I used it and unpredictably each time I started it up. It is disheartening when one's trusty computer is ill. So I bought a copy of Norton Utilities for the Macintosh.

I ran NU Mac off of the startup disk with limited results, and I ran it as the startup disc with equally limited success. After spending frustrating weeks with an erratic Mac, I tried (TTPro) TechTools Pro, which I had purchased when NU seemed unable to handle the job. Though my hopes were raised a bit, even the new utility was not able to fully restore my Mac. So I backed up many important data files before formatting my Startup disc, reinstalling MacOS 8.1 and running both utilities again. Between the two, TTPro has provided me with the best diagnosis and repair. My G3 Mac is up and running again.

This is not to say that Norton Utilities Macintosh isn't any good, because it is. It managed to restore a Performa 475 of mine I had stopped using because I thought I had to buy a new HD. NU took a few diagnostic and repair runs before I was able to use it without any more hiccups. I have since updated the operating system on the Performa 475 to Mac OS 7.5.5 and networked it with my other computers.

I am now using TTPro as my diagnostic tool of choice for the G3 Mac, and I am pleased-so far.

Conclusion

If you would like to introduce your Mac to either of these utility programs, you can visit www.micromat.com to learn more about TechTools Pro and www.symantec.com for Norton Utilities Mac. Both of these programs can work on HFS plus formatted Macintosh hard drives, a format that makes efficient use of your hard drive space. Prices are $30 for TechTools Pro and $90 for Norton (before rebates). Both will work from MacOS 7.5 up to 8.6 with a minimum 5MB of RAM for TTPro, and 16MB for NU Mac. Enjoy!