Stellar Volume Optimizer is needed for all those users of Mac OS, who wants to rebuild their corrupt directories. It can fix all the volume errors. The repair and the rebuilding actually accounts for making all the data accessible, which were made inaccessible due to some corruptions. The corrupt directory is replaced by a new directory. . Incorrect disk permissions, which cause inaccessibility of data also, can be repaired through this software. The integrity of the Mac OS extended file systems or individual volumes are protected with the use of this software. The journaling of individual non-boot volumes of Mac drive are also taken into consideration.
Standard System Requirements
- Processor: Intel
- Operating System Support: Mac OS X 10.6 and Above
- Memory: 1 GB
- Hard Disk: 50 MB of Free Space
Test Environment
I tested the software under two sets of variable conditions
Test Environment 1: With the minimum system configurations
- OS Version: Mac OS 10.6 (Snow Leopard)
- Processor: 2.4 GHZ Intel core i3
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Storage: 1 TB Internal hard drive
- Others: Airport, Network Interface Card
Test Environment 2: With better system configurations
- OS Version: OS X Mavericks
- Processor: 2.9 GHz Intel dual core i7
- Memory: 8 GB
- Storage: 1 TB Internal drive
- Others: Intel HD Graphics 4000
Working of the Software
Stellar Volume Optimizer checks and rebuilds the corrupt volumes of the Mac OS X. The first process is the activation of the software. The registration is done through the key send through the email.
Things to Know
Symptoms of a Damaged Mac Directory
There are symptoms by which we know that there is damage to Mac directory. Disk Utility (First-Aid) tool report errors like ‘Invalid key length’, ‘Invalid index key’, ‘Invalid leaf record count’. There may be erratic behavior of volume while saving or opening of the file. The Mac volume may also become inaccessible due to this.
The main User Interface has three features- Volume Repair, Disk Permissions and Volume Journaling. This software fixes sets of logical errors. The directories are repaired and rebuild, thus making them accessible for use.
Causes of such Directory Damages
The directory is a structure in Mac OS, which stores the number, names, location, sizes and types of folders and the files. For a proper functioning of Mac, the information in the directory needs to be updated accurately.
There is data loss and data inaccessibility due to incorrect disk permissions. The verification of the disk permissions are done by the software, all the inconsistencies are checked and then the software goes ahead and repairs the disk permissions. If your Mac has multiple OS X installed then it will treat Startup disk from which OS X is booted. The other OS X partition will remain as secondary volume.
There are three buttons on Stellar Volume Optimizer, which are Rebuild, Disk Permissions and Volume Journaling.
Rebuild
The Rebuild option is for the repair of the volume, rebuild the directory and creation of bootable DVD to boot the Mac
The bootable DVD is used for booting the computer and also in situations when there is no operating system loaded and the hard drive is blank. Once the image is created, then it is double clicked for mounting it After the verification of the structure, the option can be used for selection in making changes to existing structures of data.
User Recommendations
The rebuild option should never be stopped in between, as it may cause hard disk corruption. The Stellar Volume Optimizer software does not support the exFAT file system. The rebuild option is disabled in certain cases like the following:
- The drive has a hardware problem in the form of bad block sectors and bad block clusters and it cannot be repaired
- An encrypted drive partition or system drive partition cannot be repaired
Disk Permissions
There are buttons for the verification and the repair of the disk permissions. There is an option for aborting and stopping of an ongoing process.
User Recommendations
This option is only for the boot volume. The user needs to use the stop button for aborting the verification and the repair process. The user need to be reminded that one must not stop the verification process in the middle as it may corrupt the hard disk.
Volume Journaling
Journaling is much essential for the protection of the integrity of Mac OS. If there is some compromise on the journaling of the Mac Volume then the Mac volume goes into an inconsistent state and leads to permanent disk damage. The Stellar Volume Optimizer manages the journaling of individual non-boot volumes. This ensures that the Mac drive functions well and disk repair is not needed at all. It can speed up the process of disk repair in the situation of a volume failure.
The volume journaling has options for enabling and disabling volume journals. The ’Process Completed’ message is shown on successful enabling or disabling of the volume journal.
Additional Features
In addition, Stellar Volume Optimizer also repairs volumes for external storage. If the external storage devices are corrupt due to directory corruption of the pen drive or the hard drive, then the software repairs the damage and gets the media back to normal condition. The device needs to be attached and rebuilding is done using this tool.
The external media is mapped in ‘Mac OS Extended (journaled) with ‘GUID Partition Table’ Partition Map Scheme’.
Product strengths
- It can fix errors, which cannot be fixed by Disk Utility like two files occupying the same space on the hard disk, which is termed as “overlapped extent allocation”
- When Disk Utility fails due to the directory structure being corrupt, the software can repair it.
- Repairs disk permissions
- Repairs volume corruption
Product weaknesses
- Price can be constraint
- Should be able to locate devices on the local network
- Should be able to test the RAM and the VRAM
- Should be able to calibrate audio and video devices
- Power outages during optimization process can damage the system files and can be recovered from backups only
Rating out of ten: 8 out of 10
Verdict: Stellar Volume Optimizer is software that rebuilds the corrupt directories of Mac OS X, making the volume error free and enhances the Mac performance. It is an efficient tool used for the optimization of the Mac volume. Optimization is the process of collecting file fragments and then putting then together. The software makes the entire hard drive as error-free. Along with these salient features, it also verifies the boot volume related disk permissions and facilitates volume journaling for the secondary Mac volumes. It also repairs damages to external storages like pen drive or external hard drive.
