disk

The boot menu that Apple includes in Mac systems is convenient, especially if you manage multiple operating systems on your computer or if you need to boot to an alternative boot volume. To activate the boot menu, upon starting up you just need to hold the Option key after hearing the system's boot chimes, and then select your desired boot drive from the automatically detected options. While convenient, in some instances the boot menu may start appearing at random times after the system is restarted.

By default, Apple's computers will boot to the hard drive that is selected … Read more

Diskeeper 2011 automatically takes care of hard-disk fragmentation as it occurs, making the manual defragmenters we're all accustomed to a thing of the past. For any Windows users experiencing a lag in hard-disk performance, this hassle-free tool is a fantastic option.

Shortly after installation, Diskeeper analyzes all the volumes on your computer. The data it collects is used as a baseline for the Performance Reports it generates from that point on. These reports let you know how many fragments the program has eliminated as well as how, exactly, it has improved your PC's performance. While most users won'… Read more

Apple's Thunderbolt technology supports both Displayport and PCI Express connectivity through two simultaneous and separate channels, which means it will connect both to displays and peripheral devices such as hard disks, all through the same port at the same time. Given that multiple devices are all connected through one port, people may wonder about the troubleshooting options and limits when making use of this technology for troubleshooting purposes.

Target Disk mode Apple recently released a knowledge base article discussing the options for Thunderbolt connectivity, which in part covers the options for Target Disk mode. Target Disk mode allows you … Read more

Windows 7 automatically defragments your primary hard drive in a process that runs quietly in the background. However, if you'd like to have all new drives you plug in be defragmented as well, it's going to require a little input from you.

Step 1: Open the Disk Defragmenter from the Start menu by typing "disk defrag" in the Run box (shown below). You can always navigate to the actual program from Start by selecting All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter.

Step 2: Click the "Configure Schedule" button to open up … Read more

In order to conserve power and extend battery life in laptops, Apple offers an option to automatically spin down hard disks when not in use. This option can be found in the Energy Saver and can be configured for different energy schemes (battery or power adapter), but is limited to having the system put the hard disk to sleep whenever possible, without many configuration options. By default this will put disks to sleep that have not been accessed for 10 minutes, and while this may work for most people, others may wish to fine-tune this behavior.

While hard drives will … Read more

If you hate waiting for what seems like an eternity for your PC to boot Windows, Diskeeper's ExpressCache might get it going a little faster than molasses.

Recently shown off at Computex Taipei, ExpressCache has been demoed with an 8GB SanDisk SSD to cut program launch times as well.

In the demo below, the Windows desktop appears 15.5 seconds after the OS starts, compared with 33.4 seconds on an identical machine that isn't souped up (BIOS time isn't included). The times it takes for the toolbar to appear are 1.9 and 23.8 seconds, respectively.

In simultaneous launches of Adobe Photoshop, the times are 5.9 and 11.8 seconds.

The SSD acts as a cache for the HDD, and either component can be of any capacity and still work with ExpressCache. … Read more

When Apple introduced iTools (which later became .Mac and finally MobileMe), the package included an option to back up files to your online iDisk. Apple's Backup utility could transfer user-defined batches of files to the iDisk as well as to local drives and optical discs. Backing up data online so you could access files from anywhere was appealing; however, the option of automatic backups to online storage has never really taken off. One big reason for this is Apple's backup option for OS X has switched from Backup and similar utilities to Time Machine, which is designed as … Read more

Notability might be the best note-taking application we've seen for the iPad, with tons of useful features that are easily accessed through the app's intuitive interface. Perfect for students or really anyone who needs to gather and organize information, Notability lets you use your onscreen keyboard (or a compatible Bluetooth keyboard) to keep track of information by grouping your notes into categories by subject.

You can start a new note by tapping on the Compose button, or open an existing note from the start screen. You have the option to open notes from Dropbox, or from your iDisk … Read more

Flash memory maker SanDisk is acquiring SSD developer Pliant Technology for $327 million in cash and certain stock-based incentives.

Announced by SanDisk today, the deal has already been approved by the boards of both companies and is expected to close by the end of SanDisk's second fiscal quarter in June, pending the usual regulatory reviews.

Headquartered in Milpitas, Calif., Pliant Technology sells flash-based SSDs (solid-states drives) specifically for the enterprise market. As such, the drives are designed to deliver high performance and reliability for use in data centers and similar environments.

"Flash memory is making significant inroads into … Read more