By Graham K. Rogers

A couple of days ago, when I wrote about part of my preparation for the arrival of OS X 10.8, Mountain Lion, using Disk Warrior, I used a screen shot that I had taken a short while ago. A reader pointed out that the current version of Disk Warrior was 4.4 while the image I had used shows 4.2. A mea culpa here for sure: I had just grabbed an image from the folders. However, when i checked my Applications folder, the most recent version I had was 4.3.

Alsoft does not remind users that an update is available like many developers. They are not alone in this and it is up to the user (me) to keep abreast of what is available. Nor is there a menu item in Disk Warrior for an in-app check of the Alsoft site. Users must do this themselves or rely on information from online sources.

I went to the download page for the version 4.4 download and was asked to enter information before the download was made available. My name was easy, but the serial number was not available.

I keep the original disk at my office along with a spare of the most recent update. I copy the application file to a flash drive and to an external hard disk I also use for rescue purposes. Although I have photographs of the Disk Warrior CD, for security reasons the serial numbers have been erased.

The next day I collected the original installation disk and brought it home. This is essential for any upgrade as the software downloaded uses that disk to create the necessary data for a bootable disk with the upgrade installed. The disk with the upgrade cannot be used to make a new one further down the line.

This is one of the reasons I try to keep the disk safe and use external drives or an upgraded disk. An earlier disk had become scratched and unusable, but Alsoft provided me with a replacement, for a fee, with the same serial number. Likewise the upgrade disk to version 4 from the previous version was supplied with the same serial number and for an upgrade fee (currently $49.95)

There was just one more thing. As the original disk came on a CDROM, the update must be written to a CDROM. I found out the hard way when I tried to use a DVD disk -- someone had given me a pile of them -- and there was a warning. The number of times I use any optical disk these days has reached almost zero. Sometimes a group of students may give me work on this medium, although the last time a disk was used it was a DVD. When I collected a bunch of files for a poster project this week from my classes most were on flash drives. One was on an external (USB) hard disk.

With the change in media used for file transfers, the CDROM (developed in the late 1970s) is less easy to find these days. The last time I had made a Disk Warrior upgrade, I had found some good quality Verbatim disks, but in my area these are non-existent. Only one shop in the local Mall (Tha Phra) had any available and those on display were bottom level quality at 7 baht apiece. No Verbatim, but the shop-owner did have some Sony at 10 baht each. He opened a drawer and there was a completely new pack that he opened for me. I bought three: one spare and one just in case I ever need one later.

I restarted the Mac and in the Admin account I moved the DMG file from the dropbox to the desktop for ease of working and double clicked on it. Before starting the process I also quit all running applications (OS X may restart these automatically when the computer restarts). I double-clicked on the Disk Warrior icon and agreed to the licensing conditions.

The system is checked and a panel displays what is needed:

• The original Disk Warrior Disk;
• Admin privileges
• 3.5 GB disk space
• A blank CD-R or DVD-R

As above, the specific medium depends on the original disk.

I was asked to insert the disk. There is a fair wait while this is read and a Finder window opened showing the contents of the disk. The user is asked to ready a blank disk and in my case there was the specific warning that this needed to be a CD.

I always dread the wait having had a damaged disk in the past and this time the installer also reported a problem. I cleaned the disk with a lens cloth and tried again. On the second failure, I took more drastic action, cleaning the disk in water and washing up liquid. I wiped it and left it to dry for a couple of hours, but as there are marks visible on the surface, I must think about Plans B and C: another computer; a replacement disk.

Health Warning:
A serious note here, the idea of washing a disk is not new, but electricity and water do not mix. I take no responsibility if you put a disk that is not thoroughly dry into your disk drive

When the disk was thoroughly dry -- hours later -- I wiped it with the lens cloth again and tried once more. The progress bar went some of the way, like before, as it was reading the original Disk Warrior CD, but failed again. I did try once more but the same occurred.

Plan B is next. . . .

Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs.