What's new in iDefrag 5.2.1 Build 534
Aug 12, 2017
- Fixed a very rare problem that could cause iDefrag to stop with an error message when attempting to defragment a heavily fragmented resource fork.
New in iDefrag 5.3.0 Build 535 Beta 1 (Aug 2, 2017)
- Users who purchased prior to the recent 5.2.0 update will almost certainly be aware that the latest update removed two algorithms, namely “Quick (on-line)” and “Selected Files (on-line)” because of problems with online defragmentation (which we think are caused by kernel bugs in the macOS itself).
- First, a bit of terminology. When we say “on-line”, what we mean is that the algorithm can run while the disk is still mounted and in use by the system. The converse, “off-line”, means that the disk must be unmounted and not in use. The “on-line” algorithms can only work by using ordinary system APIs — they don’t access the disk directly, and they don’t rely on our filesystem code; in theory you’d think that would make them safer and less likely to break, but of course that hasn’t turned out to be the case in this instance. The “off-line” algorithms, on the other hand, use our filesystem code (not the Apple code in the system kernel), and access the disk directly.
- Now, a number of customers have been using the “Quick (on-line)” and “Selected Files (on-line)” algorithms for reasons other than being able to continue to use the disk at the same time. For those customers, the 5.2.0 release is potentially a bit of a blow, because we’ve removed a feature they very much liked and appreciated. We hear this.
- So, in addition to continuing to work on getting the on-line algorithms to work reliably on future versions of the macOS, we’re adding off-line versions of the two on-line algorithms to iDefrag. These function in the same way you’re used to, but they do require that the disk be unmounted (iDefrag will do that itself). The other difference you might spot is that they will function in reboot-and-defragment mode, where the on-line algorithms cannot for technical reasons.
New in iDefrag 5.2.0 Build 532 (Jul 27, 2017)
- This version fixes a number of cases where reboot-and-defragment wasn’t working, and also tidies up after itself slightly better.
- We also took the difficult decision to remove the on-line defragmentation functionality from this version if it finds itself running on macOS 10.12.5 or above. While we believe that iDefrag is not at fault and that the problems some users have reported are being caused by bugs in the macOS kernel, we can’t continue to ship a product that, if our warnings are ignored, might result in a non-booting machine.
- If and when the problem affecting 10.12.5 and later is fixed, on-line defragmentation features will be reinstated in an update. Users running 10.12.4 or earlier are not affected — iDefrag will detect the earlier version and allow on-line defrag to function.
New in iDefrag 5.1.10 Build 529 (Jul 25, 2017)
- Fix a compatibility problem with the latest version of SoftRAID, whereby iDefrag displays some disks with a blank name if there is a USB attached external disk and SoftRAID’s USB SMART support is enabled.
New in iDefrag 5.1.8 Build 525 (Apr 12, 2017)
- Reboot-and-defragment mode failed to function on macOS 10.12.4.
- Graphical corruption on buttons in reboot-and-defragment mode (this wasn’t an iDefrag bug per se, but is resolved by the changes made for 10.12.4 compatibility).
- (Tentatively) fixed problems with licenses not being recognised on some systems in reboot-and-defragment mode.
New in iDefrag 5.1.7 Build 524 (Jan 16, 2017)
- Fixed a problem with code signing on one of our KEXTs (this was caused by an update to Xcode that tried to take over management of code signatures, but which unfortunately doesn’t appear to work properly for us). This will cure problems some users are seeing on macOS Sierra (really, this time). Our apologies to those affected.
New in iDefrag 5.1.6 Build 523 (Jan 12, 2017)
- Bumped the version number of the CoriolisSnapshot.kext to force reinstallation on some systems. This should fix problems some people are seeing on macOS Sierra.
New in iDefrag 5.1.5 Build 522 (Dec 6, 2016)
- Fixed iDefrag to work on macOS Sierra.
- Improved reboot-and-defragment behaviour — the restart should be faster on most systems now.
- Removed “Create Boot Disk” feature as it is not possible to fix this to work with Sierra. An alternative is to use s 16GB+ Flash stick, and install a full copy of macOS onto it (you can download the installer from the App Store).
New in iDefrag 5.1.3 Build 520 (Aug 10, 2016)
- Fixed iDefrag to work on 10.10 again (was partially broken in 5.1.2 because of a bug in OS X and/or the developer tools relating to code signatures).
- Improve the rejection of old licenses to make it obvious what’s happening.
- Fixed an unusual crash that might be caused by pre-release versions of Mac OS X.
New in iDefrag 5.1.2 Build 516 (Apr 12, 2016)
- Fixed iDefrag to work on 10.10 again (was broken in 5.1.1 because of a problem with Xcode).
- Force users with broken license files (issued before 5th March 2015) to re-license. An e-mail was sent out about this issue, but there are still too many users who ignored it and are using broken license files, which results in application crashes. Broken licenses will no longer be accepted — if you have lost your license details or need fresh ones, fill in the lost license form to get a fresh copy.
- Fixed a rare crash that could be triggered by pre-existing filesystem corruption.
- Fixed a rare crash that could trigger if an attempt to re-mount a volume was blocked but no error message provided.
- Improved decoupling between display and disk access for better performance on some systems.
- Fixed a typo in the French localisation.
- Improved defragmentation performance on typical disks by altering scratch area behaviour. Mainly affects disks that are already mostly defragmented.
- N.B. If you have an iDefrag 5 license that was issued before 5th March 2015, you will need to re-activate iDefrag. You don’t need to purchase again — just get a fresh license and install it. Most of the people affected will have been sent free upgrade licenses around the 3rd or 4th of March last year.
New in iDefrag 5.1.1 Build 516 (Dec 15, 2015)
- Fixed a minor bug in the software update UI.
- Fixed a problem with the distribution image that meant that updating didn’t work.
New in iDefrag 5.1.0 Build 515 (Nov 12, 2015)
- El Capitan compatibility fixes.
- Some (very subtle) UI changes to make iDefrag match the El Capitan look and feel.
- Translations into French, German and Japanese.
New in iDefrag 5.1.0 Build 514 Beta 4 (Nov 6, 2015)
- Fixed boot disk creation to include iPartition if present.
- Now compatible with OS X 10.11.1 recovery partition.
New in iDefrag 5.1.0 Build 513 Beta 3 (Oct 19, 2015)
- More localisation work.
- Fixed the Create Boot Disk option to work with the new El Capitan recovery volume.
- Fixed some problems with sheets.
New in iDefrag 5.1.0 Build 512 Beta 2 (Sep 12, 2015)
- El Capitan compatibility fixes.
- Some (very subtle) El Capitan UI changes to make it match the El Capitan UI more closely.
- Translations into French, German and Japanese
New in iDefrag 5.0.0 Build 507 (Mar 4, 2015)
- Overhauled, Yosemite-style UI - We’ve made iDefrag fit in with the latest version of Mac OS X.
- Simpler, easier to understand statistics - The old statistics tab was dense and hard to understand. We’ve simplified and refined the information, and put it in the sidebar.
- New “Selected Files” algorithm - You can now select multiple files and tell iDefrag to defragment them all at once.
- Better handling of bad blocks - We’ve improved the way iDefrag deals with bad blocks; it will now tell you which file is affected and carry on with the rest of the disk.
- New documentation - We’ve rewritten the documentation to make it easier to read.
- Improved support for Retina displays - iDefrag will look even better on that new 5K iMac…
New in iDefrag 2.2.8 Build 408 (Sep 9, 2014)
- Minor change to the behaviour of the “Check for Errors” option.
- Compatible with upcoming Gatekeeper changes in 10.9.5 update.
- Fixed a hard-to-trigger bug in our HFS code that might have caused a crash.
New in iDefrag 2.2.5 Build 404 (Nov 5, 2013)
- Added support for Mavericks.
- Other minor bug fixes.
New in iDefrag 2.2.4 Build 391 (Feb 20, 2013)
- Improved error message when Quick (on-line) algorithm encounters Time Machine backups.
- Some accessibility improvements.
- Fixed running on 10.5 and some 10.6 configurations.
- Fixed a crasher that you could get if you tried to create a recovery disk on certain disks.
- Fixed a hang that could occur in some rare error scenarios.
- Fixed a farily rare hang that you could get whilst running in the exclusive restart mode.
New in iDefrag 2.2.3 (Feb 20, 2013)
- Fixed code signature requirements to work with 10.6 and earlier.
New in iDefrag 2.2.2 (Feb 20, 2013)
- Updated artwork for Retina displays.
- Significant speed boost to the initial reading of the disk.
- Fixed the exclusive restart feature so that it works on wrapped HFS+ volumes again.
- Fixed a crash that could occur if you click the Info button in the early stages of using the Quick algorithm.
- Fixed a crash that you could get if iDefrag encountered an error whilst using the on-line algorithm.
New in iDefrag 2.2.1 (Feb 20, 2013)
- Fixed issues with recovery partition feature.
- Fixed problem running on 32 bit machines and 10.7.4.
- Fixed issues with using the online algorithm or disk verification whilst running from the recovery partition.
New in iDefrag 1.7.3 (Jan 11, 2010)
- Fixed the rendering of whole-disk volumes in the volumes list.
- Fixed an exception that sometimes triggered if you eject or unmount a disk while iDefrag was running (this was a new bug introduced in 1.7.2).
New in iDefrag 2.0.0 Beta 2 (Dec 21, 2009)
- Updated help.
- Added Defragment File menu command.
- Added an Auto unit.
- Log everything to iDefrag.log rather than the Console and hfs.log.
- Improved behaviour if you cancel authorisation when using the Defragment File feature.
- Fixed it so that you can download templates to create a boot disk.
- Double clicking on the splitter thumb will now resize to the optimum size.
- Added an installation prompt at the beginning where it will ask if you want to install iDefrag in your Applications folder (when appropriate).
- Fixed it so that it will work for French users although some things will not be translated.
- Added code to keep the Files tab updated when using the Quick algorithm or the Defragment File feature.
- Fixed a number of issues for users on Tiger.
- Shutdown when complete should now work when restarted in the special mode.
New in iDefrag 1.7.2 (Nov 30, 2009)
- Fixed an issue where iDefrag would complain about inconsistencies on wrapped HFS+ volumes (when there were no inconsistencies).
- Fixed an issue where volumes were not visible when booted from a NetBoot image.
- Fixed a crash that some users reported getting just after updating.
- Fixed the percentages displayed in the statistics panel which where out by a factor of 100 (on Snow Leopard).
New in iDefrag 1.7.1 (Oct 2, 2009)
- Fixed the cause of a crash that a few customers have reported.
- Fixed the bug report panel so that it will no longer revert changes that you make to the report.
New in iDefrag 1.7.0 (Sep 30, 2009)
- The online algorithm will now ignore compressed files.
- Fixed some issues that occur when running on Snow Leopard, including a crash that would occur when launching with a 64 bit kernel.
- Fixed a problem with dealing with very large system files (very rare).
New in iDefrag 1.6.9 (Jun 7, 2009)
- Fixed a problem introduced in 1.6.8 where iDefrag was unable to move hard link folder files in Quick (on-line) mode.
- Added compatibility for PGP whole disk encryption.
- Updated the error messages for the on-line defrag routine.
- Prevent iDefrag from appearing to hang on completion when DNS is misconfigured (obviously it's better to fix your DNS settings...).
New in iDefrag 1.6.8 (Mar 18, 2009)
- Improved behaviour of the online algorithm when there is insufficient contiguous free space to defragment a file; iDefrag will now skip over those files and report that it has done so when it has finished.
- Fixed some bugs with the class set definition files: creator and type match expressions now work as expected on Intel machines; bad regular expressions will now show an error rather than crashing; hex escapes now work correctly.
- Disabled color picker for classes when running from DVD since it isn't supported.
- Fixed a problem where iDefrag would hang after using the “jump to file” feature.
- Fixed a minor issue where iDefrag wouldn't delete extended attributes associated with files when using the “delete files before defragmentation” feature which would result in minor errors reported by Disk Utility.
- iDefrag will now skip hard linked folders that it encounters when using the “delete files before defragmentation” feature.
New in iDefrag 1.6.7 (Feb 27, 2009)
- Fixed a rare timing issue that could cause volumes on GUID partitioned disks to not appear.
- Fixed a crash that could occur when using the Compact algorithm with a certain disk layout and the “compact as much as possible” preference set.
- Fixed some layout problems with the Preferences panel on Panther.
- Fixed a number of issues with the pattern matching in the “files to delete before defragmentation” feature.
- Fixed a crash that could occur with the on-line algorithm if a file was overwritten with a folder.
- Fixed a crash that could occur with volumes that have a bad Extent file (a system file).
- Fixed a hang that could occur when iDefrag has a problem reading or writing to the disk (such as a bad block or other hardware issue).
- Fixed a rare crash that might occur if iDefrag encounters a file name with some uncommon characters.
- Fixed a crash that could occur on some machines during the registration process.
- Reinstated the AHCI driver bug workaround as it appears the driver has been broken again in a recent update.