Mini-Review:TechTool Pro v1.04 (MicroMat Computer Systems) -- $69.95 Upgrade In late June I decided to take advantage of

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Mini-Review:TechTool Pro v1.04 (MicroMat Computer Systems) -- $69.95 Upgrade

In late June I decided to take advantage of MicroMat's "scratch and dent" sale of TechTool Pro (TTP)--$39.95. I have used TechTool (MicroMat's freeware) since its inception to check my system file, rebuild my desktop file and reset PRAM--it has been my most indispensible utility. TechTool Pro promised to do so much more at a very attractive price. I had intended to write a short review as a guide to others considering whether to upgrade to TTP but it arrived just three days before Mac OS 8 and I decided to wait for the Mac OS 8-compatible DNA file.

TTP came on 3 high density diskettes and installed without drama. TTP tests virtually everything about your hardware system--really. The interface has 24 separate tabs, three are informational and setup/preference tabs and 21 are test tabs. Preferences allow one to select animation, sound and a prompt to save a report of the test results. Animation and sound are nice but not necessary. Animation uses QuickDraw 3D, takes a while to load each time and does not work if you disable all the extensions. Several of the tests require Virtual Memory to be turned off (L2 cache and RAM Maximum Intensity). The auto-pilot tab allows any or all tests that do not require interaction (most of them) to be run automatically.

The 21 test tabs are: Benchmark (system speed), modem, audio, file, desktop, video, video geometry, VRAM, floppy drive, keyboard, mouse, drive (IDE and SCSI), serial port, FPU, CPU, cache, clock, RAM, ROM, other motherboard components and PRAM. Each of the 21 tabs has a suite of tests that may be run. I ran all that applied to my computer: a PowerBase 180 with 17" RIC monitor, 56 MB RAM, 2 MB VRAM, 512K L2 cache, 1.2 G internal IDE hard drive, 8x SCSI CD ROM drive, 3.2 G & 1.2 G external SCSI HDs and a Zoom 56K Flex modem. Everything tested "Passed" or was rated "Good" depending on the test.

Here are some general observations on some of the tests:

• Benchmark -- this would be much more helpful if it included some standard of comparison rather than just giving the raw scores.
• Modem -- This suite of tests said my line and connection were "Good" but I don't know if the alternative is "Bad" or there is a "Best, "Excellent" or "Outstanding" rating. The manual should but doesn't list the possible outcomes of each of the tests.
• Drive -- The test wouldn't check my CD ROM drive at ID 3. There's no manual information on what to do in this circumstance and the Advice file didn't give any.
• Serial Port -- Have the modem ready to reconnect to your printer port to check it.
• Cache -- Virtual Memory must be off to check the L2 cache.
• RAM -- Virtual Memory must be off to run the Maximum Intensity tests.

I had some difficulties. TTP quit twice with Type 1 errors and several times gave me insufficient memory messages, asking me to close applications when none were open except TTP. I increased the memory allocation for TTP from 3461K to 5000K but I got an error message saying that TTP assigns memory dynamically. It quit and automatically reset the memory allocation. Having Virtual Memory off (no RAM Doubler) to run the two tests needing this may have contributed. In addition, several times including during launch the program appears to pause but is doing something even though the pointer doesn't change to a watch.

My system checked out okay giving me some additional piece of mind. The real test will come if I run into problems that could be hardware-related and TTP scopes them out. I won't know until then. I am impressed with the wide array of tests but I will probably mostly use the functions of the free TechTool v1.15--rebuilding the desktop file and zapping PRAM. The major misses are the memory problems and the lack of information to understand the results of tests other than those that are pass/fail. The bottom line? I'm pleased with TTP, its nicely-executed interface and its performance, and think that it is certainly worth the $39.95 that I paid. Try the demo.

[2:00p] The word that I am hearing is that Apple's dealer meeting yetserday was very positive. Apple is strengthening its dealer relationship rather than shrinking or abandoning it. Apple will also be getting rid of the slackers...

[2:00p] CompUSA's ad in the Washington Post's Sunday supplement (which comes on Saturday in Northern Virginia) introduced their new house-branded PC, a pretty wicked machine: 300Mhz Pentium II CPU, 32 MB RAM, 4 MB VRAM, 5.2 G HD, 24x CD, 56K modem AND a 17" monitor for $2,799.99.

[2:00] Don't forget to watch Toy Story on ABC tomorrow night and see Apple's new 60-second ad. It's supposed to be as memorable as the famous "1984" ad that introduced the Mac. The new ad was done by the same company.