I have an 2010 iMac running High Sierra. My computer has been very slow lately and does a lot of beachballing. I've run Disk Utility on my internal drive and it returns that volume appears to be ok. I've read that TechTool Pro fixes a lot of disk-related issues. Does TechTool do anything that Disk Utility/First Aid doesn't? Etrecheck indicates I may have a disk drive problem. Will TechTool help me determine what is wrong?
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I agree with the opinion based close votes. Shopping questions on value are hard due to differing budgets. Can this be edited to answer what the tool does so everyone can decide if it saves 4 hours per week if they can afford it?– bmike ♦Commented Apr 19, 2020 at 22:10
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I reworded my question. Will it be re-evaluated?/– NatsfanCommented Apr 19, 2020 at 23:06
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I see you're edits from the original question to one that's more objective, but in all honesty, I would still vote to close, because the question reads like "what's the difference between a Craftsman screw driver set and the Snap-On Truck." A cursory look at their webpage immediately tells me they're very different. I'd close for "Research". See: apple.meta.stackexchange.com/a/3031/119271– AllanCommented Apr 19, 2020 at 23:12
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But yes, your edit will put it in the review queue.– AllanCommented Apr 19, 2020 at 23:13
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Which 2010 iMac do you have? Do you have an HDD or SSD and how old is it if not the original? A 2010 iMac came with 10.6 and you're running 10.13. How many upgrades over that time? Assuming you have an original HDD it's almost 10 year old so the likelihood of it having or starting to have issues is certainly within the realm of possibilities. Instead of spending ~$130 USD on software and if you can't afford a new Mac, I'd do a TM backup, put in an SSD and up your RAM is possible/feasible, clean build 10.13 and restore your data from the TM backup. (Continued in next comment.)– user3439894Commented Apr 19, 2020 at 23:40
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1 Answer
As far as the main question (in your title), yes, TechTool Pro does a lot more than Disk Utility does.
In fact, in many ways they're not really comparable products. It's somewhat akin to comparing a butter knife to a Swiss army knife. That is, Disk Utility performs a number of disk-related tasks, whereas TechTool Pro performs all these and a lot of other types of tasks as well.
As for whether TechTool Pro will help you determine what is wrong with your Mac, the best guess anyone here is going to give you is "Maybe."
TechTool Pro is generally an excellent product (it hasn't had a 'perfect' history, but overall it's been quite positive). In fact, Apple even used to provide a cut down version of it to users who paid extra for AppleCare coverage. But only you can decide whether the cost of it is worth it for you or not, especially if you're planning on upgrading in the near future.
As an aside, in a 2010 iMac you may be better off just replacing the hard drive, especially if it still has its original drive in it.
From memory, if it's a 21" model it wouldn't have had the option of an SSD, so the money you'd spend on TTP may be much better spent on an SSD. It'll give new life to your iMac and you could then put it to other uses after upgrading to your new Mac. And when the iMac eventually dies due to other reasons, you could resurrect the SSD and use it as an external drive. Just another option for consideration.
answered Apr 20, 2020 at 4:59
