OS X El Capitan's Disk Utility is a mess

[bunnspecial]

I use DU on virtually a daily basis...

Just as an example, I was given a couple of PM G5s today and was asked to format/zero the drives. I booted one in TDM and plugged it into my Macbook running El Capitan and couldn't figure out how to do it.

I then just plugged the FW cable into my Mac Pro running 10.9 and it took me about 30 seconds to get started zeroing.

I had 4 computers to zero, and wanted to do as many at the same time as I could. Literally every version of OS X I used(everything from 10.4 to 10.9) made it a breeze. I even pressed an OS 9 computer into service.

Although zeroing G5s is probably not an every day event, working with external volumes or troubleshooting another Mac via TDM is a several time a week event for me. It looks like I'm still going to be holding out with 10.9 for computers where I actually need to get work done.

 

[Truefan31]

ok i need help...

I'm on el capitan, i use an external 512 ssd as my boot drive (thunderbolt enclosure). I initially partitioned it in half (256) for mac, other for bootcamp, but i just ended up using the internal hd for bootcamp. So i want to expand my boot drive (mac ssd) from 256 gb to the full 512 gb (or close because i'm getting low on space). I tried using DU, but it kept adding partitions instead of letting me expand my boot drive partition.

So now I've used Carbon Copy Cleaner to copy my boot disk image to an external usb 3 drive. So now what do i do? Do i erase my ssd now, reformat to the full capacity, then restore my disk image on the ssd? What are the proper steps to do this? Bear in mind this is my boot drive. Would i have to boot into my internal apple hd to do all this?

 

[rgarjr]

Recently popped open DU to format a flash drive and yeah, really hate this new dummy-fied version.

 

[gloo8]

Not adding anything useful but I was so mad when dealing with this garbage "upgrade" to a program that was easy to use and tended to ALWAYS work and is now totally useless that dealing with linux is looking much simpler and more time efficient.

 

[MacVidCards]

It's been lobotomized. Nearly useless, no longer on our team. It's on Apple's team..."you don't need access to hardware, no go download a puppy picture and update your Facebook status" !

Apple saw "Idiocracy" and thought it looked like a good idea.

 

[flowrider]

Another article I read this morning:

http://www.macnn.com/articles/15/11/04/the.only.people.affected.are.the.ones.who.use.it.131145/

Lou

 

[grahamperrin]

First impressions (yesterday – OS X 10.11.1)

… Disk Utility can no longer concurrently verify more than one file system or storage system. It appears that fsck_hfs(8) does still support multiple instances, but Disk Utility no longer takes advantage of that support.

Disk Utility no longer offers a log.

Viewing details of e.g. verification in Disk Utility has become more difficult. Insufficient space. Animations in that dialogue are not well-designed.

There's a green tick (check mark) after verification, but that disappears. So if I'm to verify multiple items, Disk Utility no longer helps me to remember which have been verified.

Generally, Disk Utility in El Capitan bears the hallmarks of something that designers have toyed with. Insufficient rigour; insufficient logic; not holistic.

The Console view of DiskUtility.log can be confusing where it includes lines that were not logged by Disk Utility.

… With 10.11.1 released, I view Disk Utility as incomplete. …

Second impressions

OS X El Capitan's Disk Utility is a mess …

Agreed.

There's a red alert for a check of a clean file system before the check begins –

– and a non-automated check (not a QUICKCHECK) confirms that the file system appears to be OK:



Writes to
~/Library/Logs/DiskUtility.log
have ceased; quitting then relaunching the app did not work around the bug.

Mashemite:~ grahamperrin$ sw_vers ; date ; tail ~/Library/Logs/DiskUtility.log
ProductName:    Mac OS X
ProductVersion:    10.11.1
BuildVersion:    15B42
Fri  6 Nov 2015 02:51:01 GMT
2015-06-02 22:46:26 +0100: File system check exit code is 0.
2015-06-02 22:46:26 +0100: Updating boot support partitions for the volume as required.
2015-06-02 22:46:34 +0100: Repair tool completed:
2015-06-02 22:46:34 +0100:

2015-06-02 22:46:34 +0100:

**********
2015-11-04 00:02:50 +0000: Disk Utility started.

Mashemite:~ grahamperrin$

 

[grahamperrin]

… Years ago I pleaded for modernisation of Disk Utility. …

That was AppleSeed reference 197379505 – an enhancement request (ER) made in 2012. Quote:

modernise the graphical user interface of Disk Utility to suit modern uses of disks

For modern applications of Disk Utility, the interface of Disk Utility 13 (415) is outdated. The interface is incapable of visualising what can be done with file system approaches that are integral to the operating system.

Food for thought, the RAID Utility window:

• an orderly sidebar with good classifications
• no attempt to crowbar belongings into the sidebar.

Those user interface design principles, and others, could allow a redesigned Disk Utility to work more easily with file system approaches that are both native, and not native, to the operating system.

For a redesign of Disk Utility, we might also seek inspiration from the user interface design of Server.app.​

After that private request, through AppleSeed, I used Ask Different to ask in public:

• What techniques for disk, volume and file system management are possible with OS X, but troublesome within Disk Utility?

I wished for modernisation.

Seeing Disk Utility in OS X 10.11, it's easy to understand why some users are disappointed. It's nothing like the modernisation that I wished for.

 

[John Mcgregor]

They castrated a perfectly good app.

 

[grahamperrin]

… perfectly good …

It was good, but far from perfect. YMMV. Certainly it's somewhat castrated.

 

[John Mcgregor]

It was good, but far from perfect. YMMV. Certainly it's somewhat castrated.

Well compared to this one it's perfetcly good.

 

[sudo1996]

I straight up have no idea how to use the new Disk Utility for most of the things I used to use it for, if I even can use it for those things still. Trying to burn a Debian Linux DVD from an ISO right now, and I'm stuck. Seems like there's no way to add a disk image to the list unless it's mountable.

It was good, but far from perfect. YMMV. Certainly it's somewhat castrated.

The only issues I've encountered with the old one were a few missing features. I've never had any bugs to complain about.

BTW, has anyone seen this? I'm assuming it's posted here somewhere, but anyway... https://justus.berlin/2015/10/restore-old-disk-utility-in-os-x-el-capitan/

 

[grahamperrin]

Thanks for the link to the Justus Beyer article.

When customers feel compelled to hack from an outdated system to make the current system acceptable, one word should be hurled repeatedly at Apple:

• regression.

… Seems like there's no way to add a disk image to the list unless it's mountable. …

If true (I don't doubt you, but I can't test right now): that's disgraceful … True. To work around the regression, try open source Burn.

Disgraceful, but given the ways in which Human Interface Guidelines (HIG) were spoilt for Yosemite, I'm not surprised.

 

[KALLT]

Trying to burn a Debian Linux DVD from an ISO right now, and I'm stuck.

Come on, it's super easy to do this in Terminal.

hdiutil burn /path/to/iso

Also, you can – you always could – do this from Finder as well. Just right-click on the ISO/DMG file and click Burn Disk Image [...] to Disc. It's the exact same function that Disk Utility used to have.

You just need to get used to a slightly different workflow when it comes to burning.

I use DU on virtually a daily basis...

Just as an example, I was given a couple of PM G5s today and was asked to format/zero the drives. I booted one in TDM and plugged it into my Macbook running El Capitan and couldn't figure out how to do it.

I then just plugged the FW cable into my Mac Pro running 10.9 and it took me about 30 seconds to get started zeroing.

I had 4 computers to zero, and wanted to do as many at the same time as I could. Literally every version of OS X I used(everything from 10.4 to 10.9) made it a breeze. I even pressed an OS 9 computer into service.

Although zeroing G5s is probably not an every day event, working with external volumes or troubleshooting another Mac via TDM is a several time a week event for me. It looks like I'm still going to be holding out with 10.9 for computers where I actually need to get work done.

I don't get this, where lies the problem? There is an erase option in the menu and there is a toolbar button as well. Zeroing out is integrated into that erase option as a parameter, unless it concerns an SSD.

 

[grahamperrin]

… You just need to get used to a slightly different workflow when it comes to burning.

For consistency of workflows

Should the flow of Photos be changed, just slightly, to require the user to Control-Click a modified file – in Finder (specifically: remove the functionality from Photos) – to work with that photographic file?

Say "yes"; expect users to just get used to the slight difference.

 

[grahamperrin]

> Generally, Disk Utility in El Capitan bears the hallmarks of something that designers have toyed with. Insufficient rigour; insufficient logic; not holistic.

For example, the phrase "Press Done to continue" for a button that is not named Continue.

In the toolbar: unless I'm missing something, only two of the five buttons offer hints when pointed at. If I select something else in the sidebar, the number drops to one of five.

Sorry Apple, that type of thing is just sloppy. Damn right: I can't imagine that being rushed out in the Steve Jobs era.

If I had downloaded the app for free from the App Store, it's the sort of thing with which I would expect "Have you tried our fabulous less-than-a-tenner products?" to appear with every launch, or every second launch, of the app.

 

[KALLT]

For consistency of workflows

Should the flow of Photos be changed, just slightly, to require the user to Control-Click a modified file – in Finder (specifically: remove the functionality from Photos) – to work with that photographic file?

Say "yes"; expect users to just get used to the slight difference.

I expect users to do that, yes.

I'm not here to make excuses for Apple and I somewhat agree that Disk Utility is a messy release overall, but I do find the criticism here a bit ridiculous sometimes. Using the Finder for burning disk images actually makes sense, because you are 'copying' a file to another location (a disc). When you create a new disk image with Disk Utility, either from scratch or as a carbon copy of a CD/DVD, it will end up in Finder where it can be manipulated. Disk Utility becomes a dedicated application for creating and manipulating disk images. For me that is a reasonable design decision.

If I remember correctly, neither iPhoto nor Photos have a burn option built in. Burning photos requires you to export the pictures to Finder first. There you have the exact workflow again: you select the files and burn them.

 

[grahamperrin]

Live partitioning of the disk that includes a Core Storage logical startup volume with Disk Utility in OS X 10.11.1

A) Is there an on-screen hint to perform a backup?

B) Is there a clear warning before proceeding with a resize?

C) What happens, to the logical volume (LV) and its file system, if power is interrupted (lost) after the live file system check, during the resize?

D) Can Disk Utility in Recovery OS X 10.11.1 show that locked logical volume after the interruption?

E) If Startup Disk in Recovery OS X 10.11.1 is used to select but not unlock that volume, then what happens following a (Command-Q) quit of Startup Disk?

The briefest of tests, a few minutes ago, revealed some extremely worrying answers to some of those questions … I'll revisit this later.

More generally

I somewhat agree that Disk Utility is a messy release overall, but I do find the criticism here a bit ridiculous sometimes.

Yes, sometimes.

Using the Finder for burning disk images actually makes sense

It made sense for Disk Utility to work with disk images. Disk, disk.

… When you create a new disk image with Disk Utility … it will end up in Finder …

Strictly speaking, the image ends up in the file system (not Finder). A variety of applications can work with what's filed.

El Capitan has removed, from Disk Utility, some of its abilities to work with disk-related files.

@KALLT with respect, I think you missed the point of my reference to Photos.

Photos, photos. Should Photos lose some of its abilities to work with photo-related files?

 

[KALLT]

It made sense for Disk Utility to work with disk images. Disk, disk.

Once you actually create a file it makes sense to use Finder from that point on. As I said, burning is effectively copying and Finder is the right tool for that. Disk Utility is purely for creating and manipulating disk images as such. There is exactly one instance where it makes sense to do it in Disk Utility: when you extract an image from a CD/DVD and want to burn it to another disc right away. Ultimately I can live with the fact that Apple didn't reproduce this feature again when Finder can do it just as good and becomes the only tool for burning. Disk Utility doesn't need the ability to burn discs. That is unrelated to the question whether Disk Utility needed to change in the first place of course.

Strictly speaking, the image ends up in the file system (not Finder). A variety of applications can work with what's filed.

Whatever, that's not the point. Whether it's Finder, Terminal or something else: there are more appropriate tools for managing files. Burning disk images from Disk Utility has no advantages, it's an unnecessary extra step.

@KALLT with respect, I think you missed the point of my reference to Photos.

Photos, photos. Should Photos lose some of its abilities to work with photo-related files?

I'm sorry, but your posts are difficult to follow. Insofar it relates to the question whether Disk Utility lost some of its abilities to work with disks, I think I already gave you my opinion. What is it in particular that Photos has lost in relation to photo-related files?

 

[sudo1996]

Well, I ended up just getting the old Disk Utility back from Yosemite using that tutorial in the article, and now I'm happy. Had a little fun editing assembly code to make it work in El Capitan

 

[xgman]

The pre-made old ver worked fine for me.

 

[grahamperrin]

Partition map, wrong:



LV map, better:



For a pie chart representation of partition map that's split approximately 50:50, dragging the handle a fraction from the bottom (to nowhere near the top) causes the handle to leap as far as way as possible from my aim. To the top. Wrong.

Attempting to make an adjustment near the top, with a drag handle, causes a wedge to appear, and from within that wedge an aqua popover prevents use of the handle. Sloppy.



To work around a bug of that type I would normally aim to resize a sheet or window, but neither is resizeable.

A clearer view of what happens when the popover begins to obscure the handle:



Now the pie is as required – at a glance, no slicing (just one volume) – but both written representations of the size are wrong:



The partition maps remained wrong, appeared correct only after a quit of the utility:



Preparing to shrink an LV:



Insufficient space in windows; for both a device and an LV, the utility fails to display the required information at a glance:


… more to follow.

 

[grahamperrin]

Insufficient space in sheets. Many other users have commented on this, it's lousy design:



Details can be selected but not copied. Given the apparent absence of logging, this design flaw is inexcusable:



A line of detail can be spoken:



Logical volume map, wrong:



LV map corrected by quitting the utility:



Main window, inaccessible – the basic information, to the right, can not be spoken:

 

[grahamperrin]

A first click on the disclosure triangle did not disclose the details:



No log of fsck_cs activity, and Disk Utility no longer logs details, so Core Storage-related information – checksum mismatches and so on – is discarded:

 

[orioncrystalice]

yepppppp........ not a fan of this new DU. Although at least they fixed the bug from Yosemite where you couldn't erase free space (on any drive!) unless you went into Recovery...