Managing your files in a Mac OS can be very hard, especially if issues are part of your daily routine. Not only that, but you also have to consider your disks when managing your data. Fortunately, there’s a specialized tool that was made to help users manage disks more easily, and that is Disk Utility. If you need to clean up disk space, check the articles provided.
There are some people who don’t know how to open Disk Utility on Mac, despite how meaningful this tool is. If you’re one of those people, then perhaps this article is what you actually need right now. Before we get to the main dish, let us get to know what the Disk Utility on Mac is first.
Part 1. What Is Disk Utility?Part 2. Why Do You Need To Use Disk Utility?Part 3. How To Open Disk Utility On Mac？Part 4. An Alternative To Disk UtilityPart 5. Conclusion
Before We Learn How to Open Disk Utility On Mac
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Part 1. What Is Disk Utility?
As we’ve mentioned earlier, Disk Utility is a tool designed to help users understand their computers better by being able to manage their disks more easily. It has a lot of benefits and advantages, some are even unknown to many up until now. To give you an idea of what its benefits are, here’s a look at some of its common functions:
- Manage internal and external disks connected to the Mac such as formatting or erasing and even simple tasks such as mounting or ejecting
- Manage volumes on Mac such as adding volumes, partitioning, or converting
- Combine multiple disks to create one single disk in order to form a RAID set, increasing the storage space and performance of your Mac
- Create disk images that contain various files which you can use to send to your archives or as a backup
- Repair damaged volumes or disks on Mac or even the disk permissions
These are just some of the functions that will become accessible to you with Disk Utility, all the more reason to learn how to open Disk Utility on Mac. In addition to all of these, you’d be glad to know that Apple had done everything to make the tool secure, adding security measures in every update to protect your system further.
Part 2. Why Do You Need To Use Disk Utility?
Another question that you shouldn’t forget to answer is why you have to use the Disk Utility in the first place. While you already have some sort of answer for this after learning the purpose of such a tool, you don’t know when or what the exact scenario is for you to use Disk Utility. For that reason, we’ve listed some of the scenarios that should push you to use Disk Utility:
- Several of your apps are starting to crash more frequently without any warning
- Some of your files are getting corrupted and some cannot be accessed
- You need to mount or unmount a disk
- The external devices that were once working are now useless
- Your Mac desktop is not booting properly
The aforementioned scenarios are not the only thing that should answer your question of why you need to learn how to open Disk Utility on Mac.
The hard disks on your Mac OS are important parts of the whole system. It’s what determines whether the performance of the system is good or not. It is important not only to the system but also to the programs installed. In short, having a way to manage critical components such as a disk would be very beneficial.
This is why many people tend to look for ways how to open the Disk Utility on Mac. It gives you more insight into your storage disks and some statistics you didn’t know before. It also helps you address problems that weren’t even possible for you to look into before.
Either way, this should be enough to convince you to learn how to open Disk Utility on Mac, especially if you determine that you need to use Disk Utility. Fortunately, it’s not very difficult, so let’s head to our very first option.
Method #1: macOS Utility
The most commonly used method on how to open Disk Utility on Mac is the macOS utility window. The macOS Utilities should be available to all users, given that they follow the correct steps. It is commonly used to display different options that have different functions, and one of them should include Disk Utility. Here’s how you can open macOS Utilities:
- Reboot or boot your Mac.
- Press and hold Command + R on your keyboard while the Mac is booting. This should prompt the system to enter Recovery Mode.
- Select Disk Utility after the MacOS utility window pops up.
At this point, you’d have already learned how to open the Disk Utility on Mac. This method is usually used by experts if they can’t boot up their Mac or there’s a problem with the computer that is so severe that they can’t open it properly. However, if that’s not the case and you can still open the computer properly, then perhaps you should use another method.
Method #2: Utility Folder
If there’s a macOS utility window on Recovery Mode, there’s also a utility folder accessible even if you don’t enter Recovery Mode. Here are the steps using Finder to search for the Disk Utility executable file:
- Launch Finder.
- Click Applications.
Note: A shortcut to open the Applications folder is Command + Shift + A.
- Find and open Utilities by double-clicking on it.
Note: A shortcut to open the Utility folder is Command + Shift + U.
- Double-click on Disk Utility.
You can use this method if the problem isn’t severe enough that you can still use Finder without any problems. Additionally, this might be a good idea if you want to explore your Mac a little bit more since there should be options worth checking out in the Utility folder.
Now if your situation is not too severe yet still a bit of a problem, then perhaps you can still boot up the computer while not being able to use the Finder. If that’s the case, then here’s how to open Disk Utility on Mac.
Method #3: Spotlight
A Spotlight is a tool that allows you to search for files, apps, and even settings on your Mac. Of course, by saying that, we also mean that you can search for Disk Utility with Spotlight. To use Spotlight to search for Disk Utility, you have to follow these steps:
- Press Command + Space to open the Spotlight.
- Type “Disk Utility” in the search bar then press Enter.
Logically speaking, this is the easiest method of the three, since you don’t even have to click anything to use it. However, not everyone can use Spotlight, especially if there’s an issue on your Mac that prevents you from doing so. Speaking of issues, you might find yourself unable to open Disk Utility after learning how to open Disk Utility on Mac.
Part 3. How To Open Disk Utility On Mac？
There are cases when users cannot open the Disk Utility despite following the steps carefully without any mistakes. Unfortunately, such scenarios are caused by issues and there’s nothing you can do to completely prevent them. However, you can bypass them so that you can still learn how to open Disk Utility on Mac.
Use Safe Mode
Your first option to fix Disk Utility not opening is by booting into Safe Mode. Safe Mode is one way of booting up your Mac just like Recovery Mode. Such a mode should do the following in order to minimize risks:
- Load only required extensions
- Verifies your disks and attempts repair prior to completing the startup process
- Startup items that are deemed unnecessary are not opened automatically
- User-installed fonts are disabled in order to avoid the use of harmful files
- Kernel cache, font cache, and other cache files are deleted automatically
With these, there shouldn’t be any reason to worry anymore. This is all so that your Mac can isolate the system so you can conduct tasks that are normally impossible in its current state. Without further ado, here’s how you can use Safe Mode.
- Restart your Mac.
- Press and hold Shift on your keyboard while the Mac is booting, then release the key once you see an Apple logo appears on the screen.
This should prompt the system to enter Safe Mode. Now if you want to exit Safe Mode, you simply have to restart it again without pressing the keys that you previously pressed.
Target Disk Mode
Another mode that is usually used by experts in Target Disk Mode. Unlike Safe Mode, Target Disk Mode, it’s not too complicated and it’s usually done whenever there’s a problem with detecting a disk. However, it is found to be one of the ways to fix any problems when accessing Disk Utility. To enter this mode, you have to follow these steps:
- Click on the Apple menu on your screen.
- From the menu, select System Preferences.
- Here, click on Startup Disk.
- Finally, select Target Disk Mode. If you were asked for confirmation, simply select Restart to confirm your decision.
Your Mac should restart after a couple of seconds, and the Mac will enter Target Disk Mode in its next bootup. This should repair any issues with system utilities such as Disk Utility.
Replace Devices
A simpler way of solving accessibility issues with Disk Utility is by replacing your devices including the hard drive and its cable. This is mainly because the Disk Utility is prone to issues, especially if your hard disks have problems.
Configure Booting
Your last option is to configure the booting process just like you did with the first two methods. However, this time, it would be much easier. You simply have to press and hold the Alt key on your keyboard while Mac is booting up. There might not be a sign of changes, but it actually tweaks your system settings to repair any issues.
That’s everything you need to know so that you can learn how to open Disk Utility on Mac. If you think Disk Utility is just not for you, or you simply can’t open this tool even after trying out the four methods we talked about, then perhaps it’ll do you better to use an alternative.
Part 4. An Alternative To Disk Utility
Disk Utility is a powerful tool. That should already be clear to you. However, you can still face a predicament where you won’t be able to access it even after learning how to open Disk Utility on Mac. Unfortunately, you can’t replace it with any software out there. For that reason, we recommend using TechyCub Mac Cleaner.
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TechyCub Mac Cleaner is a multi-purpose tool that has a lot of functions, one of which is managing disks. The software contains serveral modules, Junk Cleaner, Large & Old Files, Duplicates Finder, App Uninstaller and so on. These functions can help you solve many problems, such as Firefox slow running. It would allow you to manage your Mac apps and disks more easily.
While TechyCub Mac Cleaner may not be as powerful as Disk Utility when it comes to managing disks, sometimes you just have to do with what you have.
Part 5. Conclusion
It’s not easy to manage your desktop, especially if it’s a Mac OS. That’s precisely why Apple provided us with myriads of tools to help us with this task of managing your Mac. One of those tools is Disk Utility, which from the name, should have an obvious purpose, to manage disks.
While many people don’t know how to open Disk Utility on Mac, you shouldn’t be one of them after reading this article. Either way, you now have access to every perk that Disk Utility can offer. With this, you should be able to do things that you cannot do before.
