The Good News:
Alsoft has announced the release of DiskWarrior 3.0.1, an update to its powerful disk repair utility. According to the developer, "in order to run DiskWarrior while started up from Mac OS X 10.3.x (Panther), you will need to use DiskWarrior 3.0.1. When rebuilding your disk, the new version of DiskWarrior features faster performance and enhanced compatibility with the evolving Mac OS. DiskWarrior 3.0.1 can also rebuild volumes greater than 2TB."
Alsoft has also released a free downloadable updater that allows owners of v3.0 to create a new startup CD containing the updated DiskWarrior application. What I found so kewl is that the updater actually has the screen prompts to walk you through the process (making Disk Images etc.) of making the new updated CD. (Perhaps it has happened before, but this is the first time I have seen an updater that actually includes the prompts to make an updated CD.)
But when I got to the step where the CD is actually burned, I got a dialog saying "invalid media" or some such. I then went back and reread the ReadMe. It seems that Alsoft recommends that Apple software burn the CD. Thus, my solution was to open System Preferences/CDs & DVDs and change the "When you insert a blank CD…" from Open Toast to Open Finder. Just how critical this recommendation is and what it portends for external burners remains to be seen.
For me, indeed 3.0.1 is much faster. And since it can now be installed in Panther, I am able to install it on two different volumes/drives and check one from another.
The Not So Good News:
"If you own a Mac released after August 2003,you will need to order an updated CD from Alsoft in order to start up your Mac. These models include Power Mac G5 machines, PowerBook and iMac models released September 2003 or later, eMac 1 GHz G4 machines, or the iBook G4. The updated CD includes DiskWarrior 3.0.1 and will start up from Mac OS X 10.3.2 (Panther)."
Details at
http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/support.html#PantherHarv