Rating: 
Summary: download version is incomplete
Review: Good product but terrible format.I had a late-night urgent problem with my computer, and went ahead and purchased this download version of Norton Utilities thinking it could fix my problems that night, but I ended up with even more problems, as I needed Utilities to access my system drive, and kept recommending me to insert a non-existant CD-ROM (since this is the download version). The documentation included with this version is for the CD-ROM version, and you will constantly be instructed to insert a non-existant boot CD whenever you want to do any work on your system drive. I have tried to contact Symantec, but they only offer email support, unless I want to pay a fee to talk to someone on the phone. I find that to be unfair--Symantec should at least offer a screening service and free support for issues that are their own fault (this being a lack of documentation for the download version). This version seems to be a last-minute compilation which had no thought put into it. Stick with the CD-ROM. Chances are if you need Utilities, you will need to fix system files, which will require a boot CD.
Rating: 
Summary: Doesn't work on Panther!
Review: I bought this when I was running OS 9.2 and had good results, but was disappointed to learn that it no longer worked when I upgraded to OSX Panther because it specifically said that it ran on OSX. However, this should be a moot point for anyone currently running Panther since Norton 8.0 is now available.
Rating:
Summary: Doesn't work on Panther!
Review: I bought this when I was running OS 9.2 and had good results, but was disappointed to learn that it no longer worked when I upgraded to OSX Panther because it specifically said that it ran on OSX. However, this should be a moot point for anyone currently running Panther since Norton 8.0 is now available.
Rating: 
Summary: Norton Utilities
Review: I have been a long-time user of Norton Utilities for Mac but had held off purchasing Norton Utilities 7.0 for OSX because of some negative reviews regarding its compatability with newer versions of OSX. Recently, I bought the program (version 7.02), installed it, updated it on OSX 10.2.6, and used it to repair several disks on my powerbook G4 (800 MHz, Version 2.1, 55.9 Gb drive) and a Western Digital 1394 45 Gb Firewire Hard drive. Several observations:
? Installation. I downloaded the program with Safari 1.0 beta2. Note that the download link did not activate the automatic download and I got hexbin text showing in a browser window. The solution to this is to hold the ctrl button and select the download link to disk. The file downloaded rapidly (286 Kbyte per second through an Airport connected to a cable modem) and I installed it with no difficulty.
? Update. When I rebooted the computer as recommended, a window appeared indicating that Norton Utilities had detected a new OSX operating system and indicated that I update the program. I opened up the program and used the update feature to update all components of the program. This went without a hitch. Interestingly, a window appeared when I rebooted, saying that it detected a new operating system even after I had updated all the components. Using the software update feature of the program showed that there were no new updates. There was a box in the notification window that allowed you to disable that notification.
? Repairing external firewire disk. I was able to use Norton disk doctor to fix the firewire disk with no difficulty. It identified and fixed a number of problems with the disk that Disk Warrior 3.0 did not detect and could not fix. I ran Norton Utilities in the background while I was doing other things with the system. It worked well. It identified a number of file and disk errors that I had not seen before using any program.
? Repairing disk partitions. My internal drive has three partitions. One contains my OSX system, another contained my OS9 system that the OSX uses as its classic system, and the third contains an OSX system that I use for repairing the other partitions. While booted on the first partition, Norton Utilities 7.02 was able to repair the third partition. Expectedly, Norton was unable to dismount the first two partitions because it was using files on those partitions. However, I was able to boot up on the third partition and repair the first two partitions. Again, I was able to repair the other partitions in the background while using the OSX system, including surfing the web and stuffing files on the external drive.
? Speed Disk. I used the Speed Disk feature to defragment and optimize the external hard drive and the other partitions. It was able to do this in the background. Because the disk partition that it was working on is dismounted, there is no danger that you would use any files on that partition while it was working on it. This is very convenient. The old Norton Utilities will not allow you to do anything on your computer while it was repairing or speed disking a partition or an external drive. There is no decrease in the response of the computer to typing, surfing, or other activities while it was doing Speed Disk. So, while the program is not perfect, it did everything that it was supposed to do. Best of all, I can use the program to repair and defragment external disks and other partitions of my main disk drive in the background while I do other work. It was able to identify OSX file problems on the disks that other programs did not. It is well worth the purchase price.
Rating:
Summary: its sort of the same thing as version 6
Review: I've been a cautious fan of NUM since very early versions. I try not to be the first on my block to scan my hard disks - only to find a serious flaw fix posted on the net - after my disk/data has been corrupted. Once the product settles down, its very good. I have a G4-867 with both OS9.2 and OSX installed. Recently while running my NUM 6.x under OS9.2, i found a 'serious error in B-tree with Mach...' Not wanting to mess up my OSX files with an older OS9 utility I upgraded to NUM 7.0 Good? well no. You see, if you have a serious problem, you are instructed to boot off the NUM 7.0 cd-rom - which runs NUM 6.03! So, its a nice thing that we have NUM 6.x - however, I don't see the point of why I would upgrade to NUM 7.0. In the manual on page 14 there is a graph indicating when you could use NUM 7 under OSX: filesaver, unerase, disk doctor (see above). that's it. If you have NUM 6 - stick with it. If you don't, consider picking up NUM 7 - since it has v. 6 too.
Rating: 
Summary: Improved version of a Mac essential.
Review: I've used virtually every version of Norton Utilities since I started using Macs both at home and at work about a dozen years ago. Recently, I upgraded my home computer to a PowerMac G4 with OS X, so naturally I also upgraded to version 7 of Norton Utilities. So far it works flawlessly. Although Macs have fewer crashes and other problems than PCs, they do have problems occasionally -- and over the years good old reliable Norton Utilities has fixed virtually all of the few problems I've encountered. This latest version is as smooth and reliable as it's predecessors, and it works on both OS X and the "classic" OS 9.2 which are on my PowerMac G4. I can't imagine having a Mac without Norton Utilities, and this latest version is no exception..
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Summary: Some words about Symantec rebates
Review: If you are thinking about buying norton software simply because they are free after rebates, then reconsider it. Although it's well known Symantec makes reliable softwares, When we talk about their rebates, they are liars. Yes, liars ¨Cthey really deserve this. Based on my personal experience, I even think theirs are worse than the notorious I/O Magic's (aka, Hi-Val, Digital research). I bought several Norton softwares during last December, and submitted the upgrade rebates right away with required items, Guess what, until today I got only one of them, and it has been almost 6 months. I guess they are testing my memory but unfortunately I kept a good record of every rebate I submitted. That's what we should do if we are going to buy Symantec softwares with rebates involved, although the best thing I would recommend is to avoid as long as you can.
Rating: 
Summary: Might be great, but exhaust all your free options first
Review: Joe Celine's advice above is great. I spent all day trying fix a hanging login screen. Just as I was trying to decided whether to plunk down the cash for this or Disk Warrior, I decided to come home and try "fsck" first. Worked like a charm. Log into OS X in single-user mode (by holding command-S while booting up). At the prompt type "fsck". Follow the prompts, if any. When you're done, type exit and hit the enter key. Hopefully you've saved yourself enough to buy all those books on your Amazon Wish List now! Good luck.
Rating:
Summary: Not ready for OSX
Review: Norton Utilities has saved my data in the past, circa Mac OS 7.5. However, recently a HD with 3 partitions failed drastically - Disk Utility in OSX saved #3, Norton *couldnt even see* the other two partitions, yet alone do anything about it. Booting into single user mode and running fsck however showed all three partitions (Mac labels and BSD /dev/... paths), diagnosed the problems (Bad Super Blocks) and is fixing them as I type. Save your money and learn how OSX really works under the bonnet - you'll be richer and smarter for it.
Rating:
Summary: Not ready for OSX
Review: Norton Utilities has saved my data in the past, circa Mac OS 7.5. However, recently a HD with 3 partitions failed drastically - Disk Utility in OSX saved #3, Norton *couldnt even see* the other two partitions, yet alone do anything about it. Booting into single user mode and running fsck however showed all three partitions (Mac labels and BSD /dev/... paths), diagnosed the problems (Bad Super Blocks) and is fixing them as I type. Save your money and learn how OSX really works under the bonnet - you'll be richer and smarter for it.
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