Phoenix is an operating-system tool that allows a user to perform basic cloning operations, retrieve undamaged files from a damaged hard drive, attempt recovery of damaged files from a drive, and create an independent emergency boot volume, known as a Phoenix Boot Volume. Phoenix may be obtained as a standalone product or in one of our fully featured version of Scannerz, which include Scannerz, Phoenix, FSE or FSE-Lite, and Performance Probe. All applications are now fully certified for use on Mac OS X versions from 10.6 (Snow Leopard) up through 10.10 (Yosemite).
In its cloning mode, Phoenix can be used to manage the transfer of volumes from one to another. Unlike Disk Utility, cloning on Phoenix isn't binary block oriented, it's file oriented. This means that if the size of the partition on a clone target doesn't match or exceed the overall size of the source volume, the clone will succeed, provided there's enough free space on the target volume. In addition, in the event a drive is corrupt or damaged, Phoenix can attempt to recover the damaged file and continue cloning operations where Disk Utility would fail. Phoenix will continue to plow through the drive and recover what it can. A binary Disk Utility clone will simply give up, providing a message that the operation couldn't be completed.
Finally, Phoenix can create a Phoenix Boot Volume. A Phoenix Boot Volume is created by extracting the core operating-system components from an existing system and copying them to a target volume. The resulting volume is a "work alike" of an original OS installation which can be used to host testing tools like Scannerz for OS X, FSE, or any of our other tools (or anyone else's, for that matter), or it can be used itself as a source of an operating system installation. Unlike other emergency drive tools, a Phoenix Boot Volume is not a limited operating system, it's a full install of OS X. Many people having drive problems need access to web browsers and even e-mail, and with a Phoenix Boot Volume, you will have that access. Other products offer nothing more than basic access to the system and usually their own proprietary tools.
Warning: Do not use Phoenix for bootlegging! It differs from an original installation in that system identifiers, security information, network settings, and registration information are also copied. This will uniquely identify the source of the original operating system as well as private information, such as login IDs to bank accounts.
