External mac drive on windows

Timecodes:

welcome to Fanny magnet in this video

I’ll show you how you can access your

external hard drive which has been

formatted in math this hard life I’m

using on Mac and the partition of this

hard drive is completely in matte format

and this is my Windows laptop and I’ll

show you how you can access or how you

can you know copy your data from from

hard drive which has been formatted in

matte format so let’s take a quick look

the first thing you will need you will

need to download this little software

let me zoom the camera in here is the

software the name of the software is H F

s Explorer ok

the link is in below description so you

can download that little software once

you download that software open that

software the name is H F s Explorer ok

and as I said the link is in below

If you connect a drive formatted in Mac to a Windows PC, you’ll be prompted to format it before use. That is to say, you are not allowed to view anything saved on it before formatting. But the question is: if you click Format disk, your data will be ruined. This post from MiniTool will introduce several useful ways to help you with that; please read carefully.

Can You Read Mac Drive on Windows

Many people doubt that whether they can read Mac drive on Windows. Some took action: they removed the drive from Mac and connected it to a Windows PC properly. But after connecting the Mac-formatted drive to Windows, a prompt window will pop up automatically on the screen, saying that they need to format the disk before use.

Don’t Format the Drive

You should click Cancel instead of Format disk when seeing this prompt. Why? That is simply because the formatting action will damage your data saved on that drive. Is there any other way to read a Mac-formatted drive on Windows? Sure, it is; some effective ways used by other users will be shown to you later on this page.

What Does Formatting a Hard Drive Do

Some users said they clicked on the Format disk button by mistake when seeing the prompt window mentioned above; they were wondering if there’s any way to help them recover a formatted hard drive. Luckily, the answer is yes.

What does disk formatting mean?

Formatting a hard disk/drive refers to delete all the file & folders save on a drive and set a certain file system for it. The formatting action is performed to prepare a data storage device (including hard disk drive, solid-state drive, USB flash drive, and SD card) for initial use. Two of the most obvious results of formatting a hard disk are: deleting data and changing file system.

Besides, there are also other benefits of disk formatting:

• Get more space on disk.
• Solve disk problems caused by soft failure.
• Improve disk/system performance greatly.
• And so on.

Do you know how to improve Windows 10 performance effectively?

Recover Formatted Hard Drive

The first and the most important thing to do after formatting a hard drive is to recover precious data from hard drive. MiniTool Power Data Recovery can be a good data recovery assistant: it’s clean, safe, and professional. Please free download the trial edition to experience this data recovery tool first before you decide to buy it; after that, double click on the setup program to finish installing the software on your Windows computer, on which the Mac hard drives are formatted.

MiniTool Power Data Recovery TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Follow this guide to recover data from Mac formatted external hard drives:

1. Click Start now at the end of installation to launch MiniTool Power Data Recovery. You can also open it by double clicking on the software icon.
2. Wait for a few seconds until the disk loading process is finished automatically.
3. Select Devices from the top of the software pane.
4. Choose the formatted Mac drive under it.
5. Double click on the target drive directly or click on the Scan button.
6. The full scan will be started at once; more and more files and folders will be found during the scan. Please make sure the Mac hard drive is always connected to your computer.
7. Browse the found items carefully to decide which files are needed and which are not; add a checkmark into the square box in from of all the files you want to recover. If you can’t confirm, go to view the content before recovery by clicking Preview.
8. Click on the Save button in the lower right corner.
9. Select a storage path in the pop-up window to store the files waiting to be recovered; please make sure it has enough free space left. (You shouldn’t select the original Mac-formatted drive as the storage location in order to avoid secondary damage.)
10. Click on the OK button in the same window to confirm your selection.
11. Then, wait until all the files saved on Mac hard drive have been recovered successfully to appointed place. A prompt window will show up to inform you of the recovery result.

MiniTool Power Data Recovery is also a great tool for recovering formatted SD card or broken/corrupted USB stick.

Although the formatting action cannot be canceled once it’s done, there are ways to make up for the damage it has done to your data. You can recover files easily from a formatted disk or damaged/corrupted/broken/dead drive with the help of a professional tool.Click to Tweet

After the data recovery process has been completed, you may transfer back the recovered files to the formatted disk as long as you can confirm that you’ve got back all the files you need.

[SOLVED] How To Recover Deleted Files On Mac | Complete Guide!

What about Windows 10 read Mac drive? Please read the following sections.

Can a Mac external drive be read on a PC?

A lot of people are wondering whether they can read Mac drive on Windows 10 with freeware. In fact, there is both free and paid software to help people read Mac drive on PC easily, without formatting the disk. I’ll introduce some of the useful software you can use on Windows 10 to read files and folders from Mac-formatted drive.

How to fix when some files are not showing in external hard drive?

Choice 1: HFSExplorer

HFSExplorer is completely free; it’s a basic application designed to help users read Mac-formatted hard disks and disk images. HFSExplorer gives support to various file systems: HFS (the Standard file system on Mac), HFS+ (the Extended file system on Mac OS), HFSX (the Extended Mac OS file system with case sensitive file names), etc.

What Does HFSExplorer Allow You to Do

• Browse volumes on Mac by using a graphical file system browser.
• Check the volume related information.
• Extract files you need (copy files to Windows hard disk free).
• Mount & read disk images like .dmg and .sparsebundle.
• Create disk images from the volume on Mac.

The partition schemes including Master Boot Record, GUID Partition Table, and Apple Partition Map are supported by HFSExplorer.

Attention!

You need to install Java first if you don’t have it on your PC since it’s required (Sun’s Java SE runtime environment version 5.0 or greater in which OpenJDK works fine).

HFSExplorer: Launch error

No Java runtime environment found. HFSExplorer cannot function without Java.

Press “OK” to open up http://www.java.com where you can download a Java runtime environment for your system.

You should just click OK as prompted to download & install proper runtime environment when seeing the window above.

Attention:

• HFS/HFS+/HSFX partitions can all be detected by using HFSExplorer.
• You can also Select a device or Specify device name manually in step 5.

If the connected external hard drive is not showing up on PC, you can’t detect it in step 5. You must make it appear in Windows first.

Is there any other hard drive reader for Windows? Of course, yes; please move on.

Choice 2: Apple HFS+ Drivers

Another way to access HFS + files in Windows 10 for free is installing Apple HFS + drivers.

Steps to Read Mac Drives on PC with Apple HFS + Drivers

First, you should make sure you don’t have Paragon or MacDrive (the hard drive readers I will talk about later) on your Windows computer. If you do, please remove them now.

Second, you should download the correct Windows driver package to your local drive.

Third, you should configure your Windows as follow.

1. Go to the default download path (Downloads folder) to extract the downloaded zip file.
2. Find AppleHFS.sys and AppleMNT.sys files.
3. Copy them by pressing Ctrl + C (you can also do it by right clicking & choosing Copy).
4. Go to this path: C:\Windows\System32\drivers.
5. Copy them by pressing Ctrl + V (you can also right click on any blank area & choose Paste).
6. Navigate to the downloaded folder to find Add_AppleHFS.reg file.
7. Open the .reg file to bring up a Registry Editor prompt window.
8. Click on the Yes button and then click OK.
9. Restart your computer to make changes take effect.

Fourth, you should connect the Mac-formatted drive to your PC -> open File Explorer (also called Windows Explorer) -> locate that drive under This PC -> access files you want.

Choice 3: HFS+ for Windows

Though the Paragon HFS+ for Windows is a paid hard driver reader, you’ll love it after using.

What Can Paragon HFS+ for Windows Do for You

• The speed is fast and the performance is stable.
• The Mac file systems are integrated into Windows File Explorer.
• It provides full read and write access to Mac drives formatted with HFS, HFS +, and HFSX (just like other drives in Windows).
• It allows Windows programs to read from or write to the Mac-formatted drive on Windows.
• There are additional features that worth the cost.

How Much Does It Cost

The Paragon HFS+ for Windows is sold on the official website for $19.95 with a single seat license; $49.95 with one license worked on 3 PCs.

If you don’t want to spend money in reading Mac drive on Windows, you should download the trial edition; it is free for use for 10 days. You can access, copy files from or to the Mac drive during this period; it’s enough.

Choice 4: MacDrive

If your Mac drive is formatted with APFS (Apple File System), you won’t be able to read Mac hard drive on Windows because there are no free apps designed for it. But you have many choices of paid applications to access & edit Mac drive files on Windows; MacDrive is a popular one designed by Mediafour.

Merits of MacDrive

• It is used to help users read data from and write data to Mac disks from Windows directly.
• You can read both APFS and HFS+ drives in File Explorer.
• It allows you to create and partition Mac disks on your Windows.
• A graphical interface is offered for Mac-formatted drives verification, format, and repair.
• It’s a trusted solution which can date back to 1996.

The only drawback of MacDrive seems to be the selling price is higher than some similar tools. You need to pay $49.99 for the Standard version or $69.99 for the Pro version.

Is it worth the price? Yes, if you have such needs; it also includes unique features like support for Mac-formatted RAID disks.

Choice 5: Paragon APFS for Windows

Paragon also designed an APFS for Windows app for reading APFS Mac drive on Windows; it is considered as one of the main competitors of MacDrive.

Features of Paragon APFS for Windows

• It provides read and write access to Mac drives formatted with APFS.
• It also allows you to access and edit compressed and cloned files (you can only access the encrypted volumes without making any changes).
• It gives support to auto-mounting at start-up; the partition tools of MacDrive are not included in this app.

The biggest disadvantage of Paragon APFS for Windows when compared to MacDrive is the HFS+ support. The biggest advantage of Paragon APFS for Windows over MacDrive is the price – it costs only $49.95 for one license worked on 3 PCs.

Of course, there are many other tools available for you to read Mac drives on Windows (10/8/7, etc.).

[2021] Top Windows 10 Boot Repair Tools You Should Know!

Choice 6: Format Drive to exFAT

You can format your Mac hard drive to exFAT, which supports both Windows and Mac OS X. In this way, you can get full read and write access to exFAT drives on Windows without any additional third-party software.

The only thing you need to worry is that the data on Mac drives will be removed. So you need to turn to MiniTool Power Data Recovery as mentioned in part 1 to recover the files you need after formatting.

How to format a hard drive? Basically, there are three ways.

• Right click on the drive in File Explorer -> choose Format.
• Open Disk Management -> right click on the target drive -> choose Format.
• Format Partition with MiniTool Partition Wizard – a professional disk manager.

Though you’ll be asked to format the Mac hard disk first when you connect it to a Windows PC, there are still useful ways to help you view the content without formatting – using the hard drive reader. Some of the best freeware to read Mac drive on PC are introduced here to help more people with the problem.Click to Tweet

Final Thoughts

Though you can’t access a Mac-formatted drive on a Windows computer directly, there are useful ways and tools to help you read Mac drive on Windows easily. Please just follow the steps mentioned above and choose the tool depending on your needs.

Accessing Mac formatted drive on Windows is not a straightforward process. The reason behind this complexity is the file system format used by MacOS. Apple prefers to use HFS+ and APFS file systems for its Mac drive while Windows relies on NTFS and FAT32 file systems. To access Mac formatted drive on Windows, you will have to follow the below-mentioned steps:

1. Install third-party software: You will need to install third-party software that can read the HFS+ or APFS file system. There are several third-party software available that can help you achieve this. Some of the popular options are Paragon HFS+, HFSExplorer, and MacDrive.

2. Connect your Mac drive to Windows: Connect your Mac drive to your Windows computer by using a USB cable or any other external mechanism.

3. Install the third-party software on Windows: Install the third-party software that you have chosen on your Windows computer.

4. Launch the software: Launch the software, and it will automatically detect your Mac drive.

5. Access your files: Once the software detects your Mac drive, you can access your files on the Windows computer.

6. Transfer your files: If you want to transfer the files from your Mac drive to your Windows computer, you can either use the built-in file explorer or drag and drop the files to the desired location on your Windows computer.

It is important to note that accessing your Mac drive on Windows using third-party software might not be as seamless as you’d expect. There might be some limitations or compatibility issues that you will have to deal with. Nevertheless, the above-mentioned steps should help you access your Mac drive on your Windows computer with ease.

Video Tutorial:Why is my Mac-formatted drive not showing in Windows?

Can Windows 10 read Mac-formatted external hard drive?

Yes, Windows 10 can read Mac-formatted external hard drives with the help of additional software. Here are the steps to do it:

1. Install a third-party software called HFSExplorer on your Windows 10 computer.

2. Connect your Mac-formatted external hard drive to your Windows 10 computer.

3. Launch HFSExplorer and select the external hard drive from the list of available drives.

4. You can now browse the contents of your Mac-formatted external hard drive on Windows 10.

Alternatively, you can also use other third-party software such as Paragon HFS+ or Tuxera NTFS to read Mac-formatted external hard drives on Windows 10. However, these software solutions may require you to pay a fee to access their full features.

How can I change a Mac-formatted external hard drive to Windows?

Changing a Mac-formatted external hard drive to Windows can be done by following these steps:

1. Connect the Mac-formatted external hard drive to a Mac computer and backup all the important data on the drive.

2. Open Disk Utility on the Mac computer by searching for it using Spotlight.

3. Select the Mac-formatted external hard drive from the list of devices in the left-hand sidebar of Disk Utility.

4. Click on the «Erase» button in the toolbar at the top of Disk Utility.

5. Select «MS-DOS (FAT)» or «ExFAT» from the Format dropdown menu.

6. Give the drive a new name if you want.

7. Click on the «Erase» button to start formatting the external hard drive.

8. Once the formatting is complete, disconnect the external hard drive from the Mac computer and connect it to a Windows computer.

9. Windows should recognize the external hard drive and ask if you want to format it. Select «Yes» to format the drive for Windows.

10. Follow the instructions in the Windows format wizard to complete the process.

Note: Formatting the external hard drive will erase all the data on it, so make sure to back up important data before proceeding with the steps above.

How do I use Mac OS Extended journaled in Windows?

Unfortunately, Windows does not natively support Mac OS Extended (HFS+) file system formats, including journaled versions, which can make it difficult to transfer files between Mac and Windows devices. However, there are a few workarounds that you can try to access Mac OS Extended journaled volumes on Windows:

1. Use third-party software: There are several third-party software programs that enable Windows to read Mac-formatted drives, such as Paragon HFS+ or MacDrive.

2. Convert the drive: You can reformat the drive from Mac OS Extended (Journaled) to the exFAT file system format. ExFAT is supported by both Windows and Mac devices and can handle file sizes larger than 4GB. However, this option will not preserve any existing files on the drive.

3. Share files over a network: If you have a stable network connection, consider transferring files between your Mac and Windows devices using a network share such as FTP, SMB, or NFS.

4. Use a USB flash drive: If you only need to transfer a small number of files, consider using a USB flash drive formatted as exFAT, which can be read by both Mac and Windows devices.

It’s important to note that these solutions may not work for every situation, so it’s always a good idea to make sure you have a backup of your important files before attempting any file system conversions or using third-party software.

Why is my exFAT disk read-only Mac?

There can be various reasons why your exFAT disk is read-only on Mac, some of them are mentioned below:

1. Limited Access: exFAT disks may be read-only if the partition has limited access settings, such as read-only or restricted privileges. This could be a result of a configuration error, an intentional security feature, or something else.

2. File System Errors: Another issue that can cause an exFAT disk to be read-only is file system errors. If the disk’s file system becomes corrupted or damaged, it can assume read-only status to prevent further issues.

3. Permissions: An exFAT disk can be read-only if the current user does not have the proper permissions to read or write to the disk. For example, if the disk is connected to a network, the user may need proper credentials to access the disk.

Now, if you’re facing the issue of an exFAT disk being read-only on your Mac, here are some steps that you can follow to change its settings:

1. Open Disk Utility by searching for it in Spotlight Search or by clicking on Applications>Utilities>Disk Utility.

2. Select the exFAT disk from the list of disks on the left-hand side.

3. Click on the ‘Erase’ button on the top of the screen.

4. A new window will appear where you can see the volume format dropdown, select exFAT.

5. Pick a name, select “GUID Partition Map”, and click erase.

6. Once the format is done, you’ll be able to read and write files on the disk.

Alternatively, if you do not want to erase the data on the disk, you can try to change the disk’s permissions.

1. Right-click on the exFAT disk and select ‘Get Info’.

2. Scroll down to the ‘Sharing & Permissions’ section.

3. Click on the lock icon in the bottom right corner of the window and enter your admin username and password.

4. Change the permissions so that your user account has read and write access to the disk.

These steps may vary depending on your version of MacOS and Disk Utility but should generally remain the same. If none of these options work, it may be worth seeking out professional assistance to diagnose and solve any more complex issues with the exFAT disk.

Why is FAT32 format not showing Mac?

FAT32 is a file system format that has been around for many years, and it is commonly used to format external hard drives and other storage devices that need to be compatible with multiple operating systems. However, Mac computers are not able to natively write to FAT32 formatted drives, only read from them. There are a few reasons why this might be happening:

1. Compatibility issues: The most common reason why a FAT32 formatted drive might not show up on a Mac is due to compatibility issues. Older versions of the Mac operating system may not support FAT32, or there may be differences in the way that different OS versions handle the format.

2. Disk errors: If the drive has not been properly formatted, or if it has sustained physical damage or power loss during a write operation, it may become corrupted and unreadable. This can prevent the Mac from recognizing the drive, even if it is formatted with FAT32.

3. Connection issues: If the drive is not properly connected to the Mac, it may not show up in Finder or on the desktop. Try unplugging the drive and then plugging it back in to see if it is recognized.

4. File system limitations: FAT32 has some file size and partition size limitations that may cause issues on modern operating systems, resulting in the drive not being detected.

To resolve the issue, one of the solutions is to format the drive to a different file system that is compatible with both the Mac and the device you need it for, such as ExFAT or HFS+. However, this will erase all the data stored on the device, so make sure you have a backup before formatting. Alternatively, you can use a third-party tool like Paragon NTFS for Mac or Tuxera NTFS to enable writing to the FAT32 drive on a Mac.

How do I view APFS in Windows?

APFS (Apple File System) is a proprietary file system developed by Apple. Unfortunately, it is not natively supported in Windows OS. However, there are a few ways you could view APFS in Windows:

1. Third-party software: There are third-party software tools like Paragon APFS for Windows and APFS for Windows by UFS Explorer, that can be used to view APFS drives in Windows.

2. Boot Camp: If you have a Mac with both macOS and Windows installed, you can use Boot Camp to access APFS files on the macOS partition from within Windows.

3. Virtual Machine: You could also use virtual machine software like VirtualBox or VMWare to run a macOS virtual machine on your Windows PC. This way you can access APFS files from within the virtual machine.

However, it’s worth mentioning that using third-party software or virtual machines carries some risks and may not be the ideal solution for all users. Therefore, it is recommended to always backup your data before attempting to access APFS files on Windows.

macOS и Windows имеют массу отличий, одно из главных — файловая система. И если на Mac NTFS-диски можно хотя бы читать, то Windows диски, отформатированные в HFS+, не видит вообще. Но если вам очень надо, то есть несколько обходных путей.

Ситуации, когда это может понадобиться, бывают разными. Самая распространённая — это доступ к вашим файлам из Windows, установленной через Boot Camp (по умолчанию доступно только чтение файлов). В таких случаях либо ставят драйвер HFS+, добавляющий поддержку файловой системы Apple в Windows, либо используют специальные утилиты, которые уже умеют работать с HFS+. Мы рассмотрим оба варианта плюс ещё один, бонусный.

Способ 1. Работаем с HFS+ через драйверы

Драйверы хороши тем, что добавляют поддержку HFS+ на системном уровне, а значит, Mac-диски будут отображаться в «Проводнике» и других приложениях. Драйвер загружается при старте Windows, и разница между файловыми системами попросту перестаёт существовать: вы можете работать с дисками любых форматов.

Главное преимущество драйверов — это поддержка как чтения, так и записи файлов. Кроме того, этот способ обеспечивает максимально возможную скорость передачи данных. В качестве минуса можно упомянуть высокую цену: все популярные драйверы, обеспечивающие стабильную работу, довольно дороги.

Paragon HFS+ for Windows

Самый популярный драйвер с полной поддержкой HFS+ на дисках любого типа (GPT и MBR) и набором дополнительных утилит. Отличается высокой производительностью при передаче файлов большого объёма по различным интерфейсам, включая SATA и USB. Совместим с Windows 10.

Лицензия стоит относительно недорого — 790 рублей. При этом есть 10-дневная пробная версия.

Попробовать Paragon HFS+ for Windows →

MacDrive

Более мощный драйвер с дополнительными возможностями. MacDrive умеет всё то же, что и драйвер от Paragon, но при этом позволяет открывать резервные копии Time Machine и копировать файлы из них на Windows-диски. Также драйвер работает в виртуальных машинах и позволяет монтировать Mac-диски в режиме Target Disk Mode для загрузки на других компьютерах.

MacDrive стоит дороже — целых 50 долларов. Пробная версия тоже есть, но на 5 дней.

Попробовать MacDrive →

Способ 2. Работаем с HFS+ через утилиты

Работа с Mac-дисками через специальные приложения предоставляет более ограниченную поддержку HFS+. Доступ к файловой системе при этом будет возможен только в них, а в «Проводнике» диски даже не будут отображаться. Обычно приложения позволяют только просматривать и копировать файлы, но не записывать.

Утилиты для работы с HFS+ стоят гораздо дешевле, причём встречаются даже бесплатные. Этот способ подойдёт тем, кому нужно только чтение файлов. Кроме того, с помощью не требующих установки утилит можно просматривать файлы с Mac-дисков на компьютерах, где нельзя установить драйвер или стороннее ПО.

HFSExplorer

Простая и, что немаловажно, бесплатная утилита, которая позволит просматривать файлы с дисков HFS+ в среде Windows. HFSExplorer открывает содержимое Mac-дисков в виде дерева каталогов, где можно выбрать нужные файлы. Для просмотра их нужно скопировать на диск Windows. Также есть возможность создания образов дисков HFS+ для последующей работы уже с ними.

Утилита HFSExplorer не так удобна, как драйверы, и умеет только просматривать файлы, зато не стоит ни копейки.

Скачать HFSExplorer →

TransMac

Как и HFSExplorer, TransMac не устанавливает драйверы в систему, а открывает доступ к дискам HFS+ внутри своего окна. Более того, приложение вообще не нужно инсталлировать, благодаря чему его можно использовать на рабочем компьютере или в гостях. При этом доступны не только чтение, но и запись данных. Есть даже поддержка изменения и форматирования разделов на дисках HFS+.

Утилита будет полезна всем, кто по каким-либо причинам не хочет (или не может) установить драйверы, но нуждается в полноценной поддержке HFS+.

Стоимость лицензии — 59 долларов, ознакомительный период — 15 дней.

Скачать TransMac →

Бонус

Если вы не хотите тратиться и заморачиваться с установкой драйверов или дополнительных утилит, можно поступить по-другому: воспользоваться Live-USB-дистрибутивом Linux. Загрузившись с него, вы получите доступ ко всем вашим дискам, включая HFS+ и NTFS, а затем сможете просмотреть или скопировать любые файлы на них. Так умеет, например, Ubuntu.

Установочный образ обычно имеет и Live USB, поэтому всё, что вам останется сделать, — это скачать образ и записать его на флешку.