Need to read Mac drives on your Windows PC?

Unfortunately, it's not a straightforward process; you can't just connect the Mac drive and expect it to work. Here's everything you need to know to get it working.

Why Can't Windows Read Mac Hard Drives?

Windows and macOS use different file systems. Windows uses the NTFS file system for its internal drives, whereas Apple replaced HFS+ with its successor—Apple File System (APFS)—in early 2017. Today, APFS is used on Macs, iPhones, iPads, and Apple TVs.

External hard disks and USB drives are generally formatted with either the Windows FAT32 file system (if they are smaller) or the NTFS file system for maximum compatibility. Most Apple devices, including Macs, can read from FAT32 and NTFS devices, although the newer macOSes don't allow writing to NTFS drives.

All new Macs will be formatted with APFS. Older Mac drives are likely still formatted with the HFS+ file system. Windows can't read either file system by default.

We'll show you how to access your Mac-formatted APFS or HFS+ drive on Windows.

How to Read APFS on Windows

Firstly, let's look at how to read the newer Apple File System format on Windows. All these apps will allow you to read drives from any updated Apple device, not just Macs.

1. MacDrive

macdrive home screen

MacDrive has been one of the go-to Windows apps to read Mac-formatted drives for a long time—the first version was released in 1996. If you're prepared to spend some money, you don't need to look elsewhere.

The app works with both APFS and HFS+ drives.

Unlike other options for reading Mac-formatted drives on Windows, this software lets you read and write data to your Mac-formatted drive directly from Windows.

The app is focused on the freshly redesigned Disk Management Window. It acts as a hub for all the Mac drives connected to Windows.

You will also be able to see your APFS or HFS+ drive directly within File Explorer, allowing easy integration with the rest of the Windows operating system.

Other valuable features include the ability to create and partition Mac disks directly from your PC, a powerful disk repair feature, and robust security tools.

The standard version costs $49.99. There's also a Pro version, which adds several features, including automatic file defragmentation, support for RAID setups, and a way to create Mac ISO files.

A five-day free trial is available.

Download: MacDrive for Windows ($49.99)

2. APFS for Windows by Paragon Software

paragon

Paragon’s APFS for Windows is another paid app and is MacDrive's main competitor.

The app provides read-and-write access to APFS-formatted Mac partitions on Windows, read-and-write access to compressed and cloned files, and read-only support for encrypted volumes.

It supports disk auto-mounting at start-up but doesn't have MacDrive's partition tools.

MacDrive has one big advantage over Paragon's app: HFS+ support. Paragon's APFS for Windows only supports APFS-formatted drives. If you have some older Mac drives lying around that are still running HFS+, you will need to purchase Paragon HFS+ for Windows separately. MacDrive, therefore, is a more economical option.

However, one Paragon APFS license—which costs $49.95—works on three Windows PCs.

Download: APFS for Windows by Paragon Software ($49.95)

3. UFS Explorer Standard Access

UFS Explorer Standard Access exploring mac drive windows

Our third and final recommendation for reading APFS Mac drives on Windows is UFS Explorer Standard Access. This is a paid option. The app costs $24.95 for personal use.

UFS Explorer Standard Access is the most versatile app on this list of options to read Mac-formatted hard drives on Windows. It can read the two formats we care about—APFS and HFS+—as well as NTFS, FAT, FAT32, exFAT, SGI XFS, Linux JFS, Unix/BSD, UFS/UFS2, and VMware VMFS.

UFS Explorer Standard Access also comes with RAID support as standard. The app has a built-in RAID builder, so you can customize it for your array.

There is a free version of the app that doesn’t have any time use restriction, but it will only let you copy files smaller than 256KB in size.

Download: UFS Explorer Standard Access for Windows ($24.95)

How to Read HFS+ on Windows

If your Mac-formatted drive is still running HFS+, use one of these three methods instead.

1. Install Apple HFS+ Drivers

If you only need read access for your Mac drive on Windows, you can install Apple HFS+ drivers for Windows. Be sure to remove Paragon or MacDrive before proceeding. Not doing so can cause system issues and crashes.

Download the correct Windows driver package, then follow these steps:

  1. Copy the ApplsHFS.sys and AppleMNT.sys files to C:\Windows\System32\drivers
  2. Merge the Add_AppleHFS.reg file with your Windows registry.
  3. Restart your system.

The video above also demonstrates the process.

After restarting Windows, your Mac-formatted drive should show up under This PC. As we’ve mentioned above, this method gives you read-only access to the Mac drive on Windows. If you would like to edit or delete files, try one of the alternative methods below.

2. HFSExplorer

HFSExplorer

HFSExplorer is completely free. You can use it to access Mac file systems from Windows without paying a dime. The developer hasn't updated it since October 2015 due to the arrival of APFS, but it still works on older systems.

HFSExplorer requires Java. We generally recommend against having Java installed, but it's necessary here unless you want to spend money. You also need to run the app as an Administrator.

This tool is simple to use. Connect your Mac-formatted drive to your Windows system, open HFSExplorer, and click File > Load File System From Device. HFSExplorer can automatically locate any connected devices with HFS+ file systems and access them. You can then extract files from the HFSExplorer window to your Windows drive.

Note that HFSExplorer is read-only, so you can't modify or delete files on your Mac drive. Also, it doesn't integrate with Windows File Explorer—files are available in the HFSExplorer application, and you must copy them elsewhere.

Download: HFSExplorer for Windows (Free)

3. HFS+ for Windows by Paragon Software

paragon hfs

Paragon’s HFS+ for Windows is a paid application, but it distinguishes itself from other ways of reading Mac drives on Windows with additional functionality.

Unlike HFSExplorer, HFS+ for Windows provides full read/write access to Mac drives on Windows and promises high performance. It even integrates the HFS+ file system with Windows Explorer or File Explorer on Windows. Any Windows program can read from or write to the Mac drive.

The app costs $19.95, but it also offers a 10-day free trial. If you need to recover files from a drive, 10 days is plenty of time to install this file system driver, copy your files over, and uninstall it.

Additionally, Paragon's HFS+ for Windows doesn't need Java to work.

Download: HFS+ for Windows by Paragon Software ($19.95)

Format Your Mac Drive for Windows

If you have a Mac drive lying around and you no longer have a Mac, you're not stuck with the Mac file system forever. After recovering the files from your drive with one of the tools above, you can format the drive and convert it to a standard FAT32 or NTFS partition that will work with most devices.

Formatting will erase all the files on your drive, so make sure you have backed up your files.