What is HFSExplorer? HFSExplorer is an application that can read Mac-formatted hard disks and disk images. It can read the file systems HFS (Mac OS Standard), HFS+ (Mac OS Extended) and HFSX (Mac. Home / Mac / Mac Or MacBook Doesn’t Recognize External Drives, Troubleshooting Tips. Mac Or MacBook Doesn’t Recognize External Drives, Troubleshooting Tips. Another reason for your Mac not recognizing external drives is a dirty or loose connection between your cable, USB-C multi-adapter, Thunderbolt 3, or other connecting ports.

Rakesh Shewale writes with a common question about formatting compatibility:

I bought a new external HDD for my mac about a month ago and formatted it to Mac OS X Extended Journaled. Now it has my all data. But the problem is I can’t access this HDD from my PC which has Windows and Linux.

The trouble is that the drive is already formatted—this limits options, but it’s neither expensive nor impossible to proceed. Paragon is a long-time developer of cross-platform Mac/Windows disk mounting software, and its HFS+ for Windows 10 works on Windows releases all the way back to XP and Windows Server 2003 all the way through the present Windows 10 release. It’s $20, but also has a 10-day trial. HFSExplorer for Windows is free and updated for Windows 10, but requires the installation of the Java 5 or later runtime environment (JRE), which can introduce security issues unless you configure it carefully.

For Ubuntu users and those with Unix or Linux distributions that can support hfsprogs, you can turn to a detailed thread at Ask Ubuntu for advice on mounting in read-only mode or, with some additional effort, as read/write.

If you’re starting from scratch, you can initialize a drive as MS-DOS (FAT)—better known as FAT32—which is readable up to Windows XP with the Master Boot Record scheme. Or, as long as you’re using Windows 7 or later with a 64-bit PC, you can pick both ExFAT, a replacement that handles much larger files (4GB and larger), and GUID Partition Map. A drive formatted in this fashion can be swapped between a Mac and Windows PC.

However, you might choose instead a format you can use easily with OS X, Windows, and Linux. Topher Kessler wrote in Macworld in December 2014 about using FUSE to extend which formats a Mac can read and write, including the common Linux format ext3.

While ext3 can’t be mounted directly in Windows, you can turn to the free Ext2Fsd Project, which isn’t yet compatible with Windows 10 at this writing. It’s also an unsupported project—there’s no one to complain to about crashes or data failures. For supported software, Paragon’s ExtFS for Windows Professional ($20, works up through Windows 10) will do the trick.

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Need to read Mac drives in Windows?

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 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 the Windows FAT32 file system for maximum compatibility. Most devices, including Macs, can read and write from FAT32 devices. There’s even a way to make a Mac read an NTFS driveWrite To Your NTFS Drives Again in OS X El Capitan (For Free)Write To Your NTFS Drives Again in OS X El Capitan (For Free)Some of the most common methods of adding NTFS support broke with the recent release of El Capitan, but you can still write to your Windows drives with a bit of tinkering.Read More.

All new Macs will be formatted with APFS. Older Mac drives may still be 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 has been one of the go-to apps for a long time. The first version was released way back in 1996. If you’re prepared to spend some money, you don’t need to look elsewhere.

The app works with APFS drives and HFS+ drives.

Unlike some of the options we’ll discuss later, MacDrive lets you read and write data to your Mac-formatted drive directly from Windows.

The app is focused around 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 useful features include the ability to create and partition Mac disks direct from your PC, a powerful disk repair feature, and robust security tools.

The standard version costs $49.99. There’s also a Pro version. It adds several extra 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 ($49.99)

2. Paragon APFS for Windows

Paragon APFS for Windows is another paid app. It is the main competitor of MacDrive.

The app provides read and write access to APFS-formatted partitions, 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 APFS for Windows only supports APFS-formatted drives. If you have some older Mac drives lying around that are still running HFS+, you would need to separately purchase Paragon HFS+ for Windows. MacDrive, therefore, is a more economical option.

One license—which costs $49.95—works on three Windows PCs.

Download:Paragon APFS for Windows ($49.95)

3. UFS Explorer Standard Access

Our third and final recommendation for reading APFS drives on Windows is UFS Explorer Standard Recovery. Once again, it’s a paid option. The app will cost you €21.95.

UFS Explorer Standard Recovery is the most versatile app on this list. 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.

As such, this is the app you should choose if you find yourself hopping between lots of different operating systems during your day.

UFS Explorer Standard Recovery 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 with no time limits, but it will only let you copy files smaller than 256KB in size.

Download: UFS Explorer Standard Access (€21.95)

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, you can install the Apple HFS+ drivers for Windows. Be sure to remove Paragon or MacDrive before proceeding.

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

Copy the ApplsHFS.sys and AppleMNT.sys files to C:WindowsSystem32drivers
Merge the Add_AppleHFS.reg file with your Windows registry.
Restart your system.

The video above also demonstrates the process.

Tool For Reading Mac Drives