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How to access mac osx extended formatted Hard Drive in Windows

B

byeehaaw

macrumors 6502
Original poster
when i plug in my external thats programmed to my mac, on a windows based computer i cant seem to read the hard drive. is there a program or somthing where i can detect it and transfer files between it?
 
read write.
but is there any freeware programs? just in case i want to do it on several of my friends computers just to back up their stuff
 
Format A Hard Drive Using Disk Utility (which is in your /Applications/Utilities folder)
​
Choose the appropriate format:
​
HFS+ (Hierarchical File System, a.k.a. Mac OS Extended (Journaled) Don't use case-sensitive) NTFS (Windows NT File System)
  • Read/Write NTFS from native Windows.
  • Read only NTFS from native Mac OS X [*]To Read/Write/Format NTFS from Mac OS X, here are some alternatives:
    • For Mac OS X 10.4 or later (32 or 64-bit), install Paragon (approx $20) (Best Choice for Lion and later)
    • For 32-bit Mac OS X, install NTFS-3G for Mac OS X (free) (does not work in 64-bit mode)
    • For 64-bit Snow Leopard, read this: MacFUSE for 64-bit Snow Leopard
    • Some have reported problems using Tuxera (approx $36).
    • Native NTFS support can be enabled in Snow Leopard and Lion, but is not advisable, due to instability.
  • AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support NTFS
  • Maximum file size: 16 TB
  • Maximum volume size: 256TB
  • You can use this format if you routinely share a drive with multiple Windows systems.
exFAT (FAT64)
  • Supported in Mac OS X only in 10.6.5 or later.
  • Not all Windows versions support exFAT. See disadvantages.
  • exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table)
  • AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support exFAT
  • Maximum file size: 16 EiB
  • Maximum volume size: 64 ZiB
  • You can use this format if it is supported by all computers with which you intend to share the drive. See "disadvantages" for details.
FAT32 (File Allocation Table)
  • Read/Write FAT32 from both native Windows and native Mac OS X. [*]Maximum file size: 4GB.
  • Maximum volume size: 2TB
  • You can use this format if you share the drive between Mac OS X and Windows computers and have no files larger than 4GB.
 
Last edited:
Mac Drive...Bad...

My hard drive finally went kaput on my mac, and it is in the mac hospital getting a replacement. I knew this was going to happen soon, so earlier this year I purchased an external to put everything on. However, I formatted it for Mac use only (I know that was stupid). At the apple store the genius recommended MacDrive. I came home installed it, worked beautifully, however, my internet browsers all pooped. Nothing will connect. I reset my router, restarted everything still no joy. So, I decide I'll go to my Windows XP machine and do it, maybe that will be better. Wrong, it was the only computer left working in the house and as soon as I installed MacDrive, the browsers stopped connecting again. So, I uninstalled it off my Windows8 laptop and my browsers started connecting again. I would be leary of it.
 
grambocre8 said:
My hard drive finally went kaput on my mac, and it is in the mac hospital getting a replacement. I knew this was going to happen soon, so earlier this year I purchased an external to put everything on. However, I formatted it for Mac use only (I know that was stupid). At the apple store the genius recommended MacDrive. I came home installed it, worked beautifully, however, my internet browsers all pooped. Nothing will connect. I reset my router, restarted everything still no joy. So, I decide I'll go to my Windows XP machine and do it, maybe that will be better. Wrong, it was the only computer left working in the house and as soon as I installed MacDrive, the browsers stopped connecting again. So, I uninstalled it off my Windows8 laptop and my browsers started connecting again. I would be leary of it.
Click to expand...

MacDrive only enables Windows to read and write to HFS+ formatted drives. You can't boot from that drive from Windows or run OS X apps in Windows. That's not what MacDrive is intended for. There is no need to avoid it if you use it as designed. MacDrive has nothing to do with your Windows browsers. Like many others, I've used it for years on a number of computers with none of the issues you described. I recommend further troubleshooting to determine the true source of your browser issues.
 
macdrive, hfs-explorer

hi there,

i had a look at both software 'solutions' however, none of them helped me accessing data on an apple formatted external hard drive. anything i missed? any ideas? did one of these programs actually really work?

running out of ideas = (
 
camap said:
hi there,

i had a look at both software 'solutions' however, none of them helped me accessing data on an apple formatted external hard drive. anything i missed? any ideas? did one of these programs actually really work?

running out of ideas = (
Click to expand...
Yes, they both work very well. What happened when you tried them? Did you install them properly? Did you reboot after installing them? Was the drive mounted properly? Did you verify what exact format was used on the drive? Did you check to see if the drive had any errors or corruption? More information would certainly help us help you.
 
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