Read Mac APFS drive/partition in Windows Boot Camp

[simonmet]

Having recently received my 16" MacBook Pro and installed Windows, I was wondering if there is or isn't yet a free driver that lets me see and read from the Mac APFS partition while in Windows. People were asking this in 2017, so what’s the situation in 2020?

This is a feature I greatly appreciated in the past. It meant I could do certain work in Mac, and if I needed to work on it further in Windows, I could access the data directly from Mac and copy it to the Windows drive if necessary. The alternative is having to copy the data to an intermediary drive like a thumb-drive, which is an extra step; more annoying; and requires me to keep and carry around a thumb drive for this purpose that I didn't previously require. Not to mention it being much slower using external drives to move large amounts of data compared to the Mac's fast internal SSD alone. With the sort of work I do, it's very common that I use tools in both Mac and Windows to process and analyse data.

Apple’s default solution of including read-only access in Windows has suited me perfectly in the past. I definitely don't want write access to APFS in Windows because I prefer to keep the two systems separate with no capacity to pollute one another. I know there's some (expensive) paid software out there that can do it, but I really don't want to either pay or use third-party file managers to access the drive. I just want a simple driver that lets me use the native Windows Explorer or Command Prompt to read the Mac partition.

Does such a thing exist? If not, I'll certainly be providing feedback, and a request for Apple to make such a driver like they used to have for the previous HFS+ file system; and to include it in future Boot Camp installations.

 

[AndyMacAndMic]

Having recently received my 16" MacBook Pro and installed Windows, I was wondering if there is or isn't yet a free driver that lets me see and read from the Mac APFS partition while in Windows. People were asking this in 2017, so what’s the situation in 2020?

This is a feature I greatly appreciated in the past. It meant I could do certain work in Mac, and if I needed to work on it further in Windows, I could access the data directly from Mac and copy it to the Windows drive if necessary. The alternative is having to copy the data to an intermediary drive like a thumb-drive, which is an extra step; more annoying; and requires me to keep and carry around a thumb drive for this purpose that I didn't previously require. Not to mention it being much slower using external drives to move large amounts of data compared to the Mac's fast internal SSD alone. With the sort of work I do, it's very common that I use tools in both Mac and Windows to process and analyse data.

Apple’s default solution of including read-only access in Windows has suited me perfectly in the past. I definitely don't want write access to APFS in Windows because I prefer to keep the two systems separate with no capacity to pollute one another. I know there's some (expensive) paid software out there that can do it, but I really don't want to either pay or use third-party file managers to access the drive. I just want a simple driver that lets me use the native Windows Explorer or Command Prompt to read the Mac partition.

Does such a thing exist? If not, I'll certainly be providing feedback, and a request for Apple to make such a driver like they used to have for the previous HFS+ file system; and to include it in future Boot Camp installations.

Take a look here. I have never used it:

Paragon APFS Windows

It is not free (around 50 USD) but you can try it out before you buy it.

 

[simonmet]

Thanks Andy, but that's what I was referring to when I said "expensive paid software". I'm not prepared to spend that on something that Apple should and has provided with Boot Camp previously. Believe me when I say that I'm not exactly rolling in dollarydoos after this expensive Mac purchase. I had hoped that in the 2 or 3 years since announcing/releasing APFS that Apple, or someone else, would have a (free) driver by now.

Certainly I'd like to see the previous read-only functionality return to Boot Camp. It's a degradation to the experience of using Windows on Mac that it's not there, and Boot Camp is one of the biggest draw-cards to Mac hardware for me: you get 2 major platforms including a genuine Unix derivative, on the same machine.

I'm a bit worried though, because I have a feeling that Apple removed the HFS+ driver from Boot Camp even before they switched to APFS. This might explain why they apparently haven't bothered to create a Windows driver yet: because they simply don't want to. Perhaps they had people complaining that they could see the Mac drive in Boot Camp but not copy to it, so they simply took it away entirely. This would be a very Apple response in my opinion. A better approach would've been to simply not mount (or unmount) the drive by default, and let users who want to see (and read from) it to mount it themselves. I'm just speculating, but this theory wouldn't surprise me if it were true.

I'll file my request, almost certainly in vain, and hope that there is or will be a simple driver available elsewhere soon.

 

[AndyMacAndMic]

Thanks Andy, but that's what I was referring to when I said "expensive paid software". I'm not prepared to spend that on something that Apple should and has provided with Boot Camp previously. Believe me when I say that I'm not exactly rolling in dollarydoos after this expensive Mac purchase. I had hoped that in the 2 or 3 years since announcing/releasing APFS that Apple, or someone else, would have a (free) driver by now.

Certainly I'd like to see the previous read-only functionality return to Boot Camp. It's a degradation to the experience of using Windows on Mac that it's not there, and Boot Camp is one of the biggest draw-cards to Mac hardware for me: you get 2 major platforms including a genuine Unix derivative, on the same machine.

I'm a bit worried though, because I have a feeling that Apple removed the HFS+ driver from Boot Camp even before they switched to APFS. This might explain why they apparently haven't bothered to create a Windows driver yet: because they simply don't want to. Perhaps they had people complaining that they could see the Mac drive in Boot Camp but not copy to it, so they simply took it away entirely. This would be a very Apple response in my opinion. A better approach would've been to simply not mount (or unmount) the drive by default, and let users who want to see (and read from) it to mount it themselves. I'm just speculating, but this theory wouldn't surprise me if it were true.

I'll file my request, almost certainly in vain, and hope that there is or will be a simple driver available elsewhere soon.

I read your sentence about paid software , but I figured 50 bucks was not that expensive if you really need it .

But on the other hand: for 50 bucks you can buy an external usb drive as well (with the disadvantage you already mentioned).

One thing is for sure: If you are going to wait for Apple (or another party) to offer this for free, you are probably going to wait for a long time....

In the immediate future it seems you have only have the choices you don't like: Buy the sofware or use an external drive.

 

[simonmet]

I haven't looked at that particular software closely, but I have a feeling that, considering the price, they're trying to bundle some kind of file manager software as well; and it includes write access too, which I said I didn't need or want. I agree that, as a paid professional, it's not a massive investment over time. But I'm not currently paid, so I'm prepared to (indeed have to) wait until I am.

Believe me, I'm not expecting anything. That's why I said any request would "almost certainly be in vain". But I'm certainly entitled to put in a request anyway, and it can't do any harm. I'd encourage anyone else that wants this functionality back to do the same, because it is a degradation or loss of functionality in this specific use.

I still love the laptop. Especially when listening to some hot tracks while I work .

 

[maflynn]

When it comes to files sytems, do you really want to look for the cheapest? We are talking about your data after all and Paragon has a good reputation. I definitely think its worth the price.

I'm not prepared to spend that on something that Apple should and has provided with Boot Camp previously.

but Apple didn't and so if you have that requirement, then your hands are tied and 50 dollars isn't that high.

I'll file my request, almost certainly in vain, and hope that there is or will be a simple driver available elsewhere soon.

It can't hurt to ask to be sure, but Apple has a history of being exceedingly slow in updating their existing drivers never mind adding functionality. So if you need is kind of immediate, then this solution isn't really feasible for short term goals.

If interoperability is a major need have you thought about Parallels or vmware fusion? You'll be able to interact with macOS to a higher degree with those virtualization solutions. It will cost you as those applications tend to be higher then the PAragon drivers.

In the end, I personally think 50 dollars is a fair price after spending multiple thousand dollars on the laptop and you have a need for such interoperability - just my $.02

 

[simonmet]

I appreciate the replies, but I just want to reiterate that this is functionality that Apple used to provide. I don’t feel like I’m asking for extra functionality, but a return to, or for them to reinstate, previously supplied functionality. Kind of like how people begged them to reinstate the scissor keyboard; or escape key; or 100 Wh battery. Yeah, I know those are hardware issues and this is software; so I’m kind of screwed. Apple moves to the beat of their own drum on software (such as cancelling the popular Aperture while still owning FileMaker!) and seems to be struggling with recent MacOS and iOS launches.

But from my relatively brief searches thus far, I have a feeling that there exists already a cheaper or free version that provides what I need, but I don’t know for sure. I was just hoping others in this forum who have more recent experience than me might have tips on where to find a cheap and easy solution if one exists. I’ll keep an eye out.

As for Parallels and VMWare, that’s an even more emphatic no. I said system integrity/cleanliness was a priority and I’ve gone there before, but never again. Parallels especially!

 

[maflynn]

but I just want to reiterate that this is functionality that Apple used to provide.

You're right and I don't think anyone will argue that, but the bottom line is they're not now and there's no evidence to support the idea that they'll suddenly create AFPS drivers. We can complain all we want about how Apple used to provide that ability but its a moot point since they decided not too and its not like AFPS just came out, its been available now for quite a while and Apple still hasn't provided windows drivers.

By the same token, Apple has had the touchbar since 2016 and four years later they've not provided any drivers to fully use the TB - what you get is only function keys. Seems like if they were going to improve things they'd be doing that. Their focus is to support and improve macOS and not windows, for their business model it counter productive for them to focus time and money on new features in windows, especially when they need to fix things in macOS.

I have a feeling that there exists already a cheaper or free version

I only know of two solutions. MacDrive and Paragon and both are about the same price. More power to you on finding a free or cheaper version.

 

[DudeNumberTwo]

I came here looking for the same thing as the rest of you: to see if there was an update on this situation. I too have just installed Windows on my new 16" MBP. I was disappointed to find that some of you guys managed to miss the big picture entirely in this thread. (Whether or not you spend money to try software or not isn't the barrier that you need to be concerned about.)

Neither Paragon's software nor MacDrive work AT ALL (anymore) to solve this problem, for the very same reason. It really stinks, but it's the truth. I have owned Paragon's APFS for Windows since it was first available for purchase, and before that I used it while it was in beta for quite a while. It stopped working at some point, related to further lockdown of the APFS filesystem when using FileVault and the new T2 security chip.

It may be possible to decrypt the APFS volume. But I'm not making any recommendation there. My only thought on the matter is is: Your drives have never had this level of encryption before and we've (mostly) been OK. But the world is changing.

I can show you exactly what the Paragon software shows you in this screenshot:

Alex

 

[simonmet]

but Apple didn't and so if you have that requirement, then your hands are tied and 50 dollars isn't that high.

In the end, I personally think 50 dollars is a fair price after spending multiple thousand dollars on the laptop and you have a need for such interoperability - just my $.02

They certainly did bundle a HFS+ driver in the Boot Camp installation by default previously, so your suggestion that they didn't isn't true.

After having recovered from the MacBook purchase bill shock somewhat (but not fully!), I'm now more able to afford $50 for good driver support, but it would have to meet my needs perfectly. However, the new poster above reports that it doesn't even work at all! Why would I spend $50 on something that doesn't do what I need?

 

[DudeNumberTwo]

I hate this situation. Apple provides us with BootCamp, I suppose to make themselves look like they're giving their customers more choice, but being able to move files between partitions on the computer is a HUGE deal. They sure don't talk about that much!

I'm "lucky" because I have a NAS I can copy files to from macOS or Windows, but it is so much slower. I have to copy over the network from Windows to the NAS, and then again from the NAS to macOS after I reboot.

It's not fun when there is absolutely no solution to a problem. I tried going the Windows PC direction and spent $1999 on a really nice MSI laptop 6 months ago. But it was so cheaply made and I came crawling back to Apple, of course. They've enslaved me. (us?) lol

 

[DudeNumberTwo]

This is how far off we are from accessing APFS partitions from Windows now: April 2020, "Passware Kit 2020 v2 unlocks APFS disks from Mac computers with Apple T2 chip"...

https://support.passware.com/hc/en-...ychain-and-decrypts-QuickBooks-2020-databases

Per their "About" page, "Passware forensic products are used by the world’s top law enforcement agencies to crack cases where decryption is required"...

If the forensics folks just figured it out, you might as well find a long term alternative.

I use my NAS as a go-between, but I saw someone else post that it would be a good idea to create a partition on the disk that can be accessed by both operating systems (with paid drivers of course). That partition could be the recently departed Apple HFS+. It's probably super cheap to buy the Paragon drivers now anyway since that file system is out of favor. I paid top dollar (of course) because I think I got the drivers back in like 2015.

Anyway, just thought this was interesting / funny and tells us we don't need to waste ANY more time looking....lol

 

[mac-n-tosh]

UFS Explorer (standard version) is free but will only allow you to read or copy to your Bootcamp Partition from the APFS one.

I have tested it on Mojave and it works fine

So yes there is a free option, and unlike Paragon's paid version it does not wreck your bootcamp partition/NTFS file system.