Can a Mac Read a Windows Zip File

Windows tin't normally read Mac-formatted drives, and volition offering to erase them instead. Simply 3rd-political party tools fill the gap and provide access to drives formatted with Apple'southward HFS+ file system on Windows. This also allows y'all to restore Time Machine backups on Windows.

If you know yous're going to use a drive on both Mac and Windows, you should use the exFAT file system, which is uniform with both. Merely if you didn't foresee that, you lot may have formatted your drive with Apple's HFS Plus, which Windows tin can't read by default. In fact, some manufacturers sell "Mac" drives pre-formatted with this Mac-only file organization.

Don't Format the Drive! (Yet)

When yous connect a Mac-formatted drive to Windows, you'll be informed that "you need to format the disk in drive Ten: earlier you can utilise it." Don't click the "Format disk" button or Windows will erase the contents of the drive–click "Abolish"!

This message appears because Windows doesn't empathize Apple's HFS+ file system. That's fine, because other applications practise. Just don't format the drive until you lot get the important files off the drive.

Of course, if the bulldoze doesn't have any important files on information technology, you tin can go ahead and format it. But be absolutely sure in that location'southward nothing yous need before you do.

Choice One: HFSExplorer Is Free and Bones

RELATED: How to Restore Files From a Time Car Backup on Windows

If you but need to get a couple files off the drive, we recommend HFSExplorer. It'south the merely completely gratis style to admission a Mac-formatted drive. It does require Java, however, and then you'll accept to install that first. And then, install HFSExplorer similar you would any other Windows programme.

HFSExplorer isn't fancy, though, and doesn't have a lot of features. You can't use it to write to Mac-formatted drives, and information technology doesn't install a file system driver that integrates into File Explorer. But y'all can open HFSExplorer, read a Mac-formatted drive, and copy the files to your Windows PC without paying a dime. It can likewise mount Mac .dmg disk images to become at the files inside them.

This application'south read-only nature isn't necessarily a bad thing. Information technology ensures that no bug in the third-party driver can damage your Mac-formatted drive and the files on it. You tin can set read-only mode in other applications, too–simply, if y'all're not going to use their write support, there's less reason to pay for them.

To use HFSExplorer, connect your Mac-formatted bulldoze to your Windows PC and launch HFSExplorer. Click the "File" menu and select "Load File System From Device." It volition automatically locate the continued drive, and you lot tin can load it. You'll see the contents of the HFS+ drive in the graphical window. Simply select the files or folders y'all desire, click "Extract," and cull a folder. They'll be copied to the location you cull on your PC.

Pick Two: Paragon HFS+ is $twenty, But Offers Write Access and Better Integration

Paragon's HFS+ for Windows is a scrap fancier, but it'll toll you. This tool installs a file system driver that allows you lot to access a Mac-formatted drive like any other drive in File Explorer, or any other Windows awarding with an open up or relieve dialog. Information technology boasts improved speed, and nosotros wouldn't be surprised if it were faster than HFSExplorer. And, different HFSExplorer, it offers full read/write access to Mac-formatted drives, so you can write to them from within Windows. Simply install information technology, and Mac drives will show up like any other drive.

If you demand to work with Mac-formatted drives on a regular basis and you want the operating organisation integration, speed, and write access, Paragon HFS+ is a not bad choice and will be worth it for you. Only, if y'all simply need to get some files off a Mac-formatted drive occasionally, this is overkill and yous can save $20 past sticking with HFSExplorer.

Paragon does offer a ten-day free trial of HFS+ for Windows, and so you can give information technology a try and meet if it works for you lot. And, if you just need to get files off of a Mac-formatted drive once, you tin can just use the trial and be washed with the application by the time it expires.

Option Three: Mediafour MacDrive Costs $50 to $70, Merely Includes More Features

Mediafour's MacDrive is similar to Paragon's HFS+ for Windows, just with more features and polish. Information technology'due south noticeably more expensive than Paragon HFS+ too, at $50 for the Standard version and $70 for the Pro version.

For most people, this software won't really be worth it. But it offers a few unique features, similar support for Mac-formatted RAID disks. It also offers a graphical interface with support for verifying, repairing, and formatting Mac-formatted drives. Paragon's HFS+ gets out of your fashion and doesn't provide a graphical interface–it just enables admission to HFS+ drives in File Explorer and other applications.

If you need all these tools, become for it–this is the nigh full-featured solution for working with Mac-formatted drives on Windows. Just you probably don't need all these tools.

Mediafour does offer a 5-solar day free trial of MacDrive–both the Standard and Pro versions–so yous can requite it a try and meet if those features are worth information technology for you.

Selection Four: Format the Drive as exFAT–But Warning, This Volition Erase Your Information!

RELATED: What'due south the Difference Between FAT32, exFAT, and NTFS?

One time you've gotten all the information off the Mac-formatted bulldoze, you'll probably want to format it with the exFAT file system. Both Windows and Mac Os X take full read-write support for exFAT drives without any additional tertiary-political party software. FAT32 has some serious limitations–individual files can just be upwards to 4GB in size each, for example–merely exFAT doesn't.

Rather than use a Mac-formatted drive, y'all should get the important files off of it and utilize exFAT-formatted drives for moving information between Macs and PCs.

To format the bulldoze in Windows, correct-click it in the File Explorer window and select "Format." Cull the "exFAT" file system in the list and click "Start." Call up, this will erase all the files on the bulldoze! Be admittedly certain you have your files off the drive and that yous've selected the correct drive you lot desire to format!

When you're washed, the bulldoze should work on both Windows PCs and Macs with no problem.

Past the way, this works great for Windows users too–Macs can't natively write to the Windows NTFS file system, although they can read files from NTFS drives. So no matter what your main platform, exFAT is probably the way to get.

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Source: https://www.howtogeek.com/252111/how-to-read-a-mac-formatted-drive-on-a-windows-pc/

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