

- #HOW TO OPEN A MAC COMPATABLE PENDRIVE IN WINDOWS HOW TO#
- #HOW TO OPEN A MAC COMPATABLE PENDRIVE IN WINDOWS FOR MAC OS#
- #HOW TO OPEN A MAC COMPATABLE PENDRIVE IN WINDOWS SOFTWARE#
And most importantly, the software is completely free to sue. It has a graphical UI, which is quite clean and easy to use. As its name suggests, the software only works with the drives that are formatted with the HFS, HFS+, and HFSX file systems. HFS Explorer is a pretty good software that can help you read your Mac-formatted drives on Windows. And therefore, the need for alternatives or third-party services to read a Mac-formatted drive on Windows. However, Windows (including the latest version, Windows 10) does not offer support for APFS or HFS+ on its system. Of the two systems, Mac comes with native read support for NTFS, meaning, if a drive is formatted in NTFS, it can be read (only) on macOS. Unless of course, you are on the older version of macOS, which relies on the HFS+ or Hierarchical File System. While Windows generally uses its latest NTFS or New Technology File System, the operating system on Mac, macOS, usually incorporates the APFS or Apple File System. To give you some background, the file system used on both Mac and Windows is completely different.
#HOW TO OPEN A MAC COMPATABLE PENDRIVE IN WINDOWS HOW TO#
So if you find yourself in a similar situation, here’s a guide on how to read a Mac-formatted drive on Windows. For, unlike Mac, which can read a Windows-formatted drive natively, Windows, on the other hand, does not provide support for Mac-formatted drives. But, since the two operating systems use different file systems, the same is not a straightforward solution either. While one way to go about this is to connect the systems over a network, it is not an ideal solution for when you have large chunks of files to move around.Īn alternative, and probably the better option of the two, is to use an external drive to move files between different devices. Once OS X Fuse and NTFS-3G are installed, your Mac should be able to read and write to NTFS disks just fine.If you are someone who uses different operating systems - presumably macOS and Windows - you might often find the need to view/share/transfer files between the two systems.
#HOW TO OPEN A MAC COMPATABLE PENDRIVE IN WINDOWS FOR MAC OS#
Follow the instructions to download NTFS-3G for Mac OS X, whose development seems stopped right now but still works in Yosemite.

Follow the directions on the OS X Fuse website to download and configure the software. NativeNTFS isn't for rookies: It's a bash script that needs to run from the Terminal command line and requires you to have root (administrator) access to your computer.Īn easier way to go is to download OS X Fuse, a third-party software tool that extends the Mac's file system capabilities. If you're a DIYer and you'd like to go the free route, you'll find a Sourceforge project called NativeNTFS-OSX that gets the job done. It includes several additional utilities for people who need to tinker or repair, to enable you to format drives with NTFS, check NTFS partition integrity, fix errors, and more. Paragon Software's NTFS for Mac 12 is another excellent choice. NTFS for Mac costs $31, and you can download a demo first to see how it does. It uses smart caching to keep data transfer as fast as possible and works with every OS X version since 10.4 (Tiger). Tuxera's NTFS for Mac is one of the best ways to do it. Whatever the case, the good news is that it's not a show-stopper: There are a few utilities out there that will enable Macs to write to mounted NTFS volumes. Maybe the drive you're using has to be used with a PC occasionally. Obviously that solution doesn't work for everyone.
