As a Mac fan, you know the significance of data backups. Time Machine, Apple’s built-in backup software, makes it easy to save multiple copies of your Mac data to an external hard drive or AirPort Time Capsule. There are also dozens of online backup services to choose from if you prefer not to carry a physical drive around. WD 2TB Elements Portable External Hard Drive. If you’re an avid PC user, this HDD drive from Western Digital has you covered. With sizes from 1 to 4 TB and plug-n-play functionality, you’ll start with your feet on the ground. USB 3.0 allows you to transfer files at up to 5MB/s, and the drive.
While you can physically connect a Mac hard drive to a Windows PC, the PC cannot read the drive unless third-party software is installed. Because the two systems use different file systems for storage: Macs use the HFS, HFS+, or HFSX file systems, and PCs use either the FAT32 or NTFS. Luckily, as long as the drive type (e.g., SATA, IDE, or SCSI) is compatible with your motherboard, there are a few solutions to this dilemma.
NoteNTFS and FAT drives open natively in macOS.
Formatting a partition
Mac Hard Drive To Windows
You can delete a Mac-based HFS, HFS+ or HFSX partition and format it to be usable with a PC. If there are any files you want to keep, copy them from you Mac hard drive to another storage device, then see the following page.
Third-party software
Through the use of third-party software, Microsoft Windows can be configured to read a Mac hard drive. Free programs are available though they have fewer features and are not as east to use. One of the best free programs is HFSExplorer. If you are willing to pay, MacDrive and TransMac cost about $50. They both do a good job of allowing users to view the contents of a Mac hard drive on a PC due to their user-friendly interfaces. There is also a $20 solution from Paragon called HFS+ for Windows.