Diskferry

Copy files from a Mac external drive to a PC

The usual reason to open a Mac drive on Windows is to get the files off it: you switched to a PC, a friend handed you a drive, or a Mac died. This guide covers the copy itself, and how to be sure nothing was lost on the way.

Before you start

  • Room on the PC. Check the size of what you want to copy and pick a destination with more free space than that. A drive formatted FAT32 cannot hold files over 4 GB, which matters for video; NTFS or exFAT can.
  • A direct connection. Plug the drive straight into the PC rather than a hub, especially a bus-powered hard drive.
  • Do not format. If Windows offers to format the drive, choose Cancel.

Copy with Diskferry

  1. Find the drive

    Click Find Mac drives and allow the Windows prompt. The drive appears with its Mac volumes.

  2. Choose what to copy

    Click Browse and open the folder you want. Tick single files or folders. With nothing ticked, the whole folder you are in is copied.

  3. Pick a destination

    Choose a folder on your PC or on another Windows drive. Diskferry writes only there, never to the Mac drive.

  4. Read the report

    After copying, every file is read back from the PC and compared with the original by SHA-256. The result says either that all files are identical, or exactly which failed. The report is saved next to your copies.

DiskferryMicrosoft Store

Finding, browsing and previewing are free. Copying is a one-time US$14.99 unlock through the Microsoft Store.

What happens to special files

  • Names Windows does not allow, such as names containing : or ?, which are fine on a Mac, are saved under a safe name. The report lists every renamed file.
  • Files that cannot be read are never left behind as empty or partial copies; they appear in the report as failed.
  • Aliases and symbolic links are skipped and listed with the path they point to, because the target is usually a file you copy anyway.

Why verify at all?

A copy can fail quietly. In our own test on 27 October 2026, 7-Zip 26.03 extracted six compressed files from an APFS image as 0-byte files and still reported success. The files were "there" but empty. Comparing every copy against the original is how Diskferry makes sure that cannot happen unnoticed.

Questions

Can I drag files from the Mac drive in File Explorer?

Not without a driver: Windows does not show APFS or Mac OS Extended drives in File Explorer. With Diskferry you copy from its own window into any folder you choose.

Do I need to keep Diskferry after copying?

No. Your copies are ordinary files on your PC. Uninstalling Diskferry leaves them, and the Mac drive, as they are.

Can I try before paying?

Yes. Finding the drive, browsing every folder and previewing photos and text files are free. You pay the one-time US$14.99 only to copy.

Last updated 30 October 2026. Still stuck? Support replies in person.

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