Diskferry

How to open an HFS+ (Mac OS Extended) drive on Windows

Mac OS Extended, usually called HFS+, was the Mac format before APFS. Many external drives, camera and video drives, and older Time Machine disks still use it. Disk Utility lists it as "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)", and there is a case-sensitive variant (HFSX).

Options for HFS+ on Windows

  • HFSExplorer is free and open source ("An application for accessing HFS/HFS+/HFSX file systems. License: GPLv3+"). It is a Java application; its latest release is 2026.4.9 from April 2026 (releases). It does not read APFS, and its troubleshooting page says it "cannot currently read from attached hard drives without administrator rights".
  • Paragon HFS+ for Windows is a read-write driver, $19.95 for home use with a ten-day free trial. Paragon recommends disabling Windows Fast Startup before installing it "to avoid possible file system corruption".
  • MacDrive 12 reads and writes HFS+ and APFS, $59.99.
  • TransMac reads and writes HFS+ (APFS read only), $59.00.

Checked 30 October 2026. More in Diskferry compared.

Open an HFS+ drive with Diskferry

Diskferry reads Mac OS Extended, including the case-sensitive variant, and APFS, so you do not need to know which format the drive has.

  1. Plug in the Mac drive

    If Windows offers to format or initialize it, choose Cancel.

  2. Click Find Mac drives

    Windows asks once for administrator permission. A small helper opens only disks that carry a Mac partition, read only, hands them to Diskferry and exits.

  3. Browse the volume

    Each drive gets a card with its Mac volumes, their format and size. Click Browse, open folders and click a file to preview it.

  4. Copy out and verify

    Tick files or folders (nothing ticked copies the whole folder), choose a folder on your PC and copy. Every copy is read back and compared by SHA-256.

DiskferryMicrosoft Store

Limits on HFS+

  • Time Machine backups on HFS+ store unchanged folders as directory hard links, which Diskferry does not follow yet. Time Machine backups are not supported in this version. Time Machine on Windows
  • Aliases and symbolic links are not copied as files; the copy report lists each one with its target.
  • Old drives that click or grind are failing hardware. Stop using them and talk to a data recovery service: every read is a risk.

Questions

Is HFSExplorer still maintained?

Its GitHub page shows release 2026.4.9, published in April 2026, after a gap since 2021.10.9 (checked 30 October 2026). It reads HFS, HFS+ and HFSX, not APFS.

Is Mac OS Extended the same as HFS+?

Yes. Mac OS Extended is the name in Disk Utility; HFS+ (or HFS Plus) is the name of the file system. The case-sensitive variant is called HFSX.

Does Windows have an HFS+ driver built in?

No. Windows reads FAT, exFAT and NTFS. HFS+ needs a driver or an app that reads the drive itself, such as Diskferry.

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

Related guides