Diskferry

Can you open a Time Machine backup on Windows?

A Time Machine disk is not an ordinary copy of your files. It keeps many dated backups in a structure that saves space, and that structure is exactly what most Windows tools cannot read. Here is what to expect, honestly.

Diskferry does not support Time Machine backups in this version. We would rather tell you now than after you plug the disk in.

How Time Machine stores backups

  • Older backup disks use Mac OS Extended. Apple: "Some older versions of macOS created backup disks using Mac OS Extended as the file system format instead of APFS" (Apple Support, checked 30 October 2026). Each backup looks like a full copy, but folders that did not change are stored once and linked from every backup through directory hard links, a feature only Time Machine uses.
  • Newer backup disks use APFS, and each backup is a snapshot of the volume.

In our tests, both libfshfs (the HFS+ library Diskferry uses) and 7-Zip showed such linked folders as empty 0-byte files. Diskferry does not resolve directory hard links or read APFS snapshots yet.

What the other tools say

  • Paragon HFS+ for Windows: "No, Time Machine volumes are not supported. They can be opened only using the corresponding application on macOS."
  • MacDrive 12: "Browse Time Machine backups and restore individual files directly to Windows." MacDrive is $59.99 with a five-day trial, so you can check whether it opens your backup before buying.
  • Paragon APFS for Windows: volumes with snapshots are "mounted in read-only mode"; the page does not say whether individual snapshots can be browsed.

The safest route

  1. Use a Mac if you can. On a Mac the backup opens in Time Machine and in Finder. Copy the files you need to an exFAT drive, which Windows reads. Formatting a drive for both
  2. On Windows only, try a tool that claims Time Machine support during its trial, and copy to a different drive, never back onto the backup disk.
  3. Ordinary drives (not backup disks) are what Diskferry is for. Copy files from a Mac drive to a PC

Questions

Will Diskferry support Time Machine later?

Browsing older HFS+ backups by date is planned, but it is not in this version and we do not promise a date. This page will change when it ships.

Can I see anything on a backup disk with Diskferry?

Diskferry may list the backup volume, but folders that Time Machine stored as links do not open correctly, so do not rely on it to restore a backup.

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

Related guides