Paragon HFS+/HFSX for Windows Public Beta Testing

After the introduction of Intel-based Apple computers, Mac users have got the option to combine their Mac OS X environments with Microsoft Windows (XP and later), which can be easily installed as an additional OS with the help of Apple Boot Camp. It should have been a real breakthrough if not for a naughty nuance – data sharing between Mac and Windows domains is a real problem, as Windows doesn’t know a thing about HFS+, the primary file system for Macintosh computers, while Mac OS X only provides read access to NTFS is an advanced file system that provides performance, security, reliability, and advanced features that are not found in any version of FAT.

With release of NTFS for Mac, Paragon Software has offered an elegant solution for these limitations. With a low-level file system driver on the Mac side providing full read/write access to NTFS and the MacBrowser utility on the Windows side providing access to HFS+/HFSX (or Mac OS Extended) the company has managed to open up an effective two-way communication channel between Mac OS X and Windows.

Now we are working on new project: HFS+/HFSX Driver for Windows, that allows to get full access to Mac partitions under Windows.
The program is in beta-testing stage, and i'm glad to offer you the Public Beta version! We do it because we want to make Paragon HFS for Windows a useful tool for every Mac user -- that is why we need your opinion of it.

Current Beta Version restrictions and known issues:
-Read only access to HFS+/HFSX ;
-HFS+/HFSX volumes require manual mounting (drive letter assignment);
-No support for Apple Partition Map;
-No support for resource forks;
-No support for symbolic links and hard links;
-No support for ACL (Access Control List).

What we expect from you:
1. Bug reports (though we hope that there won't be many). If you find a bug, describe with details how it can be reproduced by our developers. We need every detail, every step (even if it seems minor). Please specify your OS version and disk configuration.

2. Usability issues. We want to make the product as easy to use as possible. Please share your suggestions on what you think we could improve in full versions or what should be changed. Make your suggestions both detailed and reasonable so we can understand what your concerns are as well as determine to implement if possible.

To download the public beta version, please visit this site to:
1. Download the beta version;
2. Get more information about the product’s main features;
3. Send your feedback to us (via e-mail or in this thread);

Our commitment to you: We will read your feedback in this thread very carefully. Please excuse any possible lack of replies to your posts. We won't be able to reply to all of them, but we will do “summary” replies once a day in this thread.

PS. We value this forum's community members very much. That's why we selected you for our Public beta testing program. In exchange for your help, we will be glad to provide the most active beta testers with full version of Paragon HFS for Windows free of charge.

Thank you in advance and best regards,
Paragon Software.

Thanks for the beta testing offer, however I am wondering about something.

In Mac OS X Snow Leopard Apple is going to support accessing HFS partitions out of the box (from Windows), how do you plan to compete with that?

Dear Strukt,

Thank you for your question.

First of all, our driver will allow to write to HFS+/HFSX partitions.
2. We will support APM (Apple Partitions Map).
3. We are planning to support all the features that HFS+ can give to you, such as symlinks and hardlinks, resource forks, Access Control List etc.
4. Performance... We are designing solution, that will be "faster" than our competitors software. We have already done it in NTFS for Mac OS X, so i think we can reach this goal again))