Accessing a Mac Drive with Windows

[SimonMac]

Is it possible to access a Mac formatted external hard drive with a Windows machine?

I thought it wasn't so easy but then I read on the net that newer Windows machines can read both. Is this true? Ideally, without using Bootcamp or similar software.. I know that Mac machines can access a Windows drive.

 

[bobtomay]

Recommended - http://www.paragon-software.com/home/hfs-windows/
Not recommended - http://www.catacombae.org/hfsexplorer/

OS X can natively read but not write to the NTFS format.

 

[lclev]

Yes it is and bobtomay has provided the links above. I agree paragon is the better choice especially if you plan to use it often.

Lisa

 

[bobtomay]

And I should probably change the "Not Recommended" to "If you have the $20 for option one, don't use this option"

 

[SimonMac]

Okay, so to just read Mpegs on a Windows machine from an Apple formatted flash drive I would need to buy the Paragon software package. Is there not anything free or simpler? I don't need full system access I just want to watch Mpegs or standard video formats.

PS I have read that I can format a flash drive in FAT32 format. Both Windows and Mac OS can read this.. Is this an easier option?

 

[Slydude]

Since this is a flash drive try inserting the drive into the PC and see if it can be read. Most of these drives are FAT 32 format so the drive might have been used on a Mac without being reformatted.

If a drive is FAT 32 it can be read/written to by both Macs and PCs. Remember though that each individual file on a FAT 32 drive must be 4 GB or less.