I'm trying to get into a hard drive that was formatted for Mac about 12-13 years ago. Unfortunately, my old Mac laptop is no longer functioning, and now I'm looking to access the files on this drive using my Windows laptop. I connected the hard drive, and the light is on, but I'm unable to access it. I attempted to use HFSExplorer based on some advice I found online, but it didn't work for me. I'm considering borrowing a Macbook from my sister or using a Mac computer at my university to transfer files to Google Drive before I reformat the drive for Windows. I'm not very tech-savvy and would really appreciate any suggestions you might have. Thanks!
4 Answers
You might want to check out Paragon HFS or APFS for Windows. Since your drive is probably HFS from back then, those tools might help you access it directly without needing a Mac.
You can try using APFSFUSE on a Linux live USB. It can help you mount the drive and access the files, but keep in mind it's read-only. That way, you can pull the files you need without the risk of modifying them. You'll need to run a few commands in the terminal to set it up though. It's a bit techy, but it should do the trick!
What exactly did HFSExplorer show you? Did you encounter any error messages when you tried to use it? Sometimes it can give you clues about what’s going wrong.
Yeah, that app name took me off guard too! I hope it was just a minor hiccup.
It's worth noting that it's likely not APFS since it wasn't around 13 years ago. Just stick with tools meant for HFS, and you should be good!
Just a heads up, if it was 13 years ago, the drive was likely formatted with HFS+ instead of APFS, which means you might not even need APFSFUSE.