I've got a bit of a dilemma. I've been using an external hard drive with my Mac, but now that my Mac is out of commission, I need to save the files on a Windows computer before I wipe the drive to set up a dual boot with Linux. The issue I'm facing is that the drive is formatted for macOS, making it inaccessible through standard Windows methods. Can anyone suggest how I might be able to access the files on this external drive?
2 Answers
If you can, try live booting a Linux ISO. You don't need to install it, just boot from it. Many Linux distributions can read Mac-formatted drives without much fuss. Just be sure you have a USB or CD to boot from, though.
First off, you need to know if your drive is APFS or Mac OS Extended. It makes a difference in the method you should use to access the files. If it's APFS, you'll need specific tools, but if it's Mac OS Extended, you might have better luck with something like HFSExplorer on Windows.
I tried using TestDisk, but it doesn’t seem to recognize my external hard drive at all.
I want to do a Linux live boot but only have the external hard drive. Is there a way to boot without a USB stick or CD?