By default, your Windows PC can't access the drives that are formatted in the Mac file system. It's easier for your PC to read NTFS (Windows file system) and FAT32/exFAT, however, the Windows 10 can't actually read drives formatted in other file systems that are likely coming from Mac (HFS+) or Linux (ext4).
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I have just purchased a Cruzer Blade USB flash drive and have tried to download the secure access software that is needed to use the flash drive. I followed the instructions for downloading the software, but the icon that appears in my downloads folder, has a circle with a slash across it over the vault picture. The user should scan the flash drive with some reputable Anti-Virus software. The user should check to see what size of ports they have on the Mac. A 12' Mac only contains a single C-Type port. Make sure to purchase the C port flash drive to avoid any inconvenience. When you insert a flash drive into your Mac running OS X Yosemite, an icon for the drive appears on your desktop automatically. Using this icon, you can open the flash drive and transfer files. Step 1: Insert your flash drive into your Mac and locate the icon that appears on your desktop.
Verify the USB drive was formatted for compatibility with macOS. There are two special cases when.
The UFS+ is the file system by Apple's Macintosh and if you are using a Mac-formatted drive on your PC, chances are it's not readable by Microsoft Windows 10. The macOS Extended (HFS+) is a file system used by Mac and it can only be read by default in Mac systems, unlike Windows. If you are trying to use a drive formatted in Mac on Windows 10, it's possible. Here's how.
How To Read Mac's UFS Drive On Windows 10
To read drives formatted in Mac on your Windows 10 PC, here's what you need to do, just follow these simple steps.
- Get this free tool called HFSExplorer for Windows.
- Install and launch the program, you will need Java to use this software. It will prompt you if your system doesn't have Java installed, if you already have, it will run normally.
- Connect your Mac-formatted drive on your Windows PC and select ‘Load file system from the device' from File in the menu bar. Click Load.
- You will see the contents of the HFS+ drive in the app window. Choose the files or folders you want to copy, click Extract to copy and save to a specified folder, the files or folders will be copied to the location you choose on your PC.
Don't expect any fancy UI or any system integration that allows you to access the drive from the Windows Explorer just like you usually do for other drives. This tool is good if you need to get a few files out of the drive, not recommended if you are looking for a chunk of files to extract out of it, the process might be a tad difficult and time-consuming.
Also, the HFSExplorer doesn't support write access to the drive, if you want to copy anything in the drive, it's not possible with this tool. Use it if you want to copy the data from the drive. Check on the alternative if you want the read and write access with better integration.
Better Alternative?
An alternative to it is the Paragon HFS+ software that seamlessly integrates into the Windows such that you will be using the drive as you normally do with other drives supported by Windows. Plugging in the drive, and you will see a device connected and shown in the explorer along with your internal drive.
- Get the software Paragon HFS+ for Windows and install it as you would do for other Windows programs.
- That's it, restart the PC and connect the drive.
- You will be able to see the drive in the explorer which can be accessed by the keyboard shortcut Windows logo key + E or double click on This PC on desktop.
The only downside is that this software is not free, you will spend about $19.95 for it, however, the good part is it offers a 10-day free trial to give it a try. You can either save the money if you are just copying the data or get the write access with system-wide integration for a mere cost.
In the end, it's now possible to use the Mac drive on Windows, although not in a straightforward way, you may end up using the apps for file transfers or unlikely buying out softwares. It is recommended to format the drive in the exFAT system to get things easier, this helps if you are using the drive frequently on both the systems.
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NTFS (short of new technology file system) is a default file system for Windows. It was first introduced in Windows NT and over the years it has only got better. It supports all the modern features like encryption, journaling (reduce data loss), file permission, compression etc etc.
Since Windows is still the most popular desktop OS, most external HDD comes preformatted with NTFS. This means you can use them on Windows with no problem.
But on MAC, NTFS volume becomes read only i.e. you can only copy data from external HDD to your MAC but not the other way around.
Now you can always format your hard drive to FAT32/exFAT and make it compatible on both platforms or even use samba server to share file between MAC and Windows.
But, if you are going to use your external drive mostly on Windows, then it does make sense to keep NTFS and sometimes when you want to use it on MAC, use a software.
So here are three workarounds, on how to use an NTFS volume with MAC
Use NTFS Drive on MAC
#1 Terminal
Now you may not know, but modern MAC OS support NTFS volume (both read and write) However, this feature is disabled by default. Why? We will come to that later,
If you want to enable the support for NTFS, you can easily do it by editing a small file.
1. Simply insert your hard drive, in your MAC note down its drive name.
2. Now press cmd + space to launch spotlights then type in terminal and hit enter.
3. In terminal copy paste the following command.
sudo nano /etc/fstab
With this command, you are telling the super user to open the fstab file using the nano text editor. You will have to enter the login password.
4. Next, a new window will open, though you won't see anything on it. Simply paste the following command.
LABEL=DRIVE_NAME none ntfs rw,auto,nobrowse
Replace the drive name with the hard drive name. And save changes. To do that, first type CTRL + o (o for orange) to write data and CTRL + x to exit. And that's it.
5. Restart your MAC and under finder, go to the 'Go -> Go to Folder' and type in /Volumes. You will your NTFS drive.
Verdict: This is the most simple method. However, I don't prefer it, neither it's recommended by apple (and that's why it's hidden) because it's experimental and people who have tried this, reported an error. Also, since there are other solutions, why to take the risk.
#2 NTFS -3g (recommended)
This is the most popular method, and also the one I am using right now. Instead of tinkering the core system settings via terminal, you can install a free software like NTFs-3g.
The development of NTFS 3g has been stopped from a long time. But, you can still get it work by installing few extra packages.
Well precisely, you have to install 3 program one by one. I have this guide on MACbreaker, and here is the summary of the process, for details check out the original article.
First, start with fuse for OS X — this provides a framework for NTFS support.
Download it from here and install it like you normally do. Under the installation type make sure to check the 'MacFUSE Compatibility Layer'. Once done restart the system.
Second install the NTFS 3g. This is the actual software that will be responsible for providing write support to your file.
Finally, install fuse Wait. Since NTFS-3g has not been updated from 2010, you will see an error like this, when the system boots up. So it will remove that.
So basically you download all this 3 software and install them one by one in the same order. It's recommended you restart your system after every install. And once you're done, plug in your hard drive and now you can use it both read and write access.
Verdict: The good part is it's free, safe and stable. Using it for a while, never had any problem. And the bad part is, you have to install three different packages thus making it impractical if you want to try it on your friends computer.
#3 Paragon or Textra (Paid)
It's similar to NTFS-3g, but you only have to install one software. Also, since this is paid version, bugs are fixed regularly and software is more stable than NTFS-3g.
But this stability do come with a price. Paragon ($19) and Textra ($24) are expensive and comes with a license for a single computer. Though there is a trial version which you can try for free.
How To Access Flash Drive On Macbook Air
Verdict: Me personally, I didn't try their service as I had no problem with NTFS-3g. However judging from the reviews online, for professional use these are better.
Mac Flash Drive To Pc
Conclusion
Best Flash Drives For Macs
For general use, NTFS-3g is a good solution. NTFS is the most stable file system for windows and with drivers like NTFS-3g you can get it work easily on MAC.
Open Flash Drive On Mac
However, if you work with multiple MAC computers then it's not a good idea to install NTFS-3g on your friends computer. Neither is paying each time or using a terminal. So in such cases, you may want to look towards another file system like exFAT — which is like NTFS but work with both MAC and Windows.