Forum Discussion

AviAvn's avatar
AviAvn
Copper Contributor
Mar 17, 2026

How can I read mac drive on windows 11 pc?

I have an external hard drive from my old Mac (probably HFS+ or APFS) that I need to access on my Windows 11 PC. I just need to copy files off and I don't need to write to it. What's the current bes...
Features
Tomasstes's avatar
Tomasstes
Bronze Contributor
Mar 18, 2026

Using a Linux Live USB is an excellent solution if you want to read Mac drive on Windows PC. Mac drives typically use the APFS or HFS+ file system, which Windows does not natively support. Here's how a Linux Live USB can help:

1. Crerat a Linux Live USB: Download a Linux distribution and create a bootable USB drive.

2. Boot from the Linux Live USB: Insert the USB into your Windows PC and restart, then select the USB as the boot device in your BIOS or boot menu.

3. Access the Mac Drive: Once Linux loads, you can open the file manager. Linux has built-in support for HFS+ and some versions support APFS.

For HFS+ formatted drives, Linux can typically read and write files directly.

For APFS, you might need to install specific tools, but read-only support is more common, and write support may be limited.

4. Read Mac drive on Windows : Using Linux Live USB enables you to access and read Mac drive contents seamlessly, even if Windows cannot recognize the file system natively.

This approach is safe and doesn't modify your existing data or OS. It's an effective way to recover or move files from Mac drive on Windows PC using a Linux Live USB.