The reader itself is similar to the Kindle app in appearance, with one-click (or tap) buttons for changing font size, color theme (day, night, or sepia), and viewing the table of contents.
Presentation
MacDisk is an utility for reading, writing and formatting Apple Macintoshmagnetic media on an IBM compatible PC, without any hardware modification ofthe computer and without any add-on.
MacDisk is a 32-bit application and runs under all recent versions of Windows(Vista and 7/8 included, even 64 bits).
Supported Media
- HD (High Density) floppy disks (1.44 MB),
- Plain hard disks without any capacity limit (see also our page onDisk Interfaces and on Hugedisks). Caution, Thunderbolt disks are not supported yet.
- CD-ROMs, pure HFS, hybrid (HFS/ISO 9660) and evenISO 9660 CD-ROMs with Apple extensions
- DVD-ROMs, which are in fact just huge CD-ROMs
- Iomega Zip cartridges, 100 and 250 MB
- Iomega Jaz removable disks, 1 and 2 GB
- External hard disks connected on the USB or FireWire (IEEE 1394) bus
- SyQuest cartridges, all capacities
- Bernoulli disks, all capacities
- USB media (keys, drives, token)
- Magneto-optical cartridges of 128 and 230 MB (3.5') and of 300, 350, 600, 650 MB (5.25').
Macintosh CD-ROMs are managed as read-only volumes. If you want to createMacintosh CD-ROMs or DVD-ROMs on your PC, please checkMacImage.
All kinds of Zip cartridges are supported(be it on SCSI bus, on USB bus, on IDE/ATAPI bus or on the parallel port).
Under Windows 2000 and higher, we don't use the Aspi layer any more, but a servicelaunched under the local system. See the MacDisk datasheet and the Lsdiorw page.
File System Compatibility
MacDisk manage the old HFS volumes (classical magnetic Macintosh media)and the recent HFS+format (also called Extended Mac OS, journalled or not).
MacDisk, when launched from a Windows partition created by the boot managerBootcamp on a Macintosh with Intel processor, can access the Macintosh partitionto copy files back and forth.
Why MacDisk?
MacDisk is aimed at all users needing to exchange data files between theMacintosh and the PC.
MacDisk is an indispensable tool for data exchanges between sibling applicationsthat exist in both Macintosh and PC (Windows) versions, like MS-Word, MS-Excel,PageMaker, Quark Xpress as well as transfering compatible data formats (Ascii,graphical files).
To get a better understanding of MacDisk features, you can download theHelp File.
MacDisk Version 8.0
MacDisk is a 32-bit program. The latest version for Windows 2000 and higher addsmany new functions: it now supports all CD-ROM drives (SCSI, USB, IDE/ATAPI),all kinds of CD-ROMs (HFS, HFS+, hybrid, even multi-session ones). The 32-bitversion is much faster than former ones. For an example, a 80-MB file is copiedfrom the CD-ROM drive to the hard disk in less than a minute!
More, the new interface offers an Explorer bar to navigate the Macintosh volumeand a listview which allows to sort the items according to the name, to the type,to the data or resource length, to the creation/modification date and to thesignature.
This feature is very interesting, for an example if you get an USB token withboth Word and Excel files. A sort according to the signature will allow you tocopy selectively the Word files in a specific subfolder and the Excel files inanother one. Likewise, if you do DTP, you'll be able to copy selectively theTiff pictures, the EPS files and the layouts.
See our Preview Page on its newfeatures and its new user interface (with numerous screen captures).
And What About DD Floppy Disks?
MacDisk cannot read Apple Macintosh DD (400 KB or 800 KB) floppy disks.Apple chose to implement the GCR coding (Group Coded Recording) witha variable spindle speed to squeeze more data on the outer tracks of the medium.There are no software solutions to mimic that on the PC, and the existing hardware solutions become more and more of 'historical nature' (Central Point Option Board DeLuxe, Apple external floppy drive connected to a MicroSolution controller).
However, I recently learned that one of those cards is still available: theCatweasel board can read DD imageswith a normal PC-floppy (connected to it) as well as many other formats.
For the time being, the only practical solutions is to find a working Macintoshwith a floppy drive to copy the files onto another floppy (HD) or anothermedium.
MacDisk Features
MacDisk manages the Macintosh signatures and addsa corresponding extension to the files copied from the Mac to the PC.Conversely, MacDisk gives a signature to the files copied on the Macintoshvolume to make 'double-clickable' icons. The lookup table is freely editable(with the SignEdit utility).
MacDisk is a low-level disk utility and not a conversion program. It doesn'tmodify the contents of the files (to avoid yet another source of problems). Itis bundled with MacText, a little text converteraimed at some Macintosh text formats.
Cross-Platform Compatibility
Most big applications existing on both platforms open the files created onthe other platform. That is, Word for Windows opens Word Mac files. This holdstrue also for Excel, PageMaker, Xpress and many others. See ourHints & Tips for more information about convertingand transferring data files between Macintosh and PC.
Font Transfers
From version 4.5, MacDisk offers certain features to transfer and convertfont files between the Macintosh and the PC.
How to Buy MacDisk?
Please see our Price list and ourOn-line Order Desk. The on-line order processing isdone on a secure server (SSL) and offers all the security you want and need (inparticular, your credit card information never travels on unsecured links).
As soon as your credit card is charged, you are redirected to the downloading page,where you can download the full version of the program. A confirmation messageis also sent by email with a downloading link.
If you encounter problems, don't hesitate to write us, we'll answer as soon aspossible to help you.
To Go Further...
- Download a demo package to check yourself whatthe program may do for you
- Testimonials Page (a few sentences may say itbetter than thousand words...
Updates and Upgrades
If you're a registered user of one of our products (including our discontinuedproducts MacCD, MacSQ orMacScuzzy), see our Upgrade &Update Page. We also offer a competitive upgrade for users of similarproducts.
Windows can’t normally read Mac-formatted drives, and will offer to erase them instead. But third-party tools fill the gap and provide access to drives formatted with Apple’s HFS+ file system on Windows. This also allows you to restore Time Machine backups on Windows.
If you know you’re going to use a drive on both Mac and Windows, you should use the exFAT file system, which is compatible with both. But if you didn’t foresee that, you may have formatted your drive with Apple’s HFS Plus, which Windows can’t read by default. In fact, some manufacturers sell “Mac” drives pre-formatted with this Mac-only file system.
Don’t Format the Drive! (Yet)
When you connect a Mac-formatted drive to Windows, you’ll be informed that “you need to format the disk in drive X: before you can use it.” Don’t click the “Format disk” button or Windows will erase the contents of the drive–click “Cancel”!
This message appears because Windows doesn’t understand Apple’s HFS+ file system. That’s fine, because other applications do. Just don’t format the drive until you get the important files off the drive.
Of course, if the drive doesn’t have any important files on it, you can go ahead and format it. But be absolutely sure there’s nothing you need before you do.
Option One: HFSExplorer Is Free and Basic
RELATED:How to Restore Files From a Time Machine Backup on Windows
If you only need to get a couple files off the drive, we recommend HFSExplorer. It’s the only completely free way to access a Mac-formatted drive. It does require Java, however, so you’ll have to install that first. Then, install HFSExplorer like you would any other Windows program.
HFSExplorer isn’t fancy, though, and doesn’t have a lot of features. You can’t use it to write to Mac-formatted drives, and it doesn’t install a file system driver that integrates into File Explorer. But you can open HFSExplorer, read a Mac-formatted drive, and copy the files to your Windows PC without paying a dime. It can also mount Mac .dmg disk images to get at the files inside them.
This application’s read-only nature isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It ensures that no bug in the third-party driver can damage your Mac-formatted drive and the files on it. You can set read-only mode in other applications, too–but, if you’re not going to use their write support, there’s less reason to pay for them.
To use HFSExplorer, connect your Mac-formatted drive to your Windows PC and launch HFSExplorer. Click the “File” menu and select “Load File System From Device.” It will automatically locate the connected drive, and you can load it. You’ll see the contents of the HFS+ drive in the graphical window. Just select the files or folders you want, click “Extract,” and choose a folder. They’ll be copied to the location you choose on your PC.
Option Two: Paragon HFS+ is $20, But Offers Write Access and Better Integration
Paragon’s HFS+ for Windows is a bit fancier, but it’ll cost you. This tool installs a file system driver that allows you to access a Mac-formatted drive like any other drive in File Explorer, or any other Windows application with an open or save dialog. It boasts improved speed, and we wouldn’t be surprised if it were faster than HFSExplorer. And, unlike HFSExplorer, it offers full read/write access to Mac-formatted drives, so you can write to them from within Windows. Just install it, and Mac drives will show up like any other drive.
If you need to work with Mac-formatted drives on a regular basis and you want the operating system integration, speed, and write access, Paragon HFS+ is a great choice and will be worth it for you. But, if you just need to get some files off a Mac-formatted drive occasionally, this is overkill and you can save $20 by sticking with HFSExplorer.
Paragon does offer a 10-day free trial of HFS+ for Windows, so you can give it a try and see if it works for you. And, if you just need to get files off of a Mac-formatted drive once, you can just use the trial and be done with the application by the time it expires.
Option Three: Mediafour MacDrive Costs $50 to $70, But Includes More Features
Mediafour’s MacDrive is similar to Paragon’s HFS+ for Windows, but with more features and polish. It’s noticeably more expensive than Paragon HFS+ too, at $50 for the Standard version and $70 for the Pro version.
For most people, this software won’t really be worth it. But it offers a few unique features, like support for Mac-formatted RAID disks. It also offers a graphical interface with support for verifying, repairing, and formatting Mac-formatted drives. Paragon’s HFS+ gets out of your way and doesn’t provide a graphical interface–it just enables access to HFS+ drives in File Explorer and other applications.
If you need all these tools, go for it–this is the most full-featured solution for working with Mac-formatted drives on Windows. But you probably don’t need all these tools.
Mediafour does offer a 5-day free trial of MacDrive–both the Standard and Pro versions–so you can give it a try and see if those features are worth it for you.
Option Four: Format the Drive as exFAT–But Warning, This Will Erase Your Data!
RELATED:What’s the Difference Between FAT32, exFAT, and NTFS?
Once you’ve gotten all the data off the Mac-formatted drive, you’ll probably want to format it with the exFAT file system. Both Windows and Mac OS X have full read-write support for exFAT drives without any additional third-party software. FAT32 has some serious limitations–individual files can only be up to 4GB in size each, for example–but exFAT doesn’t.
Rather than use a Mac-formatted drive, you should get the important files off of it and use exFAT-formatted drives for moving data between Macs and PCs.
To format the drive in Windows, right-click it in the File Explorer window and select “Format.” Choose the “exFAT” file system in the list and click “Start.” Remember, this will erase all the files on the drive! Be absolutely sure you have your files off the drive and that you’ve selected the correct drive you want to format!
Mac Reader For Windows 10 Theme
When you’re done, the drive should work on both Windows PCs and Macs with no problem.
Mac Reader For Windows 10 64 Bit
By the way, this works great for Windows users too–Macs can’t natively write to the Windows NTFS file system, although they can read files from NTFS drives. So no matter what your primary platform, exFAT is probably the way to go.
READ NEXTMac Reader For Windows 10 Download
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