If you have the Mac version of a Windows program (such as Microsoft Office) it will likely save files in a format that can be read by your Windows computer (it will add the correct file extension). You can then transfer the file to your Windows computer and it should open up in the program assigned to that extension. MacDisk is an indispensable tool for data exchanges between sibling applications that 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).
None of the versions of Windows operating system supports DMG format out of the box. As you likely know, DMG file is an OS X disk image file and are supported in Mac OS X operating system. One needs to take the help of third-party tools in order to open a DMG file on a PC running Windows operating system.
Those of you have spent considerable amount of time on Mac would know that the DMG is mostly used to install apps on Mac. In other words, apps that we download to install on a Mac OS X use .DMG extension and can be mounted easily by double-clicking on the file on Mac.
While there are a couple of handy options out there to open or extract a DMG file in Windows, we will share the best three tools to deal with DMG files in Windows environment.
DMG Extractor
DMG Extractor is probably the first and only tool designed exclusively to deal with DMG files on Windows OS. Since DMG Extractor is developed specially for DMG files, it can open encrypted .DMG files without having to first convert them to other formats.
Raw, Bzip2, Zlib, and Zero block type DMG files are supported by DMG Extractor. Landscape design programs for mac.
The only catch with the free version of DMG Extractor is that it can’t open DMG file of size more than 4GB but that shouldn’t be problem for most users. Dvd creation tool for mac high sierra.
Using DMG Extractor is fairly simple. After installing the software, right-click on the DMG file that you want to open and then click Open option to open the file with DMG Extractor. Alternatively, after launching DMG Extractor, click Open button and then select the DMG file to contents of the selected DMG file.
To extract a DMG file, click the Extract button and then select a location to save the contents.
HFSExplorer
Another free utility that you can install on your Windows machine to extract DMG files is HFS+ Explorer. With HFSExplorer you can open Mac-formatted disks and disk images in Windows.
While HFSExplorer is relatively easy-to-use, we must mention that it’s not as straight-forward as DMG Extractor. You need to install Java SE Runtime Environment 5.0 or above in order to run HFSExplorer and it doesn’t support all type of DMG format, including DMG UDF format.
However, on the plus side, there is no size restriction per file.
Here is how to use HFSExplorer to open DMG files
Step 1: Download and install Java SE Runtime Environment 5.0 or greater version.
Step 2: Visit this page to download HFSExplorer and run the installer to get it installed.
Step 3: Run HFSExplorer, click File menu, and click Load file system from path option to browse to the DMF file.
If you have come across a better solution to open DMG files in Windows, dos share with us in comments.
7-Zip Free
Most PC users are familiar with 7-Zip utility. If you haven’t used 7-Zip before this, it’s a free tool used to compress and uncompressed files. In addition to 7z, Zip, and RAR formats, 7-Zip also supports DMG format. However, it’s important to note that 7-Zip supports only unpacking of DMG files.
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.
Format Mac Hdd On Windows
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!
When you’re done, the drive should work on both Windows PCs and Macs with no problem.
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.
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