Access HFS / HFS+ partitions from Windows

Access HFS / HFS+ partitions from Windows

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HFS and HFS+ are the journaling file systems used by Mac OS. The original version, HFS (Hierarchical File System), was replaced with HFS+ (also known as HFS Extended, or HFS Plus) since Mac OS 8.1. HFS+ provide better compatibility and supports much larger files and drives. In 2017, Apple released macOS High Sierra, and introduced a new file system, APFS (Apple File System). Nevertheless, due to its compatibility, HFS+ is still a popular disc format for mac systems.

Windows doesn't suppor HFS, HFS+, or APFS file system. In order to access files in such file systems, you need install third-party software. You can also use PowerISO to access the files in HFS, HFS+, or APFS partitions. Please follow the steps,

Connect the drive containing HFS or HFS+ partitions to the computer. The drive can be connected through USB port, internal SATA / IDE surface, and etc.
Run PowerISO, and choose "Files > Open USB drive / hard drive..." menu.

PowerISO shows "Open USB drive / hard drive" dialog. You need confirm UAC dialog box to continue.

Select the correct drive from the drive list. The detailed information of the drive shows in the dialog, such as capacity, sector size, total sectors, and etc..

Click "OK" button in the dialog.

A dialog box will open showing all partitions in the selected drive. The partition type column shows HFS or HFS+ for the partition. You can select the desired partition from the list and click "Open" button to open the selected partition.

PowerISO will open the selected partition in the drive and list all files in the partition. To extract files in the HFS or HFS+ partition, select the files in the list, and click "Extract" button. If no item is selected, all files in the partition will be extracted.

The "Extract" dialog will open. Enter the extract destination folder, and press "OK" button to start extraction.

PowerISO will start extracting selected files and folders. You can access extracted files after the extraction completes. If the option "Open the folder after extraction" is checked, PowerISO will automatically open the destination folder when the extraction completes.

You can also access files in other partitions. Simply click the arrow icon on the bottom left corner of the window, and select the desired partition from the popup menu, PowerISO will then show files in the selected partition.