Apple Macs have long been able to read hard drives and SSDs formatted for Windows computers, whether exFAT, FAT32, NTFS or even MSDOS. If you own a Mac you can plug in almost any external drive from a PC into a USB or Thunderbolt port and continue working. Unfortunately, that hasn’t always been so easy the other way around.
Mac specialist OWC has been developing its MacDrive software for over 25 years. Today, it has announced a significant update to its software that makes cross-platform data sharing easier. OWC claims that MacDrive 11 Pro is the most complete, single solution for accessing Mac-formatted disks from a Windows PC or Apple’s Windows Bootcamp.
With MacDrive 11 Pro installed, there is nothing to launch or learn; the user can connect a Mac-formatted drive to a Windows PC and behave like any other disk on the system. MacDrive enables PC users to open, edit and save files directly on almost any Mac disk, including HDDs, SSD, DVDs, and CDs from any application. Users can even format, create, and delete partitions on Mac disks, allowing sharing data between computers.
With MacDrive 1 Pro, Macs and PCs can play nicely and share disks seamlessly for data transfers and running applications. Designed as a one-stop solution, MacDrive 11 Pro now supports access for all APFS or HFS+ Mac disks. Users also get to access Mac-formatted disks as quickly and efficiently as native NTFS PC disks and claims it reads almost 50% faster than other solutions.
This latest version of MacDrive 11 Pro takes data protection to another level with its support for APFS disks. Unlike other solutions, data is fully protected and should an APFS disk be unexpectedly unplugged, any existing files and data will be safe and won’t be corrupted. Along with crash protection, MacDrive also offers total support for APFS, including multi-volume APFS disks, duplicated APFS files, files included in snapshots, as well as the ability to format APFS volumes.
Because of its speed, MacDrive 11 Pro is touted as ideal for filmmakers, recording artists, IT professionals, and Windows users who need to access data speedily and seamlessly. Universal drive access means that almost any type of Mac-formatted disk can be accessed, including hard drives, DVDs, CDs and more, and enables disks sharing between Macs, PCs, iPads, and more.
Along with quick data access, MacDrive 11 Pro has a Disk Manager that offers complete management of partitions and can even be used to create new APFS and HFS+ Mac-supported volumes directly from Windows. Users can browse through Apple Time Machine backups and copy those files and folders straight to a PC. MacDrive 11 Pro can be used natively or virtually with Apple’s Boot Camp utility and virtualization software like VMware Fusion or Parallels. A Read-only option for forensic specialists also prevents changes to disks.
Pricing & Availability: MacDrive 11 Pro is available today. To purchase a new license for $49.99 or upgrade a previous license for $29.99, users can visit the OWC Software Store. Also, if you use another product to access Mac-formatted disks on a PC, you can qualify your previous purchase and crossgrade from another license for $19.99.
More info: OWC Software Store
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