OWC launches MacDrive 11 to bring APFS support to Windows users

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in macOS

OWC has launched the latest version of their MacDrive software that helps bring the SSD-centric APFS support to Windows PC users.

MacDrive 11 Pro
MacDrive 11 Pro



Available to download now, MacDrive 11 is a substantial update that brings Apple File System (APFS) support alongside the existing HSF+ support to users of Windows. It includes both full read and write capabilities.

Other APFS benefits tag along such as APFS crash protection, multi-platform APFS discs, APFS formatting, and more. OWC says users can even browse Time Machine backups from their Windows-based PC.

OWC MacDrive 11 Pro used to access APFS drives on PC
OWC MacDrive 11 Pro used to access APFS drives on PC



MacDrive 11 is available now with a new license running $49.99 or users can upgrade a previous license for $29.99. Currently, OWC is offering users of competing software to access Mac-formatted drives on PC the ability to crossgrade the license for $19.99.

A full-featured five-day free trial is available too.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,703member
    One of Apple's biggest strategic errors was never offering HFS and HFS+ support for other platforms.

    That brought headache after headache back in the day, and the need to purchase third party solutions. 

    Not only in cross platform environments but also for anyone with occasional needs to read and write to a native formatted Mac drive. 

    Now, in the age of networked and cloud storage it is less of an issue but, wow, back then it was horrible. 
    jony0
  • Reply 2 of 7
    dominikhoffmanndominikhoffmann Posts: 73member
    I am wondering, whether this product will forever be hampered by Apple’s limited release of information about APFS. It is not an open-source specification, much less something that has been made into an industry standard.
  • Reply 3 of 7
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,728member
    avon b7 said:
    One of Apple's biggest strategic errors was never offering HFS and HFS+ support for other platforms.

    That brought headache after headache back in the day, and the need to purchase third party solutions. 

    Not only in cross platform environments but also for anyone with occasional needs to read and write to a native formatted Mac drive. 

    Now, in the age of networked and cloud storage it is less of an issue but, wow, back then it was horrible. 
    Right, because Microsoft was always so open with supporting their technologies on other platforms back then.
    macxpresswatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 7
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,703member
    auxio said:
    avon b7 said:
    One of Apple's biggest strategic errors was never offering HFS and HFS+ support for other platforms.

    That brought headache after headache back in the day, and the need to purchase third party solutions. 

    Not only in cross platform environments but also for anyone with occasional needs to read and write to a native formatted Mac drive. 

    Now, in the age of networked and cloud storage it is less of an issue but, wow, back then it was horrible. 
    Right, because Microsoft was always so open with supporting their technologies on other platforms back then.
    Who was in more need of compatibility? 

    It definitely wasn't Microsoft. 

    Apple had to battle and scrape to get anywhere once the desktop publishing market was viable on Windows. 

    Being a Mac user in a Windows world was hard enough as it was without Apple stubbornly refusing to make things easier with pitifully cheap solutions open to it. It would have been so damn easy to do. 

    The same applied to firmware for graphics cards. 

    The same applied to supporting .avi files in QuickTime.

    They were all situations that made life unnecessarily difficult for users.

    tokyojimuFileMakerFellerjony0
  • Reply 5 of 7
    colinngcolinng Posts: 116member
    Is it a re-badged Paragon Software APFS for Windows https://www.paragon-software.com/home/apfs-windows/?
  • Reply 6 of 7
    jony0jony0 Posts: 378member
    avon b7 said:
    auxio said:
    avon b7 said:
    One of Apple's biggest strategic errors was never offering HFS and HFS+ support for other platforms.

    That brought headache after headache back in the day, and the need to purchase third party solutions. 

    Not only in cross platform environments but also for anyone with occasional needs to read and write to a native formatted Mac drive. 

    Now, in the age of networked and cloud storage it is less of an issue but, wow, back then it was horrible. 
    Right, because Microsoft was always so open with supporting their technologies on other platforms back then.
    Who was in more need of compatibility? 

    It definitely wasn't Microsoft. 

    Apple had to battle and scrape to get anywhere once the desktop publishing market was viable on Windows. 

    Being a Mac user in a Windows world was hard enough as it was without Apple stubbornly refusing to make things easier with pitifully cheap solutions open to it. It would have been so damn easy to do. 

    The same applied to firmware for graphics cards. 

    The same applied to supporting .avi files in QuickTime.

    They were all situations that made life unnecessarily difficult for users.

    Agreed. I had carry on USB Drives & SSDs formatted in ExFAT just in case I needed to grab some documents on Windows on the fly.
  • Reply 7 of 7
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,326moderator
    colinng said:
    Is it a re-badged Paragon Software APFS for Windows https://www.paragon-software.com/home/apfs-windows/?
    Paragon is a competitor product, they have feature comparison to Paragon on their site:

    https://www.macdrive.com
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