How to Recover Data from Mac Hard Drive to Windows PC

Users may need to recover data from a Mac hard drive to a PC. Understanding how to transfer and restore data safely is helpful. This tutorial will show you how to recover data from a Mac hard drive to a PC while maintaining the security and accessibility of your files.

Moving the data to the PC is preferable if you change your device or OS of the old Mac. With several migration assistants and techniques, you can effortlessly move your data, including contacts, calendars, email accounts, and more, from your Windows PC to the appropriate location on your Mac. 

This guide will show you how to recover data from a Mac hard drive to a PC quickly and securely.

When You Recover Data from a Mac Hard Drive to PC...

Data from your Mac hard drive may be dangerous to transfer to a PC for various reasons. The intricacy of data transfer from Mac to PC arises from these factors:

• Windows and macOS support different file systems
• Internal drives transport files in a different way than external drives
• Applications Mac provides are incompatible with Windows devices

If your Mac's hard drive breaks down, data recovery becomes vital. Retaining your files will help you stay productive and prevent data loss. A seamless transition between devices depends on your capacity to recover and transmit files, whether documents, images, or other crucial data.

Recover Data from a Mac HDD to a PC with Data Recovery Software

Data loss occurs in several scenarios when files are transferred from a Mac hard drive to a PC. For instance, the Windows operating system could ask you to format an incompatible disk when you attach it to a computer. Unfortunately, if you're not experienced, it's straightforward to confirm the prompt by mistake. 

Directly recovering data from a Mac hard drive to a PC is a little more complicated because Windows does not handle Apple's file systems natively. Thankfully, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac can directly recover files from Windows HFS+ and APFS devices.

EaseUS recovery software facilitates retrieving data from your Mac HDD, recovering it to a PC, and storing it in iCloud or another device.

⚠️Remember: EaseUS has two versions and can automatically identify your computer. If you are using a Mac, download it and scan the HDD. If you are using a Windows computer, connect the Mac hard drive to this computer and select the external drive when scanning. When the formatting instructions occur, ignore or cancel them and connect your Mac disk to your PC.

Step 1. Scan for lost data on the fusion drive

Select the Fusion Drive partition where you lost data and files. Click the "Search for lost files" button. If you don't know which partition is the fusion drive, click the "search from your disk" anchor text to check the partition name.

Step 2. Find lost files after the scan

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac will immediately scan your Fusion disk partition and display the scanning results. You can filter the files through the file type and path.

Step 3. Recover files on the fusion drive

In the scan results, select the file(s) to preview. Then, click the "Recover" button to get them back.

Many Mac users have proved the tool's efficacy. If you want to resolve the Mac file recovery issue, share it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms!

Recover Data from Mac Hard Drive to PC Using iCloud

Data synchronization between two or more machines is possible for those who utilize cloud services like Google Drive or iCloud.

Thus, you can save files and folders in iCloud and access them from any Windows PC or iPhone device. Updates to a file on one device are automatically synchronized with other devices, keeping files current across all.

Every Apple ID comes with 5 GB of free iCloud storage by default. You can always spend a small amount to purchase additional cloud storage. One of its biggest features is that you can access your iCloud backup from anywhere.

Installing iCloud on a Mac or Windows computer generates a unique folder. You can recover whatever data you share from a Mac hard drive and transfer it to a PC in that folder. All cloud clients offer a "synchronization" option, so any files you save to that folder on your Mac will also be accessible on your Windows computer.

Recover from Mac Hard Drive to PC Using File Sharing Option

You can move data from your Mac computer to a Windows computer using the built-in sharing feature on the Mac. The program is simple to use; to get started with the sharing procedure, follow these steps:

Step 1. On your Mac device, open System Preferences.

Step 2. Navigate to "General" > "Share".

Step 3. To activate the feature, move the File Sharing bar, enable the Share files and folders using the SMB function, and click Options.

Step 4. Choose the desired PC under Windows File Sharing, then click Done to proceed.

Step 5. Recall the IP address adjacent to the file sharing regarding status.

Format to exFAT to Recover Data from Mac Hard Drive to PC

Using an external disk formatted correctly is the main method of recovering files from your Mac to your PC (or USB flash drive). Therefore, if your drive is clean, you can format it first, export the necessary files from your Mac, and then open it on your PC.

In order for Windows and macOS to recognize an external disk, it must be formatted as exFAT or FAT32. The most effective approach to formatting your drive is to use Disk Utility. Here's how to use Disk Utility to format an external disk on your Mac:

Step 1. Connect the USB flash disk to the Mac and launch Disk Utility by opening Launchpad from the Dock.

Step 2. On the sidebar, select the name of your external drive.

Step 3. Press the "Erase" button. Enter the drive's name and choose the exFAT format when a new window appears.

Step 4. If you're utilizing an external physical disk rather than an external physical volume, select the GUID Partition Map from the Scheme options.

Step 5. To begin the formatting procedure, click Erase.

You can now proceed with recovering your files after formatting your drive. Follow these steps:

• Connect your flash drive or external device to your Mac.
• Open the drive. Choose "File" > "New Folder" from the top menu. After giving your folder whatever name you like, type it in and press "Return".
• Export the necessary files to the external drive by hand-selecting them. To export every folder containing files, open the Finder, press and hold the Command key, then click on the necessary folders to pick them. Next, use the side menu to drag them to your external disk.
• After exporting all the necessary data, use the Eject icon in Finder to remove your external disk.

Then you can then connect the drive to your PC and recover data.

Conclusion

Multiple methods exist for recovering or recovering data from a Mac hard drive to a Windows PC, even though their file systems are incompatible. Some techniques require extra supplies or planning.

Each approach has advantages and disadvantages. For example, data recovery software is particularly good at recovering deleted or lost files; cloud storage is convenient and accessible; the file sharing option allows for a direct link, and external drives are great for recovering big amounts of data. Always put data security first by skipping formatting prompts and making a backup copy of all your key information before making significant recovers.

Recover Data from Mac Hard Drive to PC FAQs

If you still have some questions about MacBook data recovery, check the quick answers below to help yourself out:

1. How to recover deleted files from a Mac hard drive?

Take the following actions to retrieve deleted files from an external hard disk on a Mac.

Step 1. Download, set up, and start the Mac version of EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard.

Step 2. Link your PC and external drive together.

Step 3. From the disk list, choose the external drive.

Step 4. Select "Scan" from the menu. Take a look at the recoverable files. To recover deleted files from an external hard drive on a Mac, click the "Recover" button. 

2. Can you recover a formatted hard drive?

You certainly can. All of the data on a hard drive that has been formatted on a Mac using a fast format can be recovered. You can use hard drive recovery software to unformat the hard drive and retrieve lost contents, provided newly added data does not overwrite the deleted items.