What if your MacBook‘s startup disk gets corrupt, and you don’t have another Mac to install recovery software and recover your data? Instead, you have a Windows OS with you.
At first, you may be in a deadlock as you can’t boot into your Mac and recover data using a Mac recovery software but only have a Windows computer at your disposal. Don’t worry; this post shares 3 ways you can recover data from a Mac hard drive to Windows PC.
There are 3 methods to recover data from a Mac hard drive on a Windows PC:
- Stellar Toolkit for Data Recovery
- Cloud services
- Time Machine
Why You May Need to Recover Data from Mac Hard Drive to PC?
There can be several situations where you may need to recover data from a Mac hard drive on a Windows PC. Here are some common scenarios:
- Hardware failure
- Corrupted macOS
- Accidental Mac formatting
- Physical damage
How to Recover Files from Mac on Windows using Data Recovery Software
I. Recover Data using Stellar Toolkit for Data Recovery
The first thing you need to get started is to download Stellar Toolkit for Data Recovery on Windows after successfully connecting your Mac hard drive to a Windows PC. Next, follow the below steps:
- Launch the Stellar Toolkit Data Recovery on your Windows. Go to Recover Data.
- Select All Data to recover all types of lost or inaccessible file types. Otherwise, customize your scan.
- Select the connected and listed Mac HFS/HFS+ volume under the Select Location window. Then press Scan.
- Let the software run a full Scan on your Mac's HFS drive. After the scan process, the software will list the recovered files on the left side of the interface.
- Select the files you want to recover and click Recover.
Alt: Stellar Toolkit Data Recovery > Recover Data
Note: You need to activate the software to save the recoverable data.
It's important to note that the effectiveness of the recovery process depends on the state of the Mac hard drive and the extent of the data loss. It is recommended to perform the recovery process after the data loss incident as soon as possible to maximize the chances of successful recovery.
II. Restore Data from Mac to Windows PC using the Cloud Services
If you have synced your Mac with an iCloud, you may access your iCloud Drive from a Windows PC. Here is how:
- Open any web browser on your computer and go to iCloud.com.
Alt: iCloud web-page
- Enter the email and password for your Apple ID and click the arrow icon to get into your iCloud account.
Alt: iCloud sign-in page
- Now, go to the iCloud dashboard.
- Click the iCloud Drive icon and download any files you need.
Alt: Select Drive folder
How to Recover Files from Mac Hard Drive to PC using Time Machine?
If you have used Time Machine to take a backup before your drive started acting up, you can connect the Time Machine drive to a Windows PC (remember to ignore or cancel any formatting prompts). But you'll need specific tools such as MacDrive and Paragon HFS+ to open the Mac backup drive and get to the data.
Wrapping Up
Data recovery from a Mac hard drive on a Windows PC can be done using several methods. You can retrieve your crucial files and docs effectively by following the procedures described in this article and using reliable data recovery software like Stellar Toolkit for Data Recovery. Please ensure that the procedure is handled with utmost care and that a backup of your data is always available to prevent any potential data loss occurrences.
About The Author
Santosh Kumar Gupta 
Data recovery expert on Mac & Windows platforms, with 10-year experience in writing
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