What Is HFS+ | HFS+ vs. APFS, HFS+ vs. exFAT

What IS HFS+

HFS+ The file system used on all Macs since 1998 is HFS+, which is used on all mechanical and hybrid drives. macOS Older versions of macOS use HFS+ by default for all drives, but it was replaced by APFS in newer versions. HFS+ is a file system that was introduced as an upgrade to the original Hierarchical File System (HFS) when Apple released macOS 8.1. It is still used on older Macs. Mac OS Extended (Journaled) .

HFS+ vs. HFS

HFS+ supports much larger files and is more compatible compared to its predecessor HFS.

HFS+ Structures

An HFS+ volume consists of nine main structures:

• The Volume Header stores essential information about a volume, including its creation date, file number, and other relevant details. This section provides a concise summary of the volume's metadata, allowing users to quickly identify and manage their data.
• Allocation File: A data structure used to track the availability of memory blocks, indicating whether each block is used or free.
• Catalog File: describes the file structure on a volume.
• Attributes File: B-tree with additional fork information.
• Extents Overflow File: B-The catalog file does not store the rest of the extents for a tree, so a separate mechanism is needed to manage them. This is done through a separate data structure, such as a linked list or an array, that keeps track of the extents for each tree.
• Startup File: to start up non-Mac computers.
• The Alternate Volume Header is the equivalent of the HFS Alternate Master Directory Block. It contains information about the alternate volume, such as its name, size, and location on the disk.
• Boot Blocks: identical to the boot blocks found in HFS.
• Apple's Last sector is reserved for use during the computer manufacturing process. It's not used for storing data.

HFS+ Features

To summarize, the main features of the HFS+ format are:

Efficient use of disk space: Having more allocation blocks means a smaller block size, especially on larger volumes, which reduces average wasted space and allows for more files as the available space can be more finely distributed among multiple files.

International-friendly file names: HFS+ uses Unicode to store file names, allowing up to 255 characters, which makes setting descriptive words as file names easier, and long computer-generated names more advantageous.

Future support for named forks: HFS+, which is a file system, has an attribute file to store additional information for files. This data remains with the file even when it's moved or renamed, and is only deleted when the file itself is deleted.

Ease booting on non-macOS operating systems: HFS+ has a particular startup file as an unstructured fork, which can be found easily during system startup. This makes it handy on macOS or other OS that don't have HFS/HFS+ support in ROM. It generalizes the HFS boot blocks in many respects, providing a more extensive, variable-sized storage.

HFS+ for Windows, HFS+ for Mac, HFS+ for Linux

HFS+ HFS+ format files can be read and written on all Mac OS computers since macOS 8.1, but Windows requires third-party software to recognize them, and Linux can only read them. The main advantages of HFS+ include.

• Using Unicode characters for naming items instead of Mac OS Roman or other character sets allows for a more comprehensive and consistent representation of names, especially those containing non-English characters. This approach helps to avoid character set limitations, ensures that names are displayed correctly, and promotes inclusivity by accommodating a broader range of languages and cultural backgrounds.
• Using B-trees to store most volume metadata.
• Supporting hard links to directories.
• Permitting file names up to 255 characters in length.
• Using a full 32-bit allocation mapping table rather than HFS's 16 bits.
• Improving the use of space on large disks.

Apple launched macOS High Sierra in 2017 and replaced HFS+ with APFS, a more modern and secure file system. APFS In 2016, Apple introduced the Apple File System, a disk format optimized for solid-state drives (SSDs), but HFS+ remains a widely used disk format on Macs.

Since using the APFS disk as a Time Machine backup drive is not allowed, and formatting the disk to the HFS+ file system is a viable option, it is a considerable choice.

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HFS+ vs. APFS

Apple File System (APFS) is the default file system in macOS High Sierra, offering improved performance and features over HFS/HFS+, including enhanced security, snapshotting, and more efficient use of solid-state drives and flash memory.

• APFS is faster in copying and pasting a folder because it points to the same data twice, making the process instantaneous.
• APFS improvements to metadata allow for quick determination of how much space a folder occupies on the drive.
• APFS has undergone many reliability improvements, resulting in fewer instances of corrupted files and other issues.

macOS Sierra was the first operating system to support APFS, but it's not compatible with older Macs or Windows PCs. This means APFS-formatted drives can't be written to by Macs with older operating systems, and Windows PCs can't read or write to either APFS or Mac OS Extended drives.

APFS isn't compatible with Time Machine, so backup drives need to be formatted as HFS+, making it difficult to recover files from an APFS drive with Time Machine.

HFS+ vs. exFAT

Microsoft created the exFAT format in 2006 to provide cross-platform compatibility with the older FAT32 format, allowing drives to work with both Windows and macOS computers without file and partition size limitations.

exFAT isn't optimized and is more prone to file fragmentation than APFS or HFS+, but it's readable and writable by both Windows and macOS computers.

The difference between HFS+ and exFAT are as follows:

HFS+ files cannot be read or written on a Windows PC, but a third-party software like Apple HFS+ Drivers can be installed to enable HFS+ format use on Windows.

HFS/HFS+ Data Recovery

On Macs, HFS or HFS+ is the most widely used disk format for storing important data and files. However, users may risk losing data in certain situations, such as accidentally deleting HFS/HFS+ files or experiencing corruption of the HFS/HFS+ partition.

If you're unable to recover data from your Mac's Trash or Time Machine, a data recovery software like Deep Data Recovery for Mac can be used to recover data from HFS/HFS+ partitions.

After downloading and opening Qiling data recovery software on your Mac, you can easily recover lost data from the HFS/HFS+ partition where it was stored. The process is straightforward and can be completed in just a few steps, making it accessible even to those without extensive computer experience. Simply follow the prompts to locate and recover your lost data.

Step 1. To recover data from an HFS/HFS+ partition, identify the partition you want to recover and select the "Scan" option to initiate a scan for lost data. This will allow you to locate and potentially recover your lost files.

Step 2. To recover lost data, view the result of scanning and select the lost data you want to recover.

Step 3. Click "Recover" to save the lost data from the HFS/HFS+ partition to a secure location on your Mac's hard drive.

Conclusion

HFS+ is a file system developed for Mac, first released in 1998, and is also known as Mac OS Extended. It has been compatible with all Mac computers since macOS 8.1. However, HFS+ is not compatible with Windows, which cannot read or write this file system, and Linux can only read it.

On a Windows PC, using the HFS+ format requires installing third-party software, while on a Mac, HFS+ remains the popular disk format, having been replaced by Apple File System (APFS) in 2017.

HFS+ FAQs

If you have an HFS+ partition on your Mac, you might be wondering what HFS+ is and whether you can use an HFS+ formatted USB drive on a Windows PC. HFS+ is a file system used by Macs, and while it's not natively supported by Windows, you can still use an HFS+ formatted USB drive on a Windows PC with the help of third-party software or by formatting the drive to a Windows-compatible file system like NTFS.

1. Is HFS+ the same as Mac OS Extended?

Mac OS Extended, also known as HFS+, was the default file system for Mac drives from 1998 until macOS High Sierra, when it was replaced by APFS on mechanical and hybrid drives.

2. What is the use of HFS+?

HFS+ is a file system developed by Apple Inc. to manage and organize files on Mac OS.

3. Can Windows read HFS+?

Windows can't natively read or write HFS+ format, but installing third-party software can allow it to read HFS+ format.

4. Which is better, NTFS or HFS+?

NTFS is commonly used on Windows systems, internal and external hard drives, while HFS+ is used on Mac OS for USB drives and Fusion drives.

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