Yes, windows in frustrating, but not for this. Macs use a Mac-specific format for DMG files which are really only intended to be used on Macs and Windows can't natively read it. Right-click the DMG file in Windows Explorer and select Extract. Extract the file to a safe location and wait for it to complete. Open the folder 7-Zip created to browse the contents. Although this won’t help you do much with the content within the drive, you can use 7-Zip to view the content within the disk image itself. Below are the methods through which we can easily read DMG files on Windows. Using 7-Zip Free Utility to Open & View DMG files in Windows. 7-Zip is a free software that can be used for multiple compression works. Apart from compressing files, it can open DMG files on Windows. Follow these steps to view DMG files on Windows. Open macOS DMG files on Windows. Extract any file from a DMG archive in just a few clicks. 30 day money back guarantee Expert support for 1 year.
Are you looking for a method to view DMG files in Windows? If so, you are at just right place. In this write-up, a user will get the right know-how on how to open DMG Files in Windows OS. But, before this, let us get a brief introduction of what DMG files are.
DMG files are nothing but Mac-formatted disk image files. These types of files are generally equipped for installing applications on Mac systems however, they can contain any type of file. For a fact, we know that opening DMG files on Mac are extremely easy by double-clicking it. But things do become complex when one tries opening disk image files in Windows. Hence, let us learn the simple steps to understand the process. We will throw lights on three different methods here to achieve our target.
Two Ways to View DMG File in Windows OS
Method #1
Using Mac: Follow the below-mentioned steps to view a DMG file.
- Double-click the .dmg file. This will open a new finder dialog box, showing all the contents (such as image, documents, programs, etc.) of the file.
- Click on iZip folder if, one is working on Windows OS. Now, install programs from disk image file by dragging them to the Application folder.
- Note that certain files may have an installer. In such case, run the installer instead of dragging the files.
- After file browsing and installing the program, unmount disk image from the system by right-clicking virtual disk, not the real one and then, select Eject.
- However, keep in mind that as more programs will start occupying space in storage, keep on cleaning the space by dragging old DMG files into the trash folder.
Method #2
By DMG Viewer Tool: Follow the below-mentioned steps to open a DMG file in Windows OS.
SysTools DMG Viewer is an outstanding tool used to view .dmg files on Windows based platform. It is capable to read even damaged, encrypted, password protected, corrupted disk image files with absolute ease. For the aid of a user, this tool also gives extraction option to users for Image, HTML, EML, EMLX, MBOX, etc. The tool even assures recovery of permanently deleted Apple Mac image files. It is also compatible with all versions of Windows Operating System. It is an all-rounder tool for opening and viewing DMG files with ease.
For opening DMG Files in Windows 10 and below versions, just go through these steps to view DMG file.
1. Download and launch DMG Viewer tool. Click Scan option to select the dismounted Mac hard disk image files.
2. In the next window that appears, perform the following operations. Once done, click on Browse option.
- Mark All option to recover every file or mark Select File Types option to extract and preview desired dmg files.
- Mark File option to load single file and Folder option to load a bunch of files at once.
3. Select the desired Apple-formatted disk image files to be opened and then, click on the Open option.
4. Then, click on hyperlink Preview to preview the desired item.
5. After this, the preview window will appear in different view tabs modes showing all details.
6. The user can look for any text, image by this option in a specific folder. Select the folder and click on Search button.
Thus, following these steps, one can easily view DMG files in Windows 10.
Final Words
In this write-up, we have focused on disk image files and methods to open them on Windows OS. Two of the reliable methods have been provided to open dmg files in Windows. As per the need, the user can choose any of the methods. However, SysTools DMG Viewer Tool is by far the most precise and reliable solution to view .dmg files.
View Dmg Contents In Windows 10
One of the potentially frustrating things about switching back and forth between Mac and Windows PCs can be proprietary formats — a key example being Apple's DMGs (disk images). Here's how to extract content from a DMG in Windows 10.
The best option, whenever possible, is using 7-Zip. You probably already have it if you're a Windows regular, since it's a free and convenient way of extracting the more universal ZIP format.
Once Z-7ip is installed, find the DMG file you want to work with in File Explorer and right-click on it. In this case we're using some of Apple's free system fonts as an example.
Mouse over '7-Zip' in the right-click menu, then select 'Extract Here' or 'Extract files.' That should give a choice of where to send extracted material, though by default the app will create a subfolder in your current File Explorer location. Click 'OK' once you've chosen a place.
There's a good chance you'll have to dive into the new subfolder and run extraction again. With Apple's font DMGs for example, the real meat is buried within an HFS archive, which you'll need 7-Zip for. HFS is a filesystem used exclusively by Macs.
That should be it — you may see a lot of confusing folders and files, but what you want should be buried in there somewhere.
View Dmg Contents In Windows 7
An alternative to 7-Zip is DMG Extractor. Though it's very straightforward we're inclined to recommend using 7-Zip as your first resort, since DMG Extractor has harsh limitations without a paid license. You can't extract more than 5 files from a DMG simultaneously, and it simply won't work with encrypted files or those bigger than 4 gigabytes.
Neither 7-Zip nor DMG Extractor are the ultimate solution, though. There are some DMG files that 7-Zip, nor other alternatives that we've tried will open. For instance, if on the Mac, a end-user license agreement instantly pops up, we've found that most of the time, Windows solutions will choke on these.
AppleInsider has affiliate partnerships and may earn commission on products purchased through affiliate links. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content.