Opening an HFS File

The HFS file type is primarily associated with Disk Utility.

HFS	File extension: HFS
	File type:	disk image

What is an HFS file

HFS files mostly belong to Disk Utility by Apple. A HFS file is a disk image containing the file system of a machine running macOS versions older than Mac OS x 10.6. The contents of a HFS file describes how data is organized on a physical storage volume as a logical collection of files/directories, dynamic links, named pipes, and metadata. HFS is short for Hierarchical File System. It was originally developed for use on floppy disks but has been used on CD ROMs and hard disk drives.

How to open HFS files

You need a suitable software like Disk Utility to open an HFS file. Without proper software you will receive a Windows message "How do you want to open this file?" or "Windows cannot open this file" or a similar Mac/iPhone/Android alert. If you cannot open your HFS file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a HFS file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

Online HFS File Viewer

Choose your .hfs file to view

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

✈

Read our privacy guarantee in Filext’s terms and privacy policy

Please allow ads on our site

This helps us keep our servers running. Then re-upload your file to view it.

Click here to see how to disable the ad blocker for filext.com

How to extract texts from HFS files or capture a screenshot to PDF, JPG, DOCX, TXT, ...

If you want to extract texts from HFS file or capture a screenshot, you can use our free Online HFS File Viewer:

Just click the "Choose your .hfs file to view" button on this page.
Your HFS file will then be displayed in the browser.
Now click on "Save as..." at the top of the page.
Then choose the file format (e.g. JPG, PDF, DOCX, TXT, ...) you want.
Your file will be converted and downloaded.

Programs that open and convert HFS files:

Disk Utility by Apple
See the previous paragraphs to learn more about the main application. HFS files are often referred to as Disk Utility disk images because this type of file is primarily created or used by this software.
7zip (disk image) by Igor Pavlov
7zip is an archive file management program with data compression/decompression support. It can be used to inspect the contents of a disk image saved in HFS format. This file format is classified as Disk Image.

HFS file extension format:

To view or edit HFS files you need to know the file format, because it determines how the data in this file is stored. Often, the file format can be deduced from the file extension or the initial bytes (called the signature). If the file extension or signature does not match the file format, errors will occur when opening or editing the file. Knowledge is power - this also applies when dealing with unknown or faulty files. Our analysis of the HFS files produces the following result:

HFS is not a commonly used file extension and is used by many programs, each with its own file format. The file formats most commonly found in HFS files are:

5% of all HFS files start with the bytes 48 46 01 02 crucial for this file format. These are binary files, so they do not contain words or text. HFS files are between 970 KB and 55 MB in size. Files like these have the following tags: base.

The remaining 95% of all HFS files are different files with different signatures. The category is toast, optimizer, installer, partition, edited, becd or skel. If you want to find out what your HFS file contains, drag and drop it onto this page.

Technical Data for HFS File Extension

File classification:

Disk Image

Related files:

hsf, hfsx, ddm, dmg, img, dsk

Mime type:

application/octet-stream

The following listing is compiled from the database produced by the 'Associate This!' program, selected data from the main FILExt database and file extension information submitted by users.

ProgramID: HF Fax Shortcut
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\HotFax MessageCenter\HotFax MessageCenter HFSHORTCUT %1

ProgramID: 7-Zip.hfs
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\7-Zip\7zFM.exe

an hfs disk image is a special file format by Apple and should only be edited and saved with the appropriate software.

How to solve problems with HFS files

Associate the HFS file extension with the correct application.
Update your software that should actually open disk images. Because only the current version supports the latest HFS file format. Search, therefore, e.g. on the Apple manufacturer website after an available Disk Utility update.
To make sure that your HFS file is not corrupted or virus-infected, get the file again and scan it with Google's virustotal.com.
Click here to open your .HFS file online - secure, fast, and no downloads needed.