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My 2007 MacBook pro died but I brought it in to a repair shop and they gave me the files on an external hard drive. I plugged that hard drive into my Mid 2012 13" Macbook pro and I cannot see any of the files i want. One of the folders, titled "Users" contains 103gb of information however when I click on it there are no files. Is there any way of getting them or am I out of luck?
MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15
Were you using Filevault on this 2007 laptop? If so, then the user folder is encrypted and hidden (it is actually a .sparsebundle file). With a Finder window open press Command + Shift + . (the third key in the combination is a "dot" or "period" key).
https://ianlunn.co.uk/articles/quickly-showhide-hidden-files-mac-os-x-mavericks
I've seen the encrypted user folder stored in a few locations. For example on my Mac where my username is "hwtech", I might find the hidden encrypted user folder .sparsebundle file in the following locations:
/Users/hwtech/.hwtech.sparsebundle
/Users/.hwtech.sparsebundle
/Users/.hwtech/.hwtech.sparsebundle
Note: The leading "dot" in the file or folder name is what causes the item to be hidden from view within the Finder.
Just double-click on the .sparsebundle to open it. You will be prompted for the password for that user account used on the old 2007 laptop in order to unlock the contents of the .sparsebundle.
Pretend you just booted your old 2007 Mac and see if muscle memory will take over and give you your password. Sometimes after giving it some thought a lost password can be remembered.
Thank you! It was there, now only slight problem is I haven't a clue what the password or recovery key is. Thanks for your help anyway I think I'll just have to cut my losses and move on
Found the password in a old notepad, got my files so it’s all ok! Thank you
External hard drive not showing files
