Time Machine password incorrect - where is the hint?

emotionalbuggage wrote:

I recently did a clean install of Ventura on my MacBook. Everything went fine until I tried to restore files from my Time Machine backup on my Time Capsule. I could access the Time Capsule with the password, but then it asks for a password for the backup.

I've tried various other options of what the password could be, but always it says incorrect password.

I'm pretty sure there was an option to set a hint when I set up the encryption password.

This post gives me confidence that there was a hint:

About the Time Machine backup password on Mac – Apple Support (UK)

So my question is:

How do I find the hint for my password for my encrypted backup on my Time Capsule?

Have you tried entering a password (incorrect) at least 3 or 4 times? For other Mac passwords, the hint appears after three failed attempts. Not sure if this also applies to Time Machine encrypted drives, however, or Ventura. (I use Ventura but have never had to resort to a password hint under any MacOS as I record them all in an encrypted file that is also stored elsewhere in the cloud, otherwise I would be more definitive about how to get the hint to show ...)

Have you opened your KeyChain Access and searched for the name of the backup disk? If the password is in the Keychain it will come up in that search, but if you really did a "clean install" that wiped the disk that would have erased the Keychains also, in which case the only copy would be on your backup, which of course you are still trying to access ...

Do you have any other backup of your drive, such as a "clone?" It is always recommended to keep multiple backups of different types in case some problem develops with one of the types of backups. For instance a clone type backup can be used for account migration as well as a Time Machine backup. That "clone" migration would also bring back your Keychain from which you might be able to find the Time Machine encryption password ...