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I want to use my older 4TB HDD used for backups on my newer iMac but it won't mount. First Aid says it has partition problems and can't be mounted. I would have to erase it to restore it and I have to check it to make sure it doesn't have files that aren't on my other backup HDD before I do that. Any way to access the files on it to review them so I save the ones I need before restoring it?
iMac 27″, macOS 11.7
macOS programs? They are almost certain to be futile due to the nature of both Time Machine and the particular (as well as proprietary) file format it uses.
Before you go too far down that road, do you have reason to believe certain backups will be available anyway? Time Machine guarantees an absolute minimum of one and only one fully restorable system backup, so it is quite likely old and "expired" backups are already gone. Besides, the only way to restore specific items (apps, files, folders etc) is through the Time Machine interface as Apple describes in Restore items backed up with Time Machine on Mac - Apple Support. Attempting to accomplish that goal through any means other than that has an extremely low likelihood of success.
Although you did not ask, data recovery services use proprietary methods that range from simple to enormously complex and expensive. They never guarantee success. If your TM backups are encrypted as they should be (because an unencrypted TM backup can be used to create an exact duplicate of the Mac it backed up) then even that low likelihood of success is reduced to zero.
It it not possible to examine files on a device that cannot be mounted.
Any idea how it is done by data recovery programs?
My Time Machine Back up HDD won't mount.
