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External hard drive not showing files

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

Posted on Jan 6, 2021 6:37 AM

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4 replies

Jan 6, 2021 8:49 PM in response to tomás224

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.


External hard drive not showing files

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