Data recovery from fried 2015 MacBook Pro

A drive designated as Time Machine backup drive can not be used (with a modern Mac) to store ANY other files, unless you deliberately ERASE it, which can ONLY be done inside Disk Utility.

(You can't CASUALLY overwrite those backups -- a great feature [in my opinion])

connect the backup drive and LOOK at it.

if it seems to have mostly one folder named backups.backupdb, that is a time machine backup drive.

If you would like help with further analysis, I or other Readers are willing to do help you with that.

the above screenshot from articles on time machine by the late James Pond, a prolific author about Time machine issues.

integracare2000 wrote:

Thank you Grant Bennet-Alder. If my spouse had backed things up recently (I think the book has been written since the last back-up), we would definitely do that. But I still need to get to the newer stuff. I don't even know yet whether the SSD sustained any damage.

You should have no problems accessing the data on the SSD from the broken laptop when connecting it to a newer Mac since it is using either the HFS+ or APFS file systems which recent versions of macOS can still read.

Here is the OWC Envoy Pro Enclosure that is compatible with Late-2013 to 2015 MacBook Pros:

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MAU3ENP1AW/

If Filevault was enabled on the broken laptop, then you may need to manually unlock & mount it using Disk Utility. Sometimes macOS will automatically prompt you to unlock an encrypted drive, but not always.

If you are trying to manually access files on the old SSD instead of using Setup Assistant or Migration Assistant to migrate the home user folder, then you may encounter a couple of issues with accessing the data.

• If more than one macOS user account is or was on either Mac, then you may have some permissions issues to deal with to gain access to the data.
• Some versions of macOS may mount & link the Data volume properly, but others may require you to manually mount the Data volume of the old SSD using Disk Utility.

If you have issues, then just ask here and we can assist you with those issues.

Your 2015 MBP is vintage and near obsolete. Don't spend money repairing it. Replace the computer with something newer. Then remove the drive from this old MBP, put it into an external drive case and connect it to the new Mac to access the data that it holds.

Removing the drive from the old laptop is not difficult.

Ref: https://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/enc_owc_envoy_pro_pcie_ssd/MacBookPro11-1/

<<. We usually do a back up thru Time Machine->WD drive but don't know how to read last one without computer. >>

You can connect that WD drive through ANY computer, and if you see that it has files on it, you are likely doing just file. if you would LIKE, you can MIGRATE those files (using Migration Assistant) to a different computer or using [very similar] Setup Assistant at first run on a replacement computer. You don't need a separate computer to do a Migration.

Migration takes All day to overnight, and ties up BOTH computers for that time, so it is not something you do "just to look around".

Time Machine files are NOT intended to be accessed or changed with FINDER.

Users who ignore warnings and go in and grab files off a backup drive find the files have wrong permissions this way and are very awkward to deal with. Users who try to delete time machine files regret it forever, as they will NOT delete, ever.

Instead, when you decide where the files are going, time machine APP or migration assistant can restore them properly for you.

I am aware of some limitation of earlier Mac OS versions inability to read data from external NVMe drives, but I don't know specifics of that. Perhaps post that as a new question in the Community.

However, I do know the early-2015 MBP can be upgraded to macOS 12 Monterey, and I'm certain that OS is capable. I would look for enclosures at macsales.com. They know their Macs and if you call with questions they are usually more than happy to assist and help you make sure you're on the right track - including OS compatibility with their drives and enclosures.

No, I would not take the path of buying another like-model MBP. It's expensive, potentially complicated and there's no guarantee that the unit you buy will be in any better condition than your own. I believe that would not be the wisest decision.

<<. I'm not tech savvy >

to do this data RECOVERY, you will need to dis-assemble your computer, remove the SSD board, install in it a special enclosure, and then look for your files.

Did you look at your backup drive with Finder?

does it have backups on it? if it has backups, you have your files, and can just wave bye-bye to that dead computer and move on