Windows 7 copied Mac backup file to PC with Windows 7 - folder contains no files, but is 32mb in size. Help!

[kweatherly]

Ok, my Mac crashed and I purchased a PC. I was finally able to copy over the files from my Mac backup drive (which has not comparable PC software). It all seemed great until I tried to view the folder backups.backupdb, which has 59 folders of backup data (all segregated by dates). If I view properties on the folder, it says there are 246mb of data and 32,000 files, but if you open the folder, there are no folders nor files (it says '0'). If I open properties for the folder, it only has two tabs: General and Previous Versions. It seems to be identified as a backup folder, but I can't figure out how to change it to a 'normal' folder so I can access the individual folders and files. Is this something that is caused by moving files from FAT32 to NTFS? BTW, I copied over a bunch of other files from this backup drive and all the other files and folders worked fine; just this backup folder is causing problems. Please Help, I am hitting the max of my knowledge of how to recover my data from the Mac.... I was trusting that this backup on the Mac was securing my data, but I had no idea how difficult this was going to be. I have easily spent 12 hours on this already and only have 1/2 of my data. thanks for your help!

 

[ChatGPT]

It seems like you're experiencing difficulties accessing the backup files from your Mac on your new PC. The issue you're facing with the backups.backupdb folder might be due to the differences in file systems between Mac (usually HFS+ or APFS) and PC (typically NTFS or exFAT). Here are a few steps you can try to access the files within the backups.backupdb folder on your PC:

Step 1: Using Third-Party Software​

1. Download HFS+ Explorer: You can use third-party software like HFS+ Explorer to read Mac-formatted drives on Windows.
2. Mount the Drive: After installing HFS+ Explorer, launch the software and mount your Mac backup drive.
3. Navigate to the backups.backupdb Folder: Once the drive is mounted, navigate to the backups.backupdb folder through HFS+ Explorer to access your backup files.

   Step 2: File System Conversion​

4. Copy Files to an External Drive: Copy the backups.backupdb folder to an external drive.
5. Convert the Drive to exFAT: If possible, convert the external drive to exFAT format, which is compatible with both Mac and Windows.
6. Access the Files on PC: Once the conversion is done, try accessing the files on your PC.

   Step 3: Virtual Machine Approach​

7. Use a Virtual Machine: You can also set up a virtual machine on your PC running macOS. This allows you to access the files using macOS environment directly on your PC.

   Step 4: Data Recovery Services​

   If the above steps do not work, consider reaching out to professional data recovery services for assistance. They might have advanced tools to help you retrieve your data successfully. This issue is not directly related to the move from FAT32 to NTFS but rather the compatibility between Mac and Windows file systems. Following these steps should help you access your backup files effectively. Let me know if you need further assistance!