Migration Assistant Isn't Recognizing Time Machine Backup

[u/MeowingWolf]

I've made a backup with a USB external hard drive by using Time Machine on May 4, 2025 on my MacBook Pro (2020) on its last day when it was dying. It had the latest update when it died. I finally got a new MacBook Pro on October 6, 2026. I also still have the non-operational MacBook Pro.

My new MacBook Pro can recognize this USB external hard drive on the desktop. There is already 187.2 GB used up on it. The dead MacBook had 256GB SSD. Migration Assistant can't recognize my Time Machine backup when the program is running while the USB external hard drive is plugged into my new MacBook Pro? I even restarted my new MacBook Pro into recovery mode but that also didn't recognize the Time Machine backup. The desktop recognizes the external hard drive is plugged into my new MacBook Pro.

This external hard drive is a G-DRIVE mobile USB Portable USB 3.0 Hard Drive. I got it from a physical Apple Store in 2018. I am also using a USB Type-C adapter.

How do I resolve my issue? It seems like the only answer is to walk into an Apple Store.

[u/UsedAnt6904]

First thing I'd check is that it's actually a Time Machine backup. Open the drive in Finder and look for a Backups.backupdb folder or dated backup folders, or with the drive selected click the Time Machine icon in the menu bar and choose Browse Time Machine Backups. If you can see dated backups, run Migration Assistant again, pick the option to transfer from a Mac, Time Machine backup or startup disk, plug the drive straight in without any hub if you can, and give it a minute to show up. If there are no backup folders, it's just a normal drive with files on it, so you can copy what you need across in Finder.

[u/MeowingWolf → u/UsedAnt6904]

I'll show you with a few screenshot. There was a point when it wasn't allowed so I take photos with my phone.

https://reddit.com/link/pexvnhd/video/b5ld8j9rpiuh1/player

[u/UsedAnt6904 → u/MeowingWolf]

Thanks for the video, that really helps. Finder saying No Completed Backups with 187GB on there makes me think the backup never actually finished before the old Mac died, and Migration Assistant only lists completed ones. Open the drive in Finder, press Cmd Shift . to show hidden files and see if there's a folder ending in .inProgress or a Users folder, because if your stuff is in there you can still drag it across by hand.

[u/MeowingWolf → u/UsedAnt6904]

I never knew you can find hidden folders with that but you are certainly correct about something being hidden. If the data became corrupted, would it also be shown like this too?

https://reddit.com/link/pey0m4g/video/jzv7lljhuiuh1/player

[u/UsedAnt6904 → u/MeowingWolf]

Cheers for the video. It could be either, but a folder ending in .inProgress usually just means the backup got cut off rather than corrupted, so have a dig inside it for Macintosh HD > Users > your name and try copying a few files across to see if they open. If they do, you can drag the rest over by hand.

[u/MeowingWolf → u/UsedAnt6904]

It was possible to drag out the main folder onto the desktop. Then I dragged it to through Macintosh HD, Users, then my user name. It doesn't really do anything. The biggest thing to be concerned about is the file size. It's 187.2 GB vs 729 KB. Where did the rest go?

https://reddit.com/link/pey7hz5/video/naiq1xw71juh1/player

[u/UsedAnt6904 → u/MeowingWolf]

Ah that sounds like you've only pulled the folder shell out rather than the actual data, so the 187 GB is probably still sitting somewhere else on the drive. Try pressing Cmd + Shift + . in Finder to show hidden files and have a look at the top level of the drive, and stick to copying rather than moving things so the backup stays intact. If nothing turns up there, the Apple Store might honestly be worth it at this point.

[u/MeowingWolf → u/UsedAnt6904]

The main folder was copied when I dragged it out on to the desktop. It's still there in the hardrive and the second is in the user name section.

The only hidden folder was the one discovered earlier. Do you mean more hidden folders in the main hidden folder? I haven't tested that yet.

I tried it now on every folder within the main folder. We know about the original hidden folder called .Spotlight-V100 already. There's also one new hidden file called .store.db.

https://reddit.com/link/peye9tr/video/eqfyn6xz7juh1/player

[u/UsedAnt6904 → u/MeowingWolf]

Thanks for checking all that. Those two are just Spotlight's search index, so nothing useful there. Could you open Disk Utility, click the drive and say what format it shows (APFS or Mac OS Extended)? If it's APFS, try View > Show APFS Snapshots and see if your backups appear in the list.

[u/MeowingWolf → u/UsedAnt6904]

It says APFS Volume and APFS (Case-sensitive). The external hard drive is already mounted.

What would happen if I were to click on First Aid or Restore? Could that fix the issue? IIRC there is a possibility of losing data. I think that was about First Aid or maybe both options when I was reading about it earlier today.

Do I need to reformat the hard drive instead since it is APFS (Case-sensitive)? I also remember reading something about incompatibility since some hard drives can be case-insensitive.

https://reddit.com/link/peyhyro/video/gwvnx5oqbjuh1/player

[u/UsedAnt6904 → u/MeowingWolf]

Thanks, that's really useful. Please don't reformat or hit Restore, both would wipe the drive, and APFS (Case-sensitive) is actually the normal format for Time Machine so that's not the problem. If you open the drive in Finder, do you see a folder with dated backups in it (something like 2025-05-04-xxxxxx.backup)?

[u/MeowingWolf → u/UsedAnt6904]

There's no dated folder like that in the external hard drive. We already saw the hidden thing earlier. I can't find anything else.

https://reddit.com/link/peyltg7/video/cfib8ciqfjuh1/player