Time machine volume does not have Backups.backupdb folder

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Time machine volume does not have Backups.backupdb folder

When I created and installed two new Time Machine volumes, everything seemed to go well: the OS accepted the external disks, Add or Remove Backup Disk (in Time Machine system preferences) accepted them, and the backups all seemed to work as normal. Except for one thing...

When I examine the disks in Finder, there is no Backups.backupdb folder on the volume. There are a series of individual backup files of Kind Time Machine Backup (from Finder Get Info).

First question: why didn't a Backups.backupdb folder get created when I added the external disk? Does the OS no longer require that folder to function correctly?

Second question: If I need to restore my hard drive from one of these Time Machine external drives, will it work correctly without that Backups.backupdb folder?

Third question: If I want to clone one of these Time Machine external drives, the procedure is normally stated to drag the Backups.backupdb folder from the existing drive to the new, blank one. What should I do if there is no Backups.backupdb folder? Can I simply select all the individual backup files and drag them to the new blank drive and let Finder do the rest?

Thank you, in advance, for any help you can provide...

iMac 27″, macOS 12.6

Posted on May 24, 2023 11:57 AM

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Answer 1

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rippolito Author

Level 1

16 points

May 24, 2023 04:33 PM in response to Barney-15E

Thank you for the answers to my questions...

Regarding your answer that I cannot clone or copy the APFS backup, do you know why that is the case?

That would mean that when my Time Machine hard drive gets old, my only recourse would be to start fresh with a complete backup, and that means that all my old files would be gone.

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Answer 2

Barney-15E

Level 10

121,238 points

May 24, 2023 05:19 PM in response to rippolito

do you know why that is the case?

No. I assume it is because of the nature of APFS snapshots which it uses instead of the file copies it made previously.

That would mean that when my Time Machine hard drive gets old, my only recourse would be to start fresh with a complete backup, and that means that all my old files would be gone.

Yes. If you have old files you want archived, use a different backup solution. Time Machine isn't an archival solution. You should only ever expect to have a copy of what is currently on the source. Deleted files will remain for a good bit of time if you don't fill the drive, but you should not think you will be able to restore them forever.

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