Old backups of iOS

[12soldier]

So I'd like to get some old backups of some texts from years ago. I have several different external HD's I backed our devices up to. I typically reinstall the latest the one when I get a new mac, then put the old external on a shelf and attach a fresh new external to start backing up from that point on. SO I'd like to look through some of the older backups for some photos and old texts since my wife passed. Is there a way to find just the iOS backups from the older externals and move them to a folder or thumb drive for safe keeping/viewing?

 

[Rich B22]

Here's how to find ios backups on a Mac. Hopefully, your backups will have a similar file structure.

Locate backups of your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

Find a list of your iOS or iPadOS backups on your Mac, PC, and iOS or iPadOS device. Learn how to delete backups, copy them, and more.

support.apple.com

Don't think you can access the texts and photos without restoring to an iphone and you may have problems doing that, depending what ios/macOS version the backup is relative to your current iphone/mac versions.

You may want to look for third party software that can read those files.

Hopefully, someone out there has more knowledge than me and can steer you to a better resolution.

Good luck

 

[Boyd01]

iMazing may be able to do this. I bought a copy of this software awhile back and was generally impressed, but have not used it for years, so not familiar with the capabilities of the current version.

View the contents of an iPhone or iPad's backup

imazing.com