Can't see photos from previous Time Machine backup

Here is my issue:
I had two MacBook Pros (one old, one new).
I bought an external hard drive.
I backed up both the old and the new MacBook.
I wiped and sold my old MacBook.
I opened the backup of the old MacBook on the external hard drive in an effort to find my old photos.
On the external drive, I went to Backups.backupdb > Users > Pictures.
On the Pictures icon I see a red "caution" type icon.
I click on the folder and get a popup that says, "The folder pictures can't be opened because you don't have permission to see its contents."
How do I access all my photos that are in this "locked" folder?
Thanks!!
Jim

You do not directly access Time Machine backups - you use Time Machine to restore them - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US
For detailed TM questions the TM forum is a much better place to ask
LN

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I have reinstalled my OS without time machine (using the disc). I want to restore some pictures in the iPhotos which are already in the time machine i was using previously. How can I restore iPhoto from previous time machine?

My mac book was incredibly slow. When I went to Mac store, they asked me to reinstall the OS with CD and not with the time machine. I reinstalled the operating system. But when I opened the applications, all those started as fresh applications as usual. I have the backup of all other data in another hard disc. But unfortunately, I forgot to copy the photos before reinstallation. I have those photos in my time machine back up. But when I opened time machine, it started like a fresh (very new) time machine and it started backing up my present OS (the reinstalled one). I cannot open the previous time machine, which is in the same hard drive. I wish to open the previous time machine to get the photos which are backed up previuosly. When opened the time machine disc (manually by clicking the icon), i can see all the thigs which I had previously in my macbook. But unfortunately, i cannot access those through time machine! Can anybody help me please?

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Can not see historical data in Time Machine backup

Hi folks
First my setup:
   MBP Late2012
   Samsung Evo 840 SSD
   external USB 3.0 1TB as TimeMachine HD
   Mac OS X Mavericks
Now my problem.
After updating to Mavericks I've made a full backup with Time Machine.
Then I swapped the former 500TB HDD to the Samsung Evo 840 500TB.
A clean setup of Mavericks follows.
After that I restored the Backup from Time Machine.
Everything ok. Til now.
Because everthing works fine in the past, I did not control the Time Machine.
Today I wanna restore a File from my "Pictures" folder.
So I opened Time Machine.
Oops.
There I can only see the latest run.
Also in the timeline on the right side the only entries are TODAY and NOW.
I can not scroll into the past.
All windows behind the current window have a black titlebar.
In Mountain lion the titlebars are grey if there is data available
and the title contains the date of the backup.
What is the problem?
Is there a bug?
Did I something wrong?
Thanx in adv.
      Stoiker

Hi masong517
What a treasure trove of hints and solutions.
I didn't know this page.
But you are right with "E2".
This solved my problem.
Thank you very much.

New computer: how do I retrieve photos from different Time Machine backups?

I use Time capsule to back up my iMac & my Macbook Pro. My old Macbook Pro "died" last week and right now I'm setting up my new one. I have copied the files & documents I need from my old laptop and my iMac without any problems (though it took a surprisingly long time considering the small amount of docs I copied). I have however not copied any applications or photos.
My question is: how to I retrieve photos from the different Time Machine back ups (iMac & old laptop) to my new computer without messing up? It would be especially "cool" if I could retrieve only some of the photos.
(I don't know if this has any importance, but my old Macbook Pro was & current iMac is running on Leopard and the new Macbook Pro on Snow Leopard).

Your best bet is to start over; erase the new Mac's internal HD, reinstall OSX, then use Setup Assistant to transfer your stuff. It's the fastest and most reliable way to do it. See How do I set up a new Mac from my old Mac or its backups?, especially the green "Second Chance" box.
Otherwise, to see the backups for a different Mac, see #17 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions. To restore selected items, see #15 there.

Can I delete items from my Time Machine backup that I do not want to include on a full-system restore?

Yesterday I had to erase the hard drive on my new MacBook Pro (purchased earlier this month) and reinstall Lion. I have everything backed up on Time Machine, but I've been having problems with Microsoft Office 2008, and would rather not import those files (I recently bought Office 2011). Forgive my ignorance, but I haven't found an answer to this particular question: is it possible to delete those Office folders/files from my most recent backup BEFORE using that backup to restore my system? It seems to me that restoring my system with Time Machine via the Command-R route doesn't allow me to choose which files to include or exclude. And from what I've read, Migration Assistant is only of service when I'm migrating files to a new Mac.
Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you.

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/answers/how_to_remove_specific_items_from_a_time_ machine_backup/

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Set migration assistant to run whilst on a lunch break, given that it needed 2 hours or so, when i returned all programs and applications had moved across from my time machine backup of a now dead 15"macbook pro 2009 edition running snow leopard...When i look at my new system information it shows my new 500gb drive is full of music, movies and photos and has only 168gb free, not enough to run a new migration and i don't have any boot disks for Lion so really don't want to erase the hard drive. To compound the problem i'm in Vietnam where there isn't a genius bar just around the corner, or even an aasp within 700km - what should I do?

Is the HDD in the 2009 15" MBP dead? (The original source of your data) If not, you might want ot take it out and put it in an enclosure.
You might try spotlight on know files to see if that gives you any clues where your data is located.
You might down load from the Internet OmniDiskSweeper (free) and open it. It should show you all of the files you have on your MBP and enable to locate them.
Ciao.

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I am trying to restore from a May 7th time machine backup. At that time my username was michaelhood. I had a system crash and when my computer was returned to me I inadvertently set it up under a different username, thinking I would do the restore later. Between May 13 and today, Time machine did backups under the name mhoo4494. Changing the name didn't let me access my May 7 backup, nor did creating a different user account. I have erased the hard drive and am reinstalling from the Install CD. I have set up a third user name. I now want to restore my data from the Time Machine May 7 backup. How do I do that? Migration assistant saw two users -- mhoo and mhoo4494 (michaelhood was not an option). I selected them both, but got no data for either -- no docs, no music, no pictures. This procedure should not be this hard~!!

Hi uclamikey90,
It is possible, using Migration Assistant, to restore the contents of your hard drive selectively. See this article -
Mac OS X v10.6: How to use Migration Assistant to transfer files from a Time Machine backup - Apple Support
In particular -
To migrate data from a Time Machine backup
In Finder, press Command-Shift-U.
Double-click Migration Assistant.
Click "Continue" and enter an administrator name and password when prompted.
Select the "From a Time Machine backup or other disk" option, then click "Continue".
Select your Time Machine backup disk or Time Capsule (enter the user name and or password if prompted), then click "Continue".
Select the Time Machine backup you would like to restore (such the most current one you just made), then click "Continue".
Select Items to Migrate, then click "Continue". Note: The "Continue" button will be dimmed until the "Calculating…" stage is complete.
A user account sheet may appear if you have a user name on your Mac that is the same user name in your Time Machine backup. You will have to give the username in your Time Machine backup a new username to avoid conflicts. Note: This will create a new user account on your Mac to hold the data from the Time Machine backup. After migration, you can use the /Users/Shared folder to transfer data files the accounts.
Migration Assistant will begin the process of transferring the items you selected to migrate. When it is finished, click "Quit" to exit.
When you reach step 7, deselect items that you do not wish to migrate. Videos, photos and music are likely candidates for this as they take up a lot of disk space. You can later put items on an external hard drive.
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Best,
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Hello MommaBruno,
After reviewing your post, I have located an article that can help in this situation. It contains helpful advice concerning Time Machine:
OS X Mavericks: Restore items backed up with Time Machine
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14111
Thank you for contributing to Apple Support Communities.
Cheers,
BobbyD

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I just restored my 13" MBP i5 at the apple store to the newest version of Lion after issues with a previous Time Machine backup from Snow Leopard- this time I created a new account and just ported files and folders, and now MS Office doesn't work.
^^ that's the main problem. Here's the full history.
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Most likely you have Office 2004 which are PPC-only applications and will not work in Lion. Upgrade to Office 2011. Other alternatives are:
Apple's iWork suite (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote.)
Open Office (Office 2007-like suite compatible with OS X.)
NeoOffice (similar to Open Office.)
LibreOffice (a new direction for the Open Office suite.)

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Enter your Time Machine backup (via the TM icon in the menu bar) and find this file
/Users/username/Library/Preferences/com.apple.iTunes.eq.plist
and hit Restore.
It didn't reflect in iTunes immediately, but after a restart it appears to read the new (old) plist file. You should have your old EQ settings back.
Let me know if it worked for you...

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Hi,
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resetpassword
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Can't see photos from previous Time Machine backup

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