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.

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    See if you can inherit the backup.
    Inherit a Backup
    Inherit a Backup (2)
    See 17.
    Time Machine FAQ
    Time Machine Troubleshooting

  • How do I unlock photos from my Time Machine back up?

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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.
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    You can try this. OPTION boot the computer.
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    OS  X Yosemite  version 10.10.1
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  • How do you retrieve files from a Time Capsule backup that was made by a computer you no longer have?

    I have a Time Capsule that has backed up five computers over the last six years.  Four of those computers I no longer have or the drives are not working.  I want to retrieve some old pictures from these backups. They are stored in large ".sparsebundle" files.

    The first choice that you should consider is to use Migration Assistant on your Mac.
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    Pick one sparsebundle file from an "old" Mac and double click on it to see if that will mount the drive icon on the Mac computer that you have there. This will be a white "disk" icon, likely named Time Machine Backups, similar to the illustration below:
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    If you have made it this far, please report on your progress.

  • Can't see photos from previous Time Machine backup

    Here is my issue:
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    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

  • How do I delete files from a Time Machine backup?

    Hi,
    I have a Time Machine backup that has a large group of image files on it. How can I delete this data from the TM backup so it is no longer taking up that space on the Time Machine backup drive? Just delete the files in Leopard and run Time Machine again...? I somehow don't think that will work...

    hassiman wrote:
    Hi,
    I have a Time Machine backup that has a large group of image files on it. How can I delete this data from the TM backup so it is no longer taking up that space on the Time Machine backup drive? Just delete the files in Leopard and run Time Machine again...? I somehow don't think that will work...
    It would be a disaster.
    Only delete TM files from the TM interface. Run TM from the dock, select the file(s) you wish to remove and click the Action Gear. You have the option to delete that particular backup, or all instances of that backup. This is the only way to delete backup files.

  • How do I remove files from my Time Machine Backup and then how to exclude external hard drives from Time Machine?

    How can I remove external hard drives from the Time Machine and exclude them in the future?

    For deleting backups from Time Machine: http://pondini.org/TM/12.html
    For excluding things from backups: http://pondini.org/TM/10.html
    For general Time Machine advice (all courtesy of Pondini): http://pondini.org/OSX/Home.html

  • How do i retrieve pictures from the time machine

    I had to reboot to retrieve my administrative password.  I backed up my pictures on the time machine but I am unable to retrieve them is there anyone who knows how to get them back?

    Are these photos within your iPhoto library or pictures in a folder?
    See Pondini's answers and guide to your specific question:
    How do I view or restore selected items? - Apple OSX and Time ...
    Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions 15p1. Restoring the ...

  • How do I recover files from a Time Machine backup after a clean system reinstall?

    I had a really funky problem with my Japanese input that is too weird (and irrelevant at this point) to go into here. The gist is that I took my 13-inch, Mid-2012 MacBook Air to the Apple Store in Osaka, and one of their geniuses told me he couldn't isolate the cause and that the only solution was to do a complete reinstall. Of course, I had backed up my whole disk to my Time Capsule before going to the store. The problem is, I cannot do a straight backup, because that will simply bring back the unsolvable problem.
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    While in Time Machine, press the key combination shift-command-C. The front window will show all mounted volumes. All snapshots should now be accessible. Select the one you want and navigate to the files you want to restore.

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    my 4 year old imac died. So we got a new 1Tb intercore i5 imac. Migrated from the time machine backup and it didnt populate itunes or contacts or photos.  Am I missing something? 

    You should have imported the data in Setup Assistant when you first booted the new machine. If you used Migration Assistant instead, you now have another user with all the data from the old machine.

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    I just bought a new mbpro and am doing a transfer from a time machine backup.  Can I stop and restart it?

    Yes, but the transfer is likely to be corrupted and should not be relied upon. I recommend erasing what was transferred.

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