Restore Individual Package Contents from Time Machine Backup

Sorry to have put this in the wrong forum, but I posted the question some time ago in the Time Machine forum and have had no responses...hence giving this a go.
I'd like to be able to restore individual photos from iPhoto in order to test backups without restoring the whole of my photo library. Is it possible to do this? Any help would be much appreciated.

Many thanks for your reply. I've had a go, but unfortunately that still doesn't work. Rather than the iPhoto Library folder being a regular folder (like it was in previous versions...I'm currently running version 8.1) it is a package, so that in order to see its contents, you have to right-click it to see the dated folders inside it.
This is fine in the regular Finder window, but in the TimeMachine screen, the right-click function is disabled, so I can't see any way of selecting the specific date that would enable me to restore only one or two photos....it might be that this is a problem I need to contact Apple about.
Finally, can I just say it did amuse me to see that Mr. Dee was helping Mr. Gee (puerile I know).
Many thanks, Marcus.

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Hi ...
I've found a solution to my problem.
Time Machine locates extenal HDD backups differently depending if they were done via a network or via a USB/FireWire/Thunderbolt connection.
My initial backup was done via a direct Thunderbolt connection. I ran into the above issue b/c the second time when I tried looking for the backup file the HDD was conencted to my iMac and I was accessing it via a network conenction.
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cindy1023 wrote:
i had a hacker get in my computer, got all my info used my name and passwords to convert safari into windows on another computer? and APPLE IS THE ONE GAVE HER THE PASSWORD.
There is no way to "convert" Safari into Windows. And very unlikely for a hacker to get into a Mac.
But, ok, your system is all messed-up somehow.
First, what version of OSX is on your Mac? If you don't know, click the Apple icon at the upper-left of the screen and select About This Mac. You'll see a display like this:
We need the Version number.
Second question: do you have backups made with Time Machine (on an external HD or the like) that you want to restore, or do you want to start your Mac over fresh, the way it came from the factory?
p.s. i dont have the disc it came with , my daughter set it up for me to get started !
You may need that, depending on what version of OSX you're running, to restore the backups or start fresh.
You really should have a copy of the original disc, as there's an Apple Hardware Test on it, tailored to the hardware on that Mac. You'll need it it there's ever a problem. If your daughter can't send it, call AppleCare (800-275-2273),and give them your serial number -- they can send you a replacement for a nominal fee.
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Hi all,
Yesterday I had to reinstall my mac with no particular reason. Suddenly the startup screen with the "circle" went on indefinitely for 10+ minutes before shutting down the system. Yes, the power cord was plugged in. No, I didn't manage to start it in safe mode...
I thought it wouldn't be a big deal since I regularly back up my mac on an external drive by Time Machine. So I reinstalled and restored the system.
I could log in fine, but here's the catch:
1) only 3 iPhoto events out of 30 are restored
2) for all other events I seem to have the thumbnails but not the original or modified files
3) trying to browse into the Pictures folder shows that:
- the iPhoto library file does not appear with the usual icon
- if I examine the package, for all events that don't show up in iPhoto, the event hierarchy (e.g. 2008/eventxyz) exists but the folders are empty in both the "Original" and "Modified" hierarchies
- same if I click on the same file in ANY of the 4 backups I have on the time machine disk
By the way TM restored the system to MacOSX 10.5.2 even if I'm sure I had a later version. In fact, I can't open iTunes either because it says the library has been created with a later version of iTunes. But what really worries me is that I can't even find the .JPG original files.
Can somebody please help? I relied on Time Machine and there's 6 years of memories there...
Thank you

I have the same symptom, but as the result of an external hard drive failure. My Time Machine backups from June 2009 - August 2009 contain the iPhoto library. When I restore the iPhoto library (pick any random backup date) I can see the thumbnails or a blank dashed outline of the old photos. When I click on the thumbnail I can get the metadata (photo location, photo date, etc...) but the photos are gone. When I am in iPhoto the lower left corner of the interface shows the library size is 42Gb, but the restored library package is only about 3Gb. My guess is the difference in file size is equal to the size of the original (and modified) files that didnt get backed up. None of my iPhoto library packages in Time Machine are larger than 3Gb.
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cindy1023 wrote:
i had a hacker get in my computer, got all my info used my name and passwords to convert safari into windows on another computer? and APPLE IS THE ONE GAVE HER THE PASSWORD.
There is no way to "convert" Safari into Windows. And very unlikely for a hacker to get into a Mac.
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It's a normal issue. See > http://pondini.org/TM/E9.html

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patdpoo wrote:
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gracoat wrote:
...sigh...
Try time machine and see what happens... I dare ya!
I've helped several folks here who were using TM on Snow Leopard Server quite successfully. In most cases, as in most cases of trouble with backups on client Macs, they were having hardware problems.
Granted this is a 10.6 server page, but they haven't updated open LDAP in a way that would change it's database functionality, nor have they changed the way time machine backs up and what it backs up.
Nowhere there does Apple say that "Time Machine is NOT a suitable backup solution for a server" or anything like that.
The article clarifies what it does, and does not, back up. So it may or may not be a suitable backup solution depending on individual situations.

Restore Individual Package Contents from Time Machine Backup

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