Time machine backups visible but cannot access them to retrieve old photos.

hello community.
i recently purchased a newish macbook pro. i restored it from a time machine backup with no problems. i got a new computer because all my music and photos wouldnt fit. so the old photos i had backed up a few months ago (then deleted because of no space) werent put back on because of more recent backups i made then restored the new comp to. NOW. i cannot access the old time machine backups even though they are visible in the "star wars" screen when i enter time machine. i cannot click on a backup and retrieve those photos i had backed up ages ago but i can see all of them from about two years ago.
i have tried unplugging, verifying with the disk utility(all of which came up fine), and shouting. all of which do not work. any ideas? i feel like im missing something really simple.
thanks!

In the Finder, right-click or control-click the folder icon and select
Show View Options
from the contextual menu. In the dialog that opens, select None from the Arrange by menu. Close the dialog, enter Time Machine, and try again.
Another reason why items in a snapshot might not be selectable is that the time-travel view is open on a secondary display. Move it to the primary display, or if necessary, exit and disconnect the external display.

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andrew70301 wrote:
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Time machine backups visible but cannot access them to retrieve old photos.

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