How to access just a particular file in Time Machine backup

[teknikal90]

Hello all,

Bit of an odd scenario but still, I can't be the only one having this problem.
I had an old MBP with 512GB ssd.
It broke - won't boot up, well past its warranty.

I bought a new MBP, but with only 256GB ssd. I also wanted to start fresh - I'd carried over the previous MBP from an original install done all the way back in 2011. Lots of crap on it from old apps to broken apps, to messed up drivers.

Now, I have no way to access the files in the old Mac... as it's broken, but I'm wondering if I can access the files from the Time Machine backup file directly. Just some videos/photos from a trip that we went to.

I have a Time Capsule and I tried Migration Assistant. It's screwy. It seems to be an all or nothing solution and over Wifi it flat out just doesn't work. And there isn't an ethernet slot on the new MacBook Pros... UGH

Kind of out of my wits here. Any help?

Thanks so much in advance!

 

[Brian33]

Yes, you can certainly get individual files and/or folders from your Time Machine backup onto your new Mac.

Typically the Time Capsule device must be working and connected to your local network. (IF for some reason that's not possible, you could open up the TC, extract the hard drive, and connect it to a Mac using a HDD dock or enclosure.)

Normally you can click the Time Machine icon in the menu bar and select "Enter Time Machine." Then you can navigate to what you want, right-click, and "restore" it to wherever you want it. However since you will be on the new Mac that hasn't backed up to this TM disk, I'm not sure if the backup will show up. If not, try holding Option while clicking the TM icon to get the "Browse Other Backup Disks".

If that doesn't work you can just use Finder instead of the TM interface. The TC should show up in the Finder sidebar. Clicking on the TC in Finder (and entering the TC storage password) should reveal a "sparse bundle" file which is a type of disk image. It should have a filename that matches your old Mac's machine name. Double-clicking it will mount the disk image, which then typically shows on your desktop and in finder. You can use Finder to navigate through the backup disk image to what you want, and drag a copy onto your Mac.