Someone else's TimeMachine archived photos query

[blinkie]

Hey,

A question for the hive mind. My aunt has given me her old Time Machine HDD asking if I can retrieve her Photos from within it. The HDD is firewire 400 and she can't connect it to her new USBC mac. What do you think my options are? Can I simply copy the entire TimeMachine directory (Backups.backupdb) to another dive for her to access? Or is there a way for me to extract the Photos Library from within it?

Thanks in advance,

B.

 

[Weaselboy]

If you can somehow attach the drive to your Mac, just hold down the option key and click the Time Machine icon in the menu bar. Then select Browse Other Backup Disks... from the drop down. That should allow you to browse through her backup and retrieve the Photos library for her.

 

[liya1201]

I have used "Restore" in Disk Utility to successfully duplicate TimeMachine from an old external HDD to a newer one.

 

[bernuli]

Hey,

A question for the hive mind. My aunt has given me her old Time Machine HDD asking if I can retrieve her Photos from within it. The HDD is firewire 400 and she can't connect it to her new USBC mac. What do you think my options are? Can I simply copy the entire TimeMachine directory (Backups.backupdb) to another dive for her to access? Or is there a way for me to extract the Photos Library from within it?

Thanks in advance,

B.

Yes. Just navigate down Backups.backupdb to her folder in /Users then Pictures then copy iPhoto Library to the new computer.

Some FW drives also had USB connections, so that would be really nice if you discovered that. If the drive is FW 400 only, you might be able to use a number of adapters to go FW 400 -> FW 800 -> Thunderbolt 2 -> USBc

Pearstone 6-pin FireWire-400 to 9-pin FireWire-800 Adapter

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Apple Thunderbolt To Firewire Adapter

Buy Apple Thunderbolt To Firewire Adapter featuring Thunderbolt/Thunderbolt 2 Male Connector, For Thunderbolt-Equipped Mac, Provides Firewire 800 Port. Review Apple null

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Apple Thunderbolt 3 Male to Thunderbolt 2 Female Adapter

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Thats a lot of money in adapters though and I have not tried myself so don't know if it will work.

Might be better off removing drive from enclosure and plugging into something like this

Angelbird USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C to SATA 6 Gb/s Adapter

Buy Angelbird USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C to SATA 6 Gb/s Adapter featuring Convert Internal HDD/SSD to External Use, For 2.5" and 3.5" Drives, SATA to USB 3.1 Type-C Interface, UASP and TRIM Support, 12V Power Port, Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. Review Angelbird C-Sata

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[blinkie]

Yes. Just navigate down Backups.backupdb to her folder in /Users then Pictures then copy iPhoto Library to the new computer.

This was the answer. Thank you very much.

B