Restore files from Time Machine to a different Mac

My old MacBook Pro died recently (dead logic board) and I am unable to access the files on the hard drive. I used Time Machine to back it up and it was running macOS El Capitan.

My new MacBook Pro is running Sierra. I want to restore some of the files from my old Macs Time Machine to my new Mac. When I go into Time Machine I choose "Browse Other Backup Disks" and Time Machine opens.

However I cannot go "back in time" (using the arrows or the slider on the right hand side), it seem as though Time Machine is empty.

Solution 1:

Open "Migration Assistant" on the new Mac. Select the restore from Time Machine backup option. Select the time machine back up you want to restore from and restore.

Solution 2:

On Sierra, make sure the backup drive from which you want to restore is mounted. Open Time Machine (not Time Machine Preferences). You see a Finder-like window. Never mind the timeline of backups in the right margin that you would normally use to specify a point in time. Instead, in the left pane device list, select the backup drive.

Navigate down the hierarchy to the backup you want to use, and thence to the folder or file that you want to restore. Right-click it. From the floating menu, select "Restore to ..." A second Finder-like window appears. Navigate to the folder into which you want to restore the file. If the amount of data you're restoring is fairly small, you'll quickly hear a Boing! sound; your restore is done.