retrieve files from disk image

Hi,

I don't have much time right now to sit online with support, so I thought I'd just submit this here to see if it can be answered easily (and thanks in advance for any help).

I recently had my OS crash (I think that's what happened--I'm definitely not an expert). As part of the fix, working with Apple support, I created a disk image on an external drive, then reinstalled the OS using internet restore.

When I went to retrieve the data from the external drive, I had a bunch of folders that were from (I think), an earlier episode, about a year before. I can give details later, but suffice it to say, following the instructions given to me, I copied the folders over to my macbook, and everything worked great--except I was missing about a year's worth of pictures (and other documents etc, but it's the pictures I really care about). As far as I know, I never touched the disk image I created during the restore.

So, is it possible to get the files off the disk image on the external drive? Or do I need to mount (if that's even the right word?) the entire thing--and if so, can I do that without affecting the computer as it is now (i.e., I'd prefer to not have to reinstall everything again)?

I hope this is somewhat clear, and I'm sure I've been not even close to precise enough, but I wanted to keep it brief so that I don't mislead anyone by using terms improperly or something. And thanks again for any advice.

Ben