Does the time capsule work as an external hard drive that you can access from multiple lapttops

I have a mac desktop, a macbook and a pc laptop. I also purchased the time capsule. Will that functional as an external hard drive that I can use to save a share documents between. Trying to figure out the best way to work on documents between devices. new to max and trying to make the full switch but still working with toshiba laptop for a while too.
Any help is appreciated.

Hello jhettenhausen,
     Yes, it can function as an external drive for all the devices.  As for Windows, you just need to make sure that
it is Windows Professional or XP, as they support mapped network drives.  Windows 7 Home Premium doesn't is not capable of mapping network drives.  At home, I have a ubuntu laptop, Windows 7 Profesional laptop, and Macbook Pro and they all backup to the Time Capsule 1 TB.  Hope this helps!!
Best Regards,
freesparks

Similar Messages

  • Does the time capsule act as an external hard drive too?

    I haven't got the time capsule but I'm thinking about getting it but I want to know does it Work as an external hard drive too, so can you store things like music files and things on there and access them anytime?

    It cannot be plugged in via usb.. only by ethernet.. so it is not really external hard disk.. it is network storage but not a NAS.. it is designed purely as a target for Time Machine backups.. primarily for laptops with wireless only connections.. eg MBA as they do not have ethernet.
    As a place to store files the TC can be pressed into service but is really poor in having no automated method to back itself up.. and they do die which leaves them a sealed unit which Apple refuse to fix or open even to recover your data.
    Buy a NAS from any of the major companies.. if you want Network storage..
    Buy a USB drive from any of the major companies if you want something to plug into your computer for storage.
    TC is neither.. arthur or martha.

  • Does Time Capsule works as a External Hard Drive?

    Does Time Capsule works as a External Hard Drive?

    The Time Capsule works as a network drive.
    An external drive connects to your Mac using either the USB or FireWire ports.
    If your real question is to ask whether you can store other data on the Time Capsule drive....you can.

  • Can i use the time capsule as just an external hard drive for music or does it have to be used soley as a backe up?? im thinking for music and photos

    Can I use the time capsule as just an external hard drive for music or does it have to be used soley as a back up?  I'm thinking for music and photos

    Nickles96 wrote:
    Hello friends.. I have a similar question, in that I would like to purchase the 2TB TC for use as a NAS device, in addition to taking advantage of the Air Port extreme.. Then I could dump my Linksys router.
    I was originally looking at a Synology NAS solution, but the TC seems like it can meet my needs.
    I have a Synology NAS as well as the Time Capsule.  If you look at the 3.2 beta program, the Synology actually attempts to replicate TC functionality in that you can use it with Time Machine on your Mac.
    I must say, Airport on the TC is definitely a nice feature!
    Nickles96 wrote:
    In addition to the obvious feature of the backup, can I indeed also use the TC as a NAS drive to access from remote locations (example from the office)?
    I'm surprised more people aren't using the TC as a dedicated NAS deviced.. I've searched high and low on forums around the web, and don't seem to see many people trying to use it as I've outlined.
    I can't see why this wouldn't fufill my needs, and take the place of a separate NAS solution (like the Synology, or iOmega, Seagate, etc....)
    Has anyone used this TC as such?
    Yes, you can do this and it's something I've been trying to do, but I'm currently having issues.  I have another thread stating I consistently get "connection failed" messages.  I'm basically storing my music/photo/video files on the TC and keeping my Mac hard drive fairly lean.  In terms of NAS functionality, the TC is very basic.  Synology/QNAP and others have a lot more features so don't rule them out.

  • What is the best priced External Hard Drive, that I can reboot from, for the MacBook Pro?

    I have a MacBook Pro with 10.9.4. I am looking for a 3T External Hard Drive that I can boot from if my system goes south, that I can afford. Any recommendations?
    Mike

    Don't know the best priced, but the external drives I like best are the OWC, http://www.macsales.com Mercury Elite Pro quad-interface drives.  I have four of the 2 TB drives for my MacBook Pro and iMac and they are terrific.  OWC is a Mac specialist supplier with the best guarantees and service you will find.

  • Will Time Capsule back-up an external hard drive that is connected to it directly via USB?

    I'm considering a macbook air, but I have ~200GB of music and photos that currently lives on another laptop (and is manually backed up to a 500GB ext. hard drive).  Ideal set-up would be as follows:
    1. MBA (128GB) with just the OS, applications and ~ 5GB of .doc, .xls, .pdf, etc.
    2. The 500GB hard drive (loaded w/ music and jpegs' and permanently connected to Time Capsule so that I don't have to plug it into the MBA everytime I want to use music/jpegs)
    3. Time capsule (constantly backing up the MBA and hard drive via time machine).
    Does anybody know if this is possible (i.e. will the TC back up an external hard drive that is permanently attached to it, rather than attached to a Mac?)
    Does anybody have other suggestions (without having to buy any more gear) for storage/back-up that don't require that I plug that external HD to a computer every time I want to access the data?

    sixschlitzes wrote:
    Does anybody know if this is possible (i.e. will the TC back up an external hard drive that is permanently attached to it,
    No, sorry, Time Machine cannot back up from a network location.
    Does anybody have other suggestions (without having to buy any more gear) for storage/back-up that don't require that I plug that external HD to a computer every time I want to access the data?
    The 3rd-party apps CarbonCopyCloner and ChronoSync (and probably others) can back up from a network location.

  • Can the time capsule function like an external hard drive?

    Can I place files there I want to archive but don't need access to everyday? I want to consolodate two older external drives that I have to the time capsule.

    You can place files on the Time Capsule drive if you want, but there will be a conflict at some point in time if you are also using the Time Capsule for Time Machine backups.
    Drives do have a way of filling up much faster than you expected.
    If you plan to place "original" or "master" copies of data on the Time Capsule drive, you'll also have to figure out how to back up those files to yet another drive.  Time Machine cannot do this.

  • Setting Up Time Capsule as a wireless external hard drive

    I have a 2 TB TC that I wish to set-up as a wireless external hard drive at my office for my private files only not the entire company.  I would like for this to be private as well.  Here is my set-up now.
    MB Pro late 2011
    Connect to company network & internet via ethernet. 
    I cannot connect the TC to company network - security reasons - company policy
    I would like to use the TC as a external hard drive that I can access wirelessly for using Time Machine and backing up other image files from my scanner.
    The problem is that when I setup the TC it is telling me to connect ethernet.  I can't because that is how I access my company network and internet.
    Can this be done?  Thanks!!

    But....in order to now connect to the TC via wireless, you will have to first unplug any Ethernet connection that may be present on your Mac.  
    Or, if you do not want to unplug and replug the Ethenret cable, you could change the connection order to have your computer connect to wireless first and then Ethernet.
    In this case, when you turn off the wireless on the Mac, the Ethernet connection will become active. 
    The downside here is that you will have to turn the wireless back on to be able to back up or connect to the TC. In other words, backups will not be automatic unless you are connected via wireless to the TC.
    There should be a way around this.
    The issue is that the computer cannot use two gateways at once. It will either use wireless or ethernet. But in fact the computer does not need a gateway to communicate with the local network.
    Follow Bob's instructions to setup the TC. But make sure the TC is using a different IP subnet to the main network.. eg.. main network is 192.168.1.x (which you can see from the ethernet IP address) then the TC on its default IP 10.0.1.1 is fine.. but if the main network uses 10.0.x.x which is fairly common, then swap the TC over to 192.168.1.1 for instance. It can be any value.. as long as not in the same subnet (ip range) as the main network..
    Then on the computer.. keep the ethernet as the top connection.
    Set the airport IP address manually.
    Following the first example.. set the IP address to 10.0.1.10 with 255.255.255.0 subnet.
    Do not set router IP or gateway or dns. (this is the most important part).
    Apply all of that.
    You should be able to detect the TC and connect to it. But it will not stop your main network working at the same time. And there is no link between them as long as you do not route it in the MBP.
    Come back if you have issues.. or my explanation is lacking somewhere.
    To do the setup it is usually required to do ethernet first and then you can unplug it.
    If you have wifi in the office.. try and make sure you do not interfere. And set it manually with a different name for 5ghz.. and join only to the 5ghz network.. it will be both faster and less likely to cause interference to others. Most will not even see it. Set suitable password with wpa2 personal security so no one else can connect.

  • Time Capsule backup to an external hard drive.

    I'm trying to back up a computer to an external hard drive via my time capsule. I have tried everything I can to backup to the drive, but it keeps giving me sparse errors. My intent is to have backups both on the time machine and on 2 external hard drives that I will change out monthly to take off site to keep my data safe. Is there some way that I can set up such a system?

    Bruke53 wrote:
    I tried that; they are working properly. They are also brand new.
    Not all USB drives will work plugged into the apple routers. In fact a fairly large percentage just don't work.
    What is the brand and model you are trying?
    What is the disk format and partition type?
    Have you tried a powered hub on the TC?
    Not all powered hubs work either but there is more hope to get a disk working from a powered hub. You do not want self powered USB.
    What model TC might also help??

  • Can time capsule back up an external hard drive attached to my imac and the iMac internal Harddrive

    Can time capsule back up an external hard drive attached to my imac and the iMac internal Harddrive

    In addition to Kappy's comments, the external drive must be formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) in order for Time Machine to be able to back it up.

  • Can Time Capsule support an additional external hard drive?

    A friend of mine is using Airport Extreme and has both his printer and external hard drive hooked through it accessing both wirelessly. The Apple site says this works great with Extreme but does not say you can do the same thing with Time Capsule. I called our local store and she wasn't sure. Both Extreme and Time Capsule have one USB port so no matter what, you have to split the USB(I know this works with Extreme). All my music is on an additional hard drive and it would be great if I could access it wirelessly. If anyone has done this with time capsule please let me know. I want to purchase it but if not I will go with Extreme.

    Can Time Capsule support an additional external hard drive?
    Yes.
    (41832)

  • I have a macbook air and need additional storage should i consider a time capsule or a simple external hard drive?

    I have a macbook air and need additional storage should i consider a time capsule or a simple external hard drive?

    If you move live files (files you don't want to lose) to an external drive, you need to back them up.  Any files not backed up are at risk of loss.  Hard drives and SSDs can fail at any time.  It is hard to backup a Time Capsule so a TC should be used only as a backup device.
    Do you have a Time Machine backup now?  If so, and if it is large enough, you can backup your internal and external disk to it using Time Machine.  If not, you all need to purchase an external drive or TC as your backup device.  (I recommend an external hard drive for backup instead of a TC.)  Ideally the backup drive should be twice the size of what you are backing up but 50% larger will work so if you have an external 1 TB disk and an internal 250 GB SSD then a 2 TB backup disk will work well.
    By default, Time Machine will not backup the external disk.  You need to remove it from the exclusions list:
    To have Time Machine backup your system disk and your external offload disk up onto your Time Machine disk:
     > System Preferences > Time Machine > Options… > Remove the offload HD name from the exclusions list.

  • Will Time Machine work with an external hard drive connected (via usb) to Airport Extreme?

    Will Time Machine work with an external hard drive connected (via usb) to Airport Extreme?

    Sorry, but this article is about 4 years old, and was printed based on preliminary information at the time.
    The bottom line here is that Apple does not officially support Time Machine backups to a drive at the USB port of the AirPort Extreme.
    If it works for you, great.
    You might want to review the Apple Support documents below, which are far more recent than the article you reference:
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/15139.html
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2038
    It is supported.....
    This is NOT correct. Please do not post false information on the forums.

  • How do i set my time capsule as a wireless external hard drive?

    it is currently doing regular automatic back-ups of our system, but we want to set it as our hard drive as well.

    If Time Machine backups are occurring correctly, then you already have the Time Capsule set up as a hard drive on your network.
    Although not necessarily recommended, that means that you can manually drag/drop or copy/paste data directly to the Time Capsule disk.
    Are you asking how to do this, or how to locate the drive?  Please clarify.

  • Can I simply just use my Time Capsule as a normal External Hard drive? A wireless external hard drive?

    Can I simply just use my Time Capsule as a normal External Hard drive? A wireless external hard drive?

    I am not sure what you mean by normal external but yes, it is a network hard disk drive.. and you can use wireless.. the only trouble then is, if there is no ethernet connection and internet is by wireless to a different router, then you cannot do both at once.

Maybe you are looking for