10.6 Time Machine occassionally drops connection to my AirPort Express

i've got a Airport Extreme TimeCapsule Basestation (500GB), as my main access point, and an AirPort Express to "extend" my network (around a refrigerator).
In Leopard (10.5-10.5.8) Time Machine has worked fine (although sometimes causes a little lag on my wireless network while backing up).
When I upgraded to Snow Leopard (10.6, now 10.6.1), occassionally - at least twice a week - Time Machine drops my (normal) connection to my AirPort Extreme, and connects me to the TimeCapsule basestation instead (with a low connection speed due to the frig in the way).
Has anyone run into this situation? I am hoping Apple is aware of it.
(my SID is hidden, and have specific MAC addresses ONLY allowed access, and using WPA2 Personal security)

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Solved the problem using this forum. Changed the security to WAP/WAP2 personal.

I upgraded to Maverick and now Time Machine will not connect to the external hard drive to back up files. The external hard drive is a Western Digital "My Book Live" 2 TB. How do I solve problem?

I upgraded to Maverick and now Time Machine will not connect to the external hard drive to back up files. The external hard drive is a Western Digital "My Book Live" 2 TB. How do I solve problem?

I also had problem accessing my WD MyBookLive after upgrading to Maverick.
To resolve the problem, I used Connect To Server (Cmd K) to specify the IP address.
Then I enter a user id and password I created in the MyBookLive.
You can also verify that you have admin access to the MyBookLive using Safari or Chrome.
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Time Machine won't connect over WiFi

I'm running 10.7.4 on my MacBook Pro. I have an airport extreme that I have a Western Digital 2Gb network drive connected to. I performed a full backup over the network and have had subsuquent backups work fine. Recently I have been getting the following message and I can't get Time Machine to backup any changes I have on my computer. "The backup disk image “/Volumes/TimeMachine/dave (2).sparsebundle” is already in use." If I reboot the computer and the drive, I still can't get it to backup. I am able to access the drive by selecting connect to server in the GO menu, but the Time Machine won't connect. Any suggestions? Thanks.

See C17
http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
But your doing something that is not supported and frankly many people find does exactly what you experience... it works well for a while and then just won't work.. you can verify the disk.. see A5 in the same post as listed. You probably need to wipe it and start again.. but this will keep happening.. The AEBS is not suitable for this task.
See http://pondini.org/TM/Airport.html
Pondini is our guru on all things Time Machine.
When he says jump, the response is how high?? Not why?

Time Machine won't connect to sparsebundle, wants to start over. Pls help!

I was in the midst of a 40GB iTunes Folder recovery, when it stopped after 5GB.
Now, when I go to Time Machine preferences and connect to the backup drive, it wants to start over rather than "reconnecting" to the old sparsebundle.
I've double-clicked the sparsebundle to open it and see that all my backups are in there... but of course, they're backed up in increments. I need to know how I get Time Machine to continue with the backups it already has.
I'm using Mac OS 10.6.7 on a MBP 13". Time Machine is being used on an Airport Extreme with connected Air Disk (WD hard drive). I know this may be officially unsupported, but I've had no problems with it for the year that I've been using Time Machine to back up and recover various files. I don't think anything is wrong with the sparsebundle other than it isn't seeming to want to reconnect to it.
I would really appreciate your help. I would hate that I started replacing (and lost) an entire 40GB iTunes folder for the silly reasons I'd wanted to restore it.

Harv Nagra wrote:
Time Machine is being used on an Airport Extreme with connected Air Disk (WD hard drive). I know this may be officially unsupported, but I've had no problems with it for the year that I've been using Time Machine to back up and recover various files.
That's likely the cause of the problem, and is the reason we advise against it -- it may work, for a while, but sooner or later, the backups tend to turn up corrupted.
Try repairing them, per #A5 in [Time Machine - Troubleshooting|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/Troubleshooting.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).
If that doesn't help, you might be able to view and restore from the backups in that sparse bundle via the +*Browse Other Time Machine Disks+* option, per #E2 in Troubleshooting.
Whether you can recover the data or not, you're playing with fire. Please see #2 in [Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/FAQ.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum), for supported destinations; and #27 for advice on "secondary" backups.

Suppose I have two identical laptops loaded with my current time machine back up. I take one on a trip and update it with time machine but leave it. I come back w time machine HD and connect the home laptop, will it just update or start over from scratch?

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Clone - SuperDuper
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Connecting to multiple Airport Express base stations at the same time?

I want to be able to use wireless internet and stream music to my stereo at the same time, but I only have a single internet connection behind my stereo and it's connected to the Pay TV. My options seem to be getting a new line installed behind the stereo so I can insert this into the same Airport Express base station I use for my music, or buying a second Airport Express base station and connecting it to one of the other internet connections in the room, then connecting to both Airport Express base stations at the same time.
Is this possible? Are there other alternatives?
Many thanks

Nate, Welcome to the discussion area!
Once you have a network, you can connect multiple AirPort Express (AX) to that network (wirelessly or via Ethernet). When your computer joins that network it can access all the AX.
You could take your current internet connection and run it into an inexpensive router with multiple Ethernet ports (not the AX). If this is a wireless router then your AXs could be located elsewhere and connect as wireless clients to that network. Once you computer joined that network it could stream music to the AXs.

I cannot get time machine (with airport) to back up my mac. It worked previously but not now. It is working on my macbook. the message i get is "Time Machine couldn't back up to '(airport network name)'"

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OS is important.. What OS is on Mac and what is on the working macbook?
Was the Airport setup from the Macbook? That might be why it works from there..
Does the AE show up in Mac airport utility?
Can you mount the disk in finder and copy files to it/from it??
Did you try a TM reset after mounting in Finder.. so you know it is available?
What about a network reboot.. does it work post a restart for a few minutes/hours/days???

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I'm triying to connect a second airport express in my home network but when I plug in and go to Airpot Utility says :
"This version of AirPort Utility doesn’t support this base station. Go to AirPort Service and Support for more information."
I don't know what to do to get connect the second airport exprees?, Do I miss something ?

You need AirPort Utility 5.6 to configure that model Express. The problem with that version is that Mountain Lion will refuse to let you install it.
This dilemma is easily solved. You simply need to extract the app from the installer package using a package extractor like Pacifist or unpkg. Pacifist is shareware, unpkg is free.
Download Pacifist here: http://www.charlessoft.com/
Download unpkg here: http://www.timdoug.com/unpkg/
Download AirPort Utility 5.6 here: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1482
When the AirPort Utility .dmg file finishes downloading, open it to expand and reveal the AirPortUtility56.pkg package installer file.
Directions for Pacifist (I do not have screenshots for unpkg but the idea is similar):
Open Pacifist and from its File menu, navigate to the package and open it.
Click the "reveal triangles" until you see AirPort Utility 5.6.app:
Select it and then click Install from Pacifist's toolbar. It will then be installed in your Utilities folder, and you can quit Pacifist.
Mountain Lion will not allow you to delete its existing version of AirPort Utility. Just ignore it. It and the older version (which will bear the unique name "AirPort Utility 5.6") can peacefully coexist.
If you happen to have an archived copy of the AU 5.6 app somewhere, such as a Time Machine backup or equivalent, you can simply restore it or drag the app to your Mountain Lion system's Utilities folder instead of resorting to the above procedure. It will run without complaint. It is only the package installer that is the problem.
If you have an older computer with a version of AirPort Utility earlier than 6.0, you can administer it that way as well.

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So, I'm connecting to the Express' network but I can't do anything. After a variable amount of time (5 seconds to half-an-hour), the Express will appear in my Airport Utilities once again and I can surf the net. Does anyone have any thoughts? Is there a way to ping any of the protected wireless-networks that are available, just to see if it's a problem on my iMac's end? Could my Express still be broadcasting its SSID but has shut-down it's networking capability because of an overheating issue?
Thanks.
- Matt
PS. My Airport Express is the 802.11n model.

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Thanks!

Hello Ingrid,
Thank youj for using Apple Support Communities.
You can use the following article to troubleshoot your Wi-Fi connections wit your iPhone..
iOS: Troubleshooting Wi-Fi networks and connections - Apple Support
Regards,
Jeff D.

Is it possible to plug in an external HDD to the USB connection on my Airport Express for backups?

Is it possible to plug in an external HDD to the USB connection on my Airport Express for backups? As a kind of cheapo Time Capsule?

Unfortunately no, because the USB port on the AirPort Express will only work with a printer and a Keyapan remote control. Hard drives are not supported.
You would need an AirPort Extreme for that type of functionality.

How to connect Xbox to Airport Express

I currently have the Xbox connect to the Airport Express (ethernet).
The cable modem is connect to the Airport Extreme in another room.
The internet is WPA protect.
The Airport Extreme is password protected.
Is this a possible set up? Also, can you provide directions of how to enter all the correct setting information on the Xbox? Do I need to enter anything on the Airport?

Looks like this thread died. I have a similar situation. Got a Time Capsule connected to a modem, and an older airport express in another room I've been using to stream music. The wireless network is WPA password protected. My son just got an Xbox 360. Just fooling around, I connected it to the airport express, but wasn't able to see the network. I have the airport express set to "join network." Do I have to set up a WDS? If so, do I have to change settings on the Time Capsule (to main base in a WDS)? I'd rather not set up a WDS, as I'd rather not mess with the Time Capsule, and I've heard that WDS cuts down on the signal strength of the wireless network. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Knowing how many people is connected to my airport express

I have an airport express and is encrypted how ever I would like to know how many people is connected to it, is this posible?

I would like to see things like who's connected to my airport express, and whether the airport has been able to get an IP address from the DSL modem, and so on.
Can the airport management tools do this? I tried installing the version linked from www.apple.com/support/airport, but got the error "This application requires Airport 3.4 or later." However, I've installed Airport 4.2 already.
Is the shareware Airport Monitor Utility the only way to go for this? I had a hard time interpreting a lot of the information it was giving me...
thanks in advance for the reply,
aram
Macbook Pro Mac OS X (10.4.8) using airport express

AirPort Express - Can not connect to "extended" AirPort Express

Two trips to the Genius Bar tell me that I should be able to Extend my network from a new AirPort Express (n/g/b) to an older AirPort Express (b/g) using the "extend network feature". The two devices are communicating (both lights are green and the wireless channel will change on the remote device if I change it at the base station), but my MBP Core Duo 15" seems to only be connecting to the AirPort Express Base Station (n/g/b) and not to the Remote "extended" AirPort Express (b/g).
This forum seems to indicate that you can only use WDS between the newer AEX (n) and the older AEX (b/g) but the folks at the Apple Store have told me twice now not to use WDS. They said that as long as the two devices have green lights that it is working, but when I click on the Airport Symbol up in the menu bar w/the Option key it tells me the MAC address of the base station only - and when I get very far from the base station, the signal drops out even though the remote AEX is near by.
I did try setting it up using WDS and that works fine, just very slow.
Anyone know if there's a way to be sure that my MBP connects to the remote (extended) AirPort Express?

This forum seems to indicate that you can only use WDS between the newer AEX (n) and the older AEX (b/g)
This is correct....since the older b/g Express does not even have a setting to "extend a wireless network".
If you require confirmation, open AirPort Utility, select the b/g Express, click Manual Setup
Click the Wireless tab below the row of icons
Now look at the available settings for Wireless Mode.
"Extend a wireless network" is not there.
but the folks at the Apple Store have told me twice now not to use WDS.
They are likely telling you not to use it because the performance on your network will drop dramatically if you do use WDS. Or, they mean well, but they are just wrong on this subject. Here's why:
The only way that you can use an older "g" and newer "n" device together to provide more wireless coverage is to configure both devices for WDS. It's a Catch 22.
WDS operates only at "g" wireless levels. So when you configure the newer "n" Express to operate as part of the WDS (which you must), it becomes a "g" wireless device. You lose any "n" capability on the network
Worse still, every "remote" or "relay" in a WDS setup cuts the bandwidth of the entire network in half...50%. That's huge. In effect, with WDS, you may have a bit more wireless coverage, but you will have a "g" wireless network that operates at half speed.
but when I click on the Airport Symbol w/the Option key it tells me the MAC address of the base station only - and when I get very far from the base station, the signal drops out even though the remote AEX is near by.
The remote AX is not providing any additional wireless coverage.
They said that as long as the two devices have green lights that it is working
Nope, as you can tell by the fact that your "remote" is not providing any additonal wireless coverage.
Anyone know if there's a way to be sure that my MBP connects to the remote (extended) AirPort Express?
Your only option, (unless you add more hardware):
Configure both AX devices to "Participate in a WDS network" setting one up as a "main" and the other a "remote" . The big downside, as mentioned previously, is that you will have a "g" wireless network running at half speed.

10.6 Time Machine occassionally drops connection to my AirPort Express

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