Advice please: Time Capsule as backupable NAS solution?

*_The situation:_*
My girlfriend and I each have a laptop that are on a home wireless network. I've got a number of design work files that are currently on FireWire drives because my laptop HD isn't large enough to hold them all. We both use Time Machine to backup our individual systems to separate external hard drives.
I'm typically use my laptop in various rooms around the house so I tend to move around with it a bit. As such, having an external hard drive tethered to it is kind of a drag and I'd love to have some kind of file server that I can access wirelessly which will also be backed up.
*_My plan:_*
Buy a USB 2.0 hard drive for all the work files and attach it to a Time Capsule which I want to backup (1) the USB drive with all the work files (2) my laptop, and (3) the girlfriend's laptop.
*_What I want to know:_*
Is this a good idea? Will it work? Will accessing files from the attached USB drive be horribly slow? Am I risking anything in this approach? Is there a better solution?
Thanks in advance,
B.

You mean when I go into Time Machine on my Mac, that drive won't show up in the drives to include/omit section?
Yes, that is correct.
I guess I'm kind of baffled that the Time Capsule is billed as this great backup device, but can't back up the drive that's connected directly to it.
Yes, I would have to agree to that as well. It would be reasonable to expect that it could, but I guess the design goal was aimed more to making it easier for folks to back up their computers as seamless as possible.
Can you recommend a better solution for what I'm trying to accomplish?
Two that come to mind are solutions based on either Microsoft's Windows Home Server or FreeNAS, but either of these would require additional hardware. Both however support Time Machine backups.

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How can a company sell a Times Capsule appliance as a solution for backup and die for this manufacturing fault? And with that Apple? nothing, or technical assistance. Of a sledgehammer, open the device and attempt to recover your files by force!???

How can a company sell a Times Capsule appliance as a solution for backup and die for this manufacturing fault? And with that Apple? nothing, or technical assistance in Brasil. Of a sledgehammer, open the device and attempt to recover your files by force!???

Heat up the bottom rubber mat with a hairdryer for 5-10 minutes to loosen the adhesive, then pull the rubber mat away from the bottom metal plate carefully.
Then use a screwdriver to remove the 10-12 screws to open up the case.

Possible to simultaneously use time capsule for backup + another router for internet?

I will soon be moving into an apartment in which my landlord provides wireless internet through her own router.
I also have my own Time Capsule, which I'd like to continue to use to back up my Mac via Time Machine.
Is it possible to connect to both my Time Capsule (for backup only) and another router (for internet only) at the same time?
If not, can anyone suggest a good workaround?

moskovit wrote:
I've done a little research, and it looks like I might be able to wirelessly daisy chain the two routers, using WDS (wireless distribution system), assuming my landlord's router supports it, but that this would drop the speed of the internet significantly: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2623802?start=0&tstart=0
It works extremely poorly and the landlord would need to agree to it.. plus it would require use of WEP security which is hackable by children with internet hack kits in about 2min flat. Don't go there. Apple have made their products incompatible with most other routers. So any suggestion of a workaround will involve spending some money on your part.
You could buy a airport express and plug that into the main router by ethernet.. again if allowed. Your TC can do wireless bridge to another apple product very well. Messy but could work. It is not that expensive to get a second hand AEBS and use that. You don't need the latest products but wireless range would be better in the AEBS than AE.
So I'm still wondering: Is there another workaround? Is there a way to get my mac to connect to my time capsule (for backup) and another router (for internet) simultaneously, or is that just technologically impossible? If it's impossible, is there another solution?
You cannot wirelessly connect to two different wireless devices at once on one client. You need to either have a second wireless client in the laptop.. for instance a USB stick which can be fairly tiny nowadays. It is just you need to find one with Mac drivers. Or the TC must have internet connectivity. You could get that by buying a wireless bridge, and using that in your room, with the TC plugged into it. Universal wireless bridge devices are fairly cheap, but can be a pain to setup. Look for products that work with the main router and use as fast a speed as possible. It can be a tricky setup as you need the wireless bridge working on one channel and the TC working on another. What I am suggesting is the WDS solution you found but using two different boxes to do it. And not using WDS at all, unless the main router is suitable, but rather universal bridge.
The hassle of all that suggests to me,, I would go for the wireless stick, so your Mac laptop has two wireless clients.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/iMAC-MAC-Apple-Airport-G3-G4-G5-OS-X-USB-WIRELESS-CAR D-/290538112833?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a56bc741
I have no idea if this works just to show you what I mean. Please do research it yourself.
An ethernet connection to the TC is far superior solution albeit would require you to plug and unplug it.

How to monitor Time Capsules that backup multiple laptops?

Hello,
I have two 3Tb Time Capsules that backup 3 laptops each. Those laptops travel and are not always plugged into our network. I'd like to have a way to know if a laptop hasn't been backuped since n days.
Is there a way to do that?
Can Remote Desktop be of any help for that?
Thanks for your help!

You could write a script that looks at the directory in Time Capsule and see what the last updated file for each Mac's folder is.
If this is a business setup and you start to run out of Time Capsule space you may want to look at a NAS and moving Time Machine backups to that instead of Time Capsule.
You could then easily see the access logins for the backups as well as get encrypted backups, ability to recover if the backup drive fails, etc.

Settting Up Time Capsule to Access NAS Device Via FTP

Have had problems accessing my NAS via FTP when trying to connect to it from an outside network. Have never been able to access and login either anonymously or using one of the user names and passwords that I have set up from outside the home. When at home I am able to connect to the NAS via FTP on the LAN no problem so I am almost positive that I have not properly set up the Time Capsule.
My NAS also uses a web server feature that I am able to use by forwarding the proper ports on the Time CApsule and setting up a DynDNS account.
I would just use the web server feature but it's limited to accessing files under 2TB.
Would GREATLY APPRECIATE any advice on how to solve this problem.

charliprkr wrote:
Have had problems accessing my NAS via FTP when trying to connect to it from an outside network.
Welcome to Apple's discussion groups.
It sounds like you need to configure your Time Capsule to do "port mapping" of FTP ports to your NAS. In AirPort Utility enter "manual setup" mode with the Time Capsule, then select the Advanced panel and the Port Mapping tab. Click the plus sign at the bottom, then choose "FTP Access" as the service. Supply the LAN IP address of your NAS. Now direct your FTP requests to the WAN address of the Time Capsule.

Can I use time capsule as an NAS devise with sonos, to play music library when iMac is off?

can I use time capsule as an NAS devise with sonos, to play music library when iMac is off?

Apparently Sonos system can play from the library without needing iTunes running.
In that case yes, the library can be played directly from TC.
See https://discussions.apple.com/message/18562619#18562619
Sonos needs fully compliant SMB file system.. this is important.. and not what the Apple system is using to access the TC.
Moving the library has to be done correctly.
See http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4527
There are plenty of discussions in forums and technical sites.. this seems well worth a read.
http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/12/how-to-offload-your-itunes-library-to-a-nas /
TC is very non-ideal itunes library location.. unlike a real NAS.
Just so you are aware. If you have TM backups on it.. mixing backups and data is not a good idea.
At least consider moving backups to USB drive. You will need the speed of the TC internal drive for using the library though.
TC has no way to back itself up.
TC is slow to start.. you will get errors as the library is not found.
And quick to spin down drives.. it is not designed to stream media.. it is a backup target for TM.

Can I use the new Time Capsule to backup my mid 2010 Macbook Pro? Also can I want to free up my hard disk, can I save my photos and files on the time capsule and later access through wifi?

Can I use the new Time Capsule to backup my mid 2010 Macbook Pro? Also can I want to free up my hard disk, can I save my photos and files on the time capsule and later access through wifi?

Can I use the new Time Capsule to backup my mid 2010 Macbook Pro?
Yes, if you are asking about using Time Machine to backup the Mac.
Also can I want to free up my hard disk, can I save my photos and files on the time capsule and later access through wifi?
You are not thinking of deleting the photos and files on your Mac, are you? If you do this, you will have no backups for those files.
Another concern is that Time Machine backs up the changes on your Mac. At some point, Time Machine will automatically delete the photos and files from the Time Capsule.....you just don't know when this might occur.
In other words, only delete files from your Mac that you can afford to lose.

Can I use the time capsule as backup and hard disk at the same time?

Hi.
I want to buy a time capsule.
I wondered, if I can use the time capsule as backup (over time machine) and as a hard disk at the same time?
If I buy the 2TB time capsule, I wanted to use 1TB for the backup and 1TB for hard disk.
Is this possible?
Best wishes
Sophie

It is not recommended.. the problem being anything stored on the TC only is not backed up and cannot be backed up by the TC itself or Time Machine. So what are you going to do about back.. the TC can and do die suddenly.. and the cost of recovery can be huge.
See Q3 here for the semi-right way to do it if you must.
http://pondini.org/TM/Time_Capsule.html
You can plug a USB drive into the TC and use that for files.. but note, its speed is poor.. fine for wireless as wireless is even slower but you will really notice it if you expect the drive to be as fast as the internal.. it will be a fraction of the internal drive speed. 1/2 write and 1/3 read aprox.
See http://www.anandtech.com/show/4577/airport-extreme-5th-gen-and-time-capsule-4th- gen-review-faster-wifi-/7

Time machine couldn't complete the backup to johns airport time capsule. the backup disk is not available

time machine couldn't complete the backup to johns airport time capsule. the backup disk is not available

You may find answers at Pondini's Time Machine FAQ for help with all things related to Time Machine.

Time Machine couldn't complete the backup to time capsule-the backup disk is not available

Time Machine couldn’t complete the backup to time capsule-the backup disk is not available

Reboot the network in correct order.. modem.. router/TC.. clients.. 2min gap.
This is just standard windows.. woops, Mac OS networking now.

Time Machine couldn't complete the backup to "Time Capsule".The backup disk image "/Volumes/Data-1/Macintosh.sparsebundle" is already in use.

When I back up my macbook pro to time capsule 3TB, this appears:
"Time Machine couldn’t complete the backup to “Time Capsule”.The backup disk image “/Volumes/Data-1/Macintosh.sparsebundle” is already in use."
and I'm not able to back up. What do I do?

As noted in the link I posted, that's fine if you're the only user logged-on to the only Mac using the TC's disks (internal and/or USB externals). If not, that may corrupt other data being written, especially other backups.

HT3275 I received this message and I'm unsure how to fix it "Time Machine couldn't complete backup to Time Capsule the backup disk image"/Volumes/The Vision Board/Alex Parry.sparsebundle" is already in use

I received this message and I'm unsure how to fix it "Time Machine couldn't complete backup to Time Capsule the backup disk image“/Volumes/The Vision Board/Alex Parry.sparsebundle” is already in use

Look at the more like this on the right column of the web page.
This is the most common error here.. we answer it 5-10times every day.
Simple method.. pull out the TC power cord .. count to 10.. plug in the TC power cord.
Look at the other references for more info.

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How can I use Time Capsule for backup on a HP Windwos computer?

Apple does not offer Windows backup software.
A popular PC application used to backup a PC on the Time Capsule is Genie Timeline Pro. You might want to take a look:
Genie Timeline Pro | Overview | Time Machine Backup Software for ...

I want to install a new Time Capsule for backups. I also have a B box2 from Belgacom for the digital TV, so how do I install?

Hi,
I want to install a new Time Capsule for backups. I also have a B box2 from Belgacom for the digital TV, so how do I install?

Just setup the TC in bridge.
Assuming you are using Lion.. download the airport utility that has some utility.
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1482
Then manual setup, internet tab, connection sharing.. off bridge mode.
Then plug the TC into the Bbox and just use it as wireless target for your air.
You can use wireless on Bbox if that works as well, and you might need to juggle wireless channels to get everything working. Having both set to auto is not a good idea.. set and lock channels on one or the other but best is both.. On the TC go to the airport wireless page. change it to manual.. lock the channel. You can use 1, 6, 11 or 13 in ETSI..

Can time capsule keep backup files that are removed from my computer

Can time capsule keep backup files that are removed from my computer? I am a photographer and have a ton of files that take too much space on my computer. I'd like to have a backup of them but keep them off of my computer. Does time capsul allow this?

files you remove from your computer will be removed from your time machine backups sooner or later.
better store important files on an external HD which, if connected directly to your computer and given enough space on your TC, can be backed up using time machine.

Advice please: Time Capsule as backupable NAS solution?

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