AirPort Time Capsule - wireless backups

I think I may have messed up the setup of my shiny new AirPort Time Capsule.
I had bought it to hide away in a corner, wirelessly backing up my Mac.
During setup I was unable to connect it to my household wifi network and to play around I ended up setting up a second wifi network from the ATC itself.
I followed the instructions wrt a Hard/Factory resets, but each time the original setup is copied back across from Airport Utility and I've not been able to start from scratch.
Having tried again whilst connected to my modem/router via ethernet I have been able to get a green light and perform a backup. Given the size of this the ethernet connection is appropriate?
For my future incremental backups, what steps do I need to take to be able to disconnect the ethernet cable and resituate the ATC elsewhere?
In Airport Utility, when Network Mode is set to 'Extend a wireless Network' no networks are listed of the several visible to the Mac, iPhone, iPad.
The ATC hasn't been ethernet connected directly to the Mac. The Mac isn't ethernet connected to the modem/router.

Should I interpret your comments that the ATC will always need to be connected to the Mac or the modem/router?
As I said previously.....
As illustrated in the Time Capsule Setup Guide, the Time Capsule needs to connect to your your modem or modem/router using a permanent wired Ethernet cable connection.
Permanent would mean just that.....a fixed wired connection at all times.
The only exception to this rule would be that if your "main" router....the one that provides your wireless network....is also another Apple wireless router.
So, unless you have another Apple router providng your main wireless network, the Time Capsule will need to connect using a permanent wired connection to your modem or modem/router at all times.
I also said.....
Once you have the Time Capsule set up correctly, you can connect your Mac directly to the Time Capsule using an Ethernet cable for the first backup, since the data transfer will typically take place 4-5 times faster using a wired connection.
Once you have the first backup done, then you can switch to wireless on your Mac and back up that way, since each incremental backup should only take a few minutes.
That should be pretty clear.
You don't have to connect your Mac to the Time Capsule using a wired Ethernet cable for the first backup, if you don't mind waiting 4-5 times longer for the first backup to occur, with greater chances of an error occuring during the process.
With a wired connection, the first backup might take a few hours. With a wireless connection, the first backup might take all day. Most users would opt for the faster and more reliable option, I would think.
The first Time Machine backup copies over everything on your Mac to the Time Capsule. After the first backup is done, Time Machine only backs up the changes that have occurred on your Mac since the previous backup.
These "incremental" backups should not involve copying a lot of data, so using wireless on your Mac to connect to the Time Capsule will work fine for this process.

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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.

Can I use the Airport Time Capsule Wirelessly without being connected to my router/mac by ethernet?

Hey
I've recently bought a 3TB Airport Time Capsule, with the sole intention of being able to perform wireless backups.
Is it possible to perform these wireless backups without being connected by ethernet to my modem/existing router? I don't want to use the time capsule as a replacement for my existing router (at this stage) - just for wireless backups of my Macs.
If this is not possible, or practicable, are there other alternatives that I should explore? (non-cloud)
Thanks in advance
Steven
PS
Boring background:
I'm in a rental property with a woefully inadequate number of plugs in practical places. In addition there is only one phone socket. The result being insufficient safe space to have the existing router, and the Airport TC along with the existing electrical items.

Unfortunately, Apple designed the Time Capsule to connect to a modem or modem/router using an Ethernet connection.
If you do this, you do have the option of turning off the wireless on the Time Capsule and using your existing wireless for backups. Backups will be automatic this way, in the background. The Time Capsule could be located anywhere an Ethernet cable will reach.....up to 300+ feet or about 100 meters.
The other option.....not recommended and not convenient at all.....is to set up the Time Capsule......without an Ethernet connection and then have the Time Capsule provide a wireless network that would not have Internet access.
So, when you wanted to back up, you would have to manually "switch" to the Time Capsule network for that process, then once the backup was done, manually "switch" back again to your normal wireless network for normal operations. A real mess, not to mention the possibility of wireless interference between the networks that may create other issues.

Have the following iMac at home and am contemplating adding a MacBook Air and a 2TB Airport Time Capsule for backup/storage and increased WiFi speeds. My question is this (1) a compatible setup, and (2) will my older iMac slow down the WiFi speeds? Man

Have an older iMac and am contemplating adding a new MacBook Air and a 2TB Airport Time Capsule to increase WiFi speeds. My question is (a) is this a compatable setup and (b) will the older iMac slow the WiFi speeds?
Thanks

Be careful about mixing Time Machine backups and other data on the TC's disk. That will cause conflicts, sooner or later. See #Q3 in Using Time Machine with a Time Capsule for an explanation and some possible workarounds.

Time Capsule - wireless backups - how?

My ISP has a modem/router(wireless) combo.
This is what I would like to do but I am not sure if it's possible. I want to continue to use my ISP combo which obviously connects to the internet. I want to move my time capsule to a secure location and only use it for wireless backups.
Is this possible? If so how? At first glance I don't know how to be connected to 2 wireless devices at the same time...

I think I figured it out. It's the extending network feature....

How do I install Airport Time Capsule with ATT Uverse when two of my modems are wireless?

I recently purchased an Airport Time Capsule so that I can back up multiple Apple devices. I currently have ATT Uverse and my internet provider. Also, two of my modems are wireless. How can I set up the Time Capsule so the the two wireless modems will still work?

I think you are using wrong terminology so can I ask exactly what is the model number of the wireless modem??
The Uverse is already a router.. and I guess you have cable service.. so there is no need for more modems.. more likely you mean you have two wireless routers and these should be setup as Wireless Access Points.. (WAP or AP). If they are working as routers then you have far too many routers. If they are working as modems you have far too many modems.
It is impossible to tell you how to setup the TC until we know what the setup is.
But let me suggest the most straight forward approach is to plug the TC into the Uverse by ethernet (it cannot be used by wireless.. so this is necessary). Run the TC in bridge mode.. and create a wireless network. Test if you then can access it from your network client devices and do backups from Macs.. if so there is no need for the wireless modems.. leave them off.

I have a rMBP that needs to be backed up. The Wi-Fi in my house is poor and I do not have an Ex. Hard Drive. I want to get the new Airport Time Capsule, but can you accomplish it's benefits wirelessly?

So...
I have a modem across the house and my room is at the opposite side. I believe that you have to connect the Airport Time Capsule via modem cable in order for you to appreciate the benefits of the boosted up Wi-Fi. However, I want the airport time capsule in my room, without having any extra cables plugged into it AND also benefit from the Wifi boosts, as well as back it up wirelessly.
Is there any way to do this? I was reading up on it and there are search queries bringing up "bridges" and all that stuff, but I haven't found a clear answer on it.
So, to recap:
I want the Airport Time Capsule to not only back up my rMPB and help my wifi signal out, but to do all of this with no additional cables having to be plugged in.
Thanks.

Trust me when I say this coming from 20 years of experience.
Get a powered external drive, format it 1 Partition Option: GUID and OS X Extended Journed as the format in Disk Utility.
Download and install Carbon Copy Cloner, clone internal drive to external drive.
Set a schedule to remind you to do it at least once a week, keep it near your charger.
When you plug your charger in, do plug the clone and power the machine up, set the display to sleep only,
CCC will do the rest.
If you want to boot from it, hold the option/alt and select it Startup Manager.
I've seen many TimeMachine and TimeCapsule nightmares and so far haven't seen a problem from anyone using a bootable clone.
It's simple, it's easy, it's more reliable and more powerful than what Apple does and it only takes plugging in a extra cable.
Make as many clones as you want, keep them time seperated, off site etc. etc.
Cables don't have network issues, clones can be verified in seconds merely by booting from them.
Clones protect your productivity, your up in seconds on a clone despite even the hard drive dying.
Software problem? No sweat, boot of the clone and reverse clone your problems away.
If you want to fuss and muss with half implemented TimeMachine and TimeCapsule network headaches then prepare to suffer.
I don't like to suffer, I bought a Mac not to suffer, but it appears you do with TimeMachine and TimeCapsule.
Most commonly used backup methods

How to use Airport Time Capsule as a wireless hard drive?

I have purchased the Airport Time Capsule 3TB but I really don't need a backup disk, so I want to use it as a wireless hard disk to be used in my network, how can I do this? Can someone give me a clear step by step guide of how I can do this?
I appreciate your help and support.

There is no difference between using the TC as a backup or as a network disk.
Mount the disk in finder.
Copy files to it and from it.. in exactly the same way you copy files between disks in a Mac.
As a file store the TC is not good.
Store files on the TC.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/24380694#24380694
This is asked several times a day.. obviously people are struggling with their latest SSD being too small.
The TC is not suitable for network file server.. but many people having no choice press it into service as such.
It cannot be partitioned. It was and is and ever shall be a backup device for Time Machine.
Major issues.
1. No backup.. no way Time Machine can backup a network drive. No place to backup to.. So all your files will be at risk. And you will need to buy a third party like CCC to do backup.
2. The TC cannot be partitioned and mixing TM backups and data is not great.
3. The drive is slow to spin up and quick to spin down.. there is no controls.
4. iPhoto in particular can easily corrupt its entire library with wireless networking causing a disconnection to one photo. Even if you do this;;; do not move your photo library... you have been warned!!
5. iTunes will constantly lose connection to the library. The disk is too slow to respond.. itunes on the computer will constantly spit out errors. Even in the midst of streaming the TC can spin down the disk due to caching.
6. Do not use any live files on the TC no matter what else you do.. if you edit files in whatever program the file must be on the local hard disk.
7. The only suitable location for most libraries is a computer. You can plug in an external hard disk.
Read pondini for some work arounds.
Q3 here. http://pondini.org/TM/Time_Capsule.html

I have 2 macs and 2 PC laptops in my home wireless network. Can I use the Airport/Time Capsule hard drive to back up all 4 machines? I know that I will have to use different back up software on the PCs, but is it possible over the wireless network?

I have 2 macs and 2 PC (Windows 7) laptops in my home wireless network. (The iMac is hardwired via ethernet to the Airport/Time Capsule; the others are wireless connections using Airport). I want to use the hard disk drive in the Time Capsule as a network backup drive for all 4 computers. Is this possible? Could someone help me by telling me how to configure it? I know I will have to use different backup software in the 2 Windows 7 Laptops? Do I need to use the Windows backup software, or can I use a third party program like Acronis True Image? Thanks in advance for the help

It is your fault, pondini.. all your fault.
I read of all the things that go wrong restoring Time Machine backups.. particularly stupid things like mail, photo libraries don't go back.. etc. And looking through the incredible number of issues people have here, when their Mac finally takes a dive how hard it is to restore.
I restored a test hard disk from a TC.. and it takes ages and ages to even make up its mind to start.
I worked in computer support for ages, but not Macs.. so my experience is ghost.. ghost images.. on large commercial server setups, can stream restore to multiple computers at once.. even doing it computer by computer the image is simple as network boot to restore. But ghost went the way of Symantec.. sigh!! And was destroyed.
A product like clonezilla, Free linux boot cd.
http://lifehacker.com/5078397/clonezilla-backs-up-and-restores-your-disks
Can backup a Hard disk in just about any format.. yet to try it on a Mac to a TC.. but I will. Boot from CD.. instead of your lost Lion partition which no longer exists (because the hard drive had to be replaced) and the DVD they no longer give you, and restore the entire hard disk in a couple of hours .. to the exact image at the point you made the clone.. in any format, with any partitions.
My bet is that it will kill TM .. but you could be right.
It is just the prospect of all those permission changes, photos and mail libraries etc that worry me.

Question on if Airport Time Capsule is best type of backup to use

New to having a Mac, just ordered a 27" iMac, loaded, with a G-Drive Raid for second drive, and for backup...I ordered the 3 TB Airport TIme Capsule...as I thought that might be good idea, but...second guessing it.
     1. Neither the G-Drive nor the Airport will do RAID-1.
     2. I have an existing Wireless FireWall Router (Linksys WRT1900AC, just upgraded to it). Uncertain if it supports Time Machine, but, seems maybe all I really need is to hang a RAID-1 drive off of it, for a backup?
     3. Just hang a RAID-1 drive off of the iMac with Thunder or even USB3.
I kinda like the idea of the backup drive being remote from the computer, so maybe both won't be destroyed at same time, and, even if not RAID-1, changes of BOTH drives going south at same time are low.
What's best practice?
Thanks.

Time Capsule is designed to be used for a Time Machine backup, Apple never advised it was designed as a RAID drive so where you got that idea is unknown. Many users on these forums use redundant backups because when it comes to backing up you can never have enough. The schems I (any many similar users on this forum use) is to use Time Machine on one EHD and then use a cloning backup on a totally seperate EHD. Two popular cloning apps are SuperDuper and Carbon Copy Cloner. Both do the same, create bootable clones of your system so in the event of a HD crash you can boot from the clone and operate until you can get the internal HD replaced. Your TC is a good device as both a router and TM backup however in order to have a redudant backup you will need another EHD, one directly connected to your iMac.

Airport Extreme Base Station as an wireless Extender to new Airport time capsule

After many months of time machine back up problems. (verify back up failing) I am considering biting the bullet and getting a new 2TB Airport extreme time capsule. Can I use the old (late 2013 801.11ac) airport extreme to extend wifi network?
A few other questions.
1.Does extending reduce wifi performance?
2. If using extreme as extender can I still plug in hard drive or hard drive to it?
3.
currently using imac 21.5 (late 2013) 1TB backing up to 6TB WD mybook live duo (connected to Extreme using ethernet), via airport extreme base station (ac wireless band to mac)
Any guidance appreciated.

Is it possible to quantify how much faster USB back up is compared to 802.11ac between mac and AirPort time capsule?
600GB should take 10 hours by ethernet. And it will be somewhat faster by USB3.. exactly how fast is difficult to predict as the first TM backup itself is slow due to many small files. In terms of raw speed maybe twice but it will depend on the disk used. USB you can use an SSD and get super huge speed. (not that I think you will be buying a 1TB SSD anytime soon).
In terms of raw speed it is cheese and chalk. The max speed of real world file transfer on AC wireless is around 430Mbps and that is using ideal world.
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/router-charts/bar/113-5-ghz-dn-c?see=MAX
This has nothing to do with link speed.. this is how fast a file actually transfers. And that is assuming the iMac and the TC are in the same room. And everything is perfect with nothing else using connection.
The real world speed of USB3 is around 100MB/s to a spinning hard disk..
http://www.macworld.com/article/2039427/how-fast-is-usb-3-0-really-.html
which may indicate the limit is the actual disk speed. In bits per second you x 8.. so the USB3 is 800Mbps. The advantage of USB direct connection is that speed is available at all time. Not when your close or the load on wireless is low.
Further to your comments when extending. Is it only the area covered by extending that has reduced performance or all the wifi signal?
The speed will depend on hops..
So if the computer is using resources on a local router.. and only one wireless hop then it is fast.
If it is using resources via a second router so wireless goes.. computer--- router2----router1-- resource.
Your speed drops 50% at best.. at worst it is really bad.
For example.. computer 1 on router 1 accesses computer 2 hard disk on router2 with everything wireless.
Count the hops. C1-R1, R1-R2, R2-C2
That gives 3 hops. So each packet is transmitted.. along that chain.. each transmission can only begin after it is received in full. Now add some other computers using resources.. say C3 is using internet via R1.. that has to be time sliced. So you get 50% of 50% of 50% of 50%. It is obvious that wireless networks have a huge handicap.. they cannot transmit and receive at the same time.. nor can they talk to more than one client at a time.. so add time slicing to wireless hopping.
Now ethernet is entirely different. It can transmit and receive at the same time.. ie is duplex. And in a switch it can talk to several computers at the same time. That is why we say.. as much as you can ethernet.. and use wireless as the last single hop to a client that needs it.. ie iphone or ipad.. or laptop if you cannot plug in ethernet.
Can the ac wifi format be extended using AirPort Extreme and time capsule.
Over very short range yes. AC wireless is only on 5ghz and is poor penetration of solids.. so this will work but maybe only to the next room.

HT1175 Can an Airport Time Capsule backup more then one MacBook Pro (one at a time ) ?

Can an Airport Time Capsule backup two different MacBooks at two differnet times?

The title and the text questions are different.
But you can backup multiple computers to the TC at the same time.. the only problem is wireless has limited bandwidth.. so the speed of the backup will be seriously affected as well as browsing or internet usage.
For a first backup use ethernet.. but if your TM is doing normal incremental backups which are fairly small it is no problem at all.

I purchased a 3TB Airport Time Capsule After 8 hours been able to configure the box using Ethernet connection but now I want to move my current backups and it wants authentication but no box is available to provide my administrator name can anyone help ?

I purchased a 3TB Airport Time Capsule to use with my Mac running latest Maverics. After 8 hours been able to configure the box using Ethernet connection but now I want to move my current backups from my small driveand it wants authentication but no box is available to provide my administrator name can anyone help ?

I overcame the permissions by allowing both paths to have read and write access to anyone but that didnt solve it until I copied it into the DATA directory which I created on the Airport Time Capsule.
I had already discovered the TIME MACHINE How to transfer backups but I am struggling still with the item and cannot currently get it to work. My setup seems to have created a wireless link to my router which is what I wanted and in that set up there are three options. I have simply gone for the extension of my network. I ignored the other option there which I cannot remember something like DNS? That may be the problem becasuse when I remove the Ethernet connector it just doesnt go anywhere.
I have also found I cannot update my TIME MACHINE software (currently 1.3) as although Apple tell me I should be able to set backups hourly daily or weekly I have only ever been able to run it hourly when i would prefer longer intervals so thought an update might be necssary.
Also tried to get an update for my Airport Utility (Currently 6.3.2 but cannot find one even though I have read there might be one available and again this might be the problem.
Have reset the Time Capsule now about a dozen times.
Following the instructions and trying to copy my existing backup it suggests you need to copy it to the root directory but that is when I get some sort of security issue and I found I could only get it to accept if I dragged my .backupdb to the DATA directory on the Time Capsule. I dont even know if I do this it will work when I come to use it.
I therefore found your reply of no more help than i had discovered but I hope you return to read this note because I really do need some help.
I am intending starting again in the next couple of days and fully documenting what I do and what I see and then as I suspect it will be no different and I will then seek an appointment at the Apple Store in Trafford Centre and if that proves unsuccessful then I still have time to return and become a dissatisfied customer with Apple for the first time in a long experience with Apple. I have noticed frightening notes on the conversations which point to problems of Mavericks working with Airport Time Machine!! So in the end it might not be me doing anything wrong. Unfortunately you do feel left out in the dark sometimes that is why I hope you can respond with a solution?

Motorola Surfboard (combination modem and wireless router) plus Airport time Capsule - 2TB

I am reading all of the discussion posts regarding the new OS Lion and starting to become wary. Here is my pridicament:
I have 3 PS3 game consoles (2 are wirelessly connected to the Motorola Surfboard),
3 PC laptops (also wirelessly connected to the Motorola Surfboard)
My thoughts were to purchase the Airport Time Capsule with the new IMac and possibly set up a wired connection to the Motorola Surfboard with the Airport Time Capsule, then provide a wireless connection for all of the Apple products in my home as well as a back up file system. Mind you I have 3 IPhones, 2 IPads, and will be purchasing a new IMac with Retina Display and an HP - LaserJet Pro MFP M1217nfw Network-Ready Wireless Black-and-White All-In-One Printe.Will this be too much on one modem? and has anyone else even tried this type of configuration?
As smart as I think I am, I am hesitant on making this purchase, and sometimes I feel that sales reps at retail stores tend to be over confident in their knowledge of a wireless home system.
Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

Reaper64 wrote:
... Will this be too much on one modem?
Certainly not.
The limiting factor is likely to be your ISP's delivered speed. Whatever bandwidth you have will be shared among all the devices. If they're all streaming video at the same time, for example, one or more of them may become slow.
You don't need to purchase a Time Capsule simply because you're buying a new Mac. The iMac can join any network.
The Time Capsule can replace the router function of your existing combination modem / router, or it can join your network as either a wireless or wired client. If you want to use it for Time Machine backups, you should favor the latter. It can also create an additional wireless access point if you so choose. The Time Capsule is a very capable full-featured router but if you don't need a router or additional access point, then you can use any external HD for Time Machine backups. That would be a lot less expensive.
Lion has already been superseded by Mountain Lion. A new iMac will ship with Mountain Lion installed.
Only certain model MacBook Pros and iPads have a "retina display" - no iMacs.

What would be a faster backup solution, a thunderbolt adapter to a separate external hard drive or a 802.11ac Airport Time Capsule?

What would be a faster backup solution, a thunderbolt adapter to a separate external hard drive or an 802.11ac Airport Time Capsule? Does not need to be easier to backup just faster.

Thunderbolt by a blazing mile.
Even using gigabit on the TC instead of wireless will not come anywhere near as fast as the thunderbolt.
Let me add though.. hard disk speed might make the difference rather less great. Thunderbolt is so fast the hard disks are left behind.. so the speed is always going to be dependent on speed of drives.. the TC on the other hand is processor bound.. it uses a slow drive since the fact is, a super fast SSD will go no faster.. whereas with thunderbolt and a decent box that can use the power of ssd, it will be as fast as internal SSD on the computer.

AirPort Time Capsule - wireless backups

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