Can an Apple Time capsule be used as a external hard drive?

Hello I have a 4th Generation time capsule and I've had it for some time now and never used it and I was wondering if it could be used as a external hard drive instead of just a back up disk. Also I am planning to install a copy of Windows 7 on my Mid 2011 21.5" iMac and I was wondering if Windows would recognize the TC as a external hard drive and would alow me to use it as such.

It is not an external hard disk.. you cannot use it via USB if that is what you mean.
It is now and forever more a Network drive. You can store files on it as a network drive.. with the following provisos.
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
Windows can also use the TC for files. Much the same warnings apply.

Similar Messages

  • Can the time capsule be used as an external hard drive

    Can the time capsule be used as an external hard drive

    If you mean by usb to a computer no.. it is a network device only and has to be used via ethernet or wireless.
    It can be used standalone,, ie not plugged into an existing network.. but there are some steps required to make it work if you want internet connection at the same time. It is generally much easier to have the TC bridged into the network.

  • Can the 2013 airport time capsule be used as an external hard drive

    or do you have to purchase a separate external hard drive and connect it to the time capsule??

    Under the same network, I do use it as a music server (iTunes library) and files to share.
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  • Can time capsule be used as an external hard drive for storing media

    Can you use it in such a way that you put movies and music and home vidoes on there to be accessed on when on the network along with using it for backing up data.  Could it be used in such a way that you  can access your files when on wifi from anywhere?

    TC is not designed to be a NAS.. principally it is lacking any means to back itself up. And TM cannot backup a network drive.
    If you put data on it like your movies and music in raw format that is fine.. if you put your itunes or iphoto etc library on it.. you will find it is slow to start, quick to stop, stutters and has issues. Also wireless frankly is just not that good.
    I am not sure how far away is anywhere?? Do you mean remote access? That is possible via btmm using icloud.
    The problem is, TC is not a media player.. it is a dumb as a board hard disk in a router.
    How are you going to play your videos or music unless you move itunes library onto the TC??

  • How can I get Time Machine to back up an external hard drive (iPhotos) that is attached to airport extreme base station. Note: Time machine is usb to macbook pro and external drive with iphotos is usb to airport extreme base station. Help please. Thanks!

    How can I get Time Machine to back up an external hard drive (iPhotos) that is attached to airport extreme base station. Note: Time machine is usb to macbook pro and external drive with iphotos is usb to airport extreme base station. Help please. Thanks!

    Once you have the drive connected to your Mac, click System Preferences (gear icon) on the dock
    Click Time Machine
    Click Options
    Be default, the hard drive will be Excluded from backups. Click the drive to highlight it, then click the "-" (minus) button at the bottom of the list to remove the drive from Excluded items.
    The drive will be backed up on the next Time Machine pass
    Everything above assumes that the hard drive has been formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) as Time Machine will only backup drives in that format.

  • Can the iPod (5th Gen) be used as an external hard drive? (w/ no syncing)

    Dear Forum:
    Can the Ipod (5th Gen) be used as an external hard drive where I can manually (without syncing) transfer photos to the drive? My goal is to be able to transfer images from my MacBook (OS 10.4.11) to the Ipod and then erase some of the pics on my MacBook to save space; this will be something I'd doing when I'm traveling--I don't want to be carrying my desktop external hard drive with me.
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    Click here and follow the instructions.
    (50129)

  • How do I get Time Capsule to back up an external hard drive?

    I need Time Capsule/Time Machine to back up my external hard drive. How do I do this?

    The external drive is plugged into the Mac??
    Just open the Time Machine preferences, Options, and include the external drive.. done!! (The menu is exclude.. so just ensure it is not excluded.. don't use no double negatives.. is grammar rule apple could learn).
    You cannot backup the external drive if plugged into the TC directly.

  • How can I use Time Capsule for backups and an external hard drive?

    I have a large file/program on my iMacs hard drive that is 62GB and I would like to keep only things I need on my iMac. I have a 2tb time capsule currently used for backing up. It has roughly 1.66 TB free. How can I move the 62GB program onto my Time Capsule and still use it for backups? Also, is this stable? And don't worry about backing the program up because it came on 8DVD discs.
    Thanks.

    1. Mount the Time Capsule as a drive and drag the application over to it. If the application requires system components, those won't be transferred; if those are only data files, you may be able to drag them over as well and then create a symlink or alias to a folder enclosing their current location.
    2. The application may work slowly if this is done. Note that Time Machine will eventually use up all the free space on the Time Capsule that isn't reserved by being allocated to a disk image.
    (66649)

  • How do I get time machine/time capsule to back up my external hard drive?

    I have been trying to find a way to back up my external hard drive (a Hitachi G-Drive from the Apple store) with time machine and my time capsule. I left it plugged in so it was visible on my MacBook Pro when I did the initial backup yesterday, but it's not showing when I enter time machine. Anyone have any ideas?

    A few things to check.....
    The external drive attached to your Mac must be formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
    Check Time Machine Options to make sure that the drive is not excluded from Time Machine backups

  • Can Time Capsule Be Used Only as a Hard Drive, Not as a Router?

    I have been using a Time Capsule as a router and as a wireless backup system for a year, but had endless trouble with the dual use, since my personal Macbook is on the second floor of my house and the router must reside in the basement, where we have other computers. Wireless backups are much too slow. So I replaced the Time Capsule with an Airport Extreme Base Station, which works fine. I'd like to continue using the Time Capsule, but solely for backups and not as a router, and connect the TC by ethernet or usb directly to the MacBook. Can this be done, and if so, how? Thanks!

    Hello JohnFrancis. Welcome to the Apple Discussions!
    I'd like to continue using the Time Capsule, but solely for backups and not as a router, and connect the TC by ethernet or usb directly to the MacBook. Can this be done, and if so, how?
    Yes it can. You would just need to disable its wireless radio. You will also need to connect it by Ethernet as the TC's USB port is only for connecting it to USB hard drives, printers, and/or hubs.
    To disable the radio: AirPort Utility > Manual Setup > Time Capsule > Wireless tab > Wireless Mode = Off

  • Can  time machine be use like an external hard drive

    like to  put a windows partition on time machine  use it for more  espace

    305Sebas wrote:
    like to  put a windows partition on time machine ..
    Do not do this... TM works best on its Own Dedicated Hard Drive.
    Would suggest another EHD for your windows usage.

  • Time Machine backup?  pictures and external hard drive

    I know this question has been asked before but I just wanted to make sure of something.  Does a basic Time Machine backup backup all photos?  And also a real basic question-- Is a Apple Time Capsule the same as a external hard drive?

    You can save the pictures in Time Machine backup.. that is not a problem and what the TC is designed for.
    You cannot off load the pictures from the internal disk of the computer and use the Time Capsule as the drive for a running library.. that is when it will get corrupted.. if you need more space for a library use External drive that plugs in by USB or FW or Thunderbolt. And it must be formatted standard Mac OS extend journaled.. then Time Machine can backup the drive to the Time Capsule.
    I should also use the language more carefully.. the TC is fine for files even of pictures.. but it is unsuitable for an iphoto library or aperture library. I am always assuming on a Mac when people talk about pictures then they mean a library.. but if you save raw pictures from the camera onto a TC directly that is fine. The only issue that then arises is no automated backups.. TC is not a NAS in the normal sense of the word.. Every NAS has a built automated backup.. TC does not. You also cannot backup files on the TC using TM.. it was designed as a Target for Time Machine backups Not as a source. There are other backup products that will work.. but then you will need to figure out where to back up file to.. and the worst possible place is the USB on the TC.

  • Can ipod be used as an external hard drive?

    Can the 80 GB ipod be used as an external hard drive if a certain section is partitioned? I bought the ipod with the most space for this purpose, for my music and a portable HD.
    What is the RPM on ipod HD?
    What is the best way of using the ipod as an external HD but at the same time making it compatible with itune for transferring music?
    Thanks.
    Dorian

    It is not recommended that you partition the iPod hard drive.
    You may render it useless as a music player if you do.
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=60957

  • Can a time capsule be used as an external  wireless hard drive?

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  • How do I move my iTunes music library off my computer and onto Time Capsule, which I want to use as an external hard drive?

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    This Apple support document may help.
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