Can i use the time capsule for storage or just backup?

I asked my husband to go and buy a separate harddrive so that we could use to store all of our photos on separately as opposed to the computer (as its full and we cant download any more photos!). He came back with the Time Capsule.
from what i can understand it can only be used for backups and not for direct stoarge - is this correct? Im hoping that i can use it for storage and somehow copy all my photos from my Mac onto the Time Capsule and then we can access them from the network which i just created with the Time Capsule
Or do i need to buy something else?
appreciate anyones help
Thanks

It is far from ideal. But it does depend on what you are doing. Are you going to store you iphoto library on the TC then it is not recommended.
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

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  • Can I use the time capsule internal hard drive for file storage?

    Can I configure the Time Capsule internal HD to function as a network file server as well as handling time machine backups?
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    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

  • Can I use a Time Capsule for ADDITIONAL storage for a Mac Air which has run limited storage space

    Hi
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    Welcome to Apple Support Communities
    You can but it's not recommended, because you can damage the Time Machine structure.
    Toffey wrote:
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  • Can I use the Time Capsule strictly for system backup and continue to use my Airport Extreme for all my wireless needs

    I want to use the Apple Time Capsule as an external drive and continue to use my Airport Extreme for all my wireless needs. Can I do that? The reason I ask is that my Time Machine utility cannot find the TIme Capsule - it only shows me the Airport Extreme, even when I "Rescan". SO I am unable to use the Time Capsule.

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  • Can I use the time capsule connected to my linksys wireless hub

    I just bought the Time Capsule to use as storage and use my printer remotely. I already have at home a Linksys wireless hub, can I use both, the Time Capsule, and the Linksys ? With the Capsule connected to the Linksys.

    I just bought the Time Capsule to use as storage and use my printer remotely. I already have at home a Linksys wireless hub
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  • Can i use the time machine as storage?

    how can i use my time machine as storage?

    I assume you mean Time Capsule.. that is the physical box that is combined router and hard disk.
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