Can I use time capsule as a hard drive?

I want to use the 2tb time capsule as an extra hardrive as well for my time machine back up. Is this possible?

That is true but if you mix your files with the Time Machine backups, Time Machine will have trouble contril disk space when it gets low.
If you are going to do that it is recommended that you partition the drive. Since Time Capsule is not able to partition the drive that means you will have to remove it in order to partition it.
A simple solution IMO is to get another external drive and hang it on the USB bus in the Time Capasule.
Allan

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Can i use time capsule as another hard drive?

Can I use time capsule as another hard drive?

You can, but it was not really designed for that purpose. Access to files will be quite a bit slower than a drive that is directly attached to your computer.
The Time Capsule's main function is as a back up device using the Time Machine application.
If you are using it already for Time Machine, it is generally not a good idea to mix Time Machine backups and regular files on the same drive as there will be struggle for space when the drive starts to fill up.

Can i use time capsule as external hard drive for both mac and windows

I have a mac book pro, ipad and iphone and ipod and a windows pc
Can i use time capsule as a external hard disk only for all of the above ( including windows ) without the back up activity for mac ?

You cannot access the TC from iOS devices without a browser. eg filebrowser.
Can i use time capsule as a external hard disk only for all of the above ( including windows ) without the back up activity for mac ?
Yes, with the following proviso.. the TC is not able to back itself up.. so if you store files on the TC without backups one day you will discover all your files are gone because of a hard drive failure of the TC. TM also cannot backup TC.. so you will need to buy a proper backup software.
It is also much slower than a real NAS..
And windows can be a bit painful.. especially windows 8.. other versions should work if you spend the time getting everything set right.

Can you use time capsule as a hard drive

Can i use timecapsule as a external hard drive to store pictures and access them but not as a back up

Yes it can be mounted as an external HDD in finder and you can drag and drop on and off.

Can I use Time Capsule as a Hard Drive too?

My 500gb computer hard drive is full. However my Time Capsule has a 2 TB hard drive. Is their a way I can delete files off my hard drive and store them on the Time Capsule in a location other than the Backup folder? I need help because if I delete files from my hard drive, when my computer backs it up they will be gone. I guess what I need to know is if I can create a folder on Time Capsule to manually store files. Thanks. Jim

jsmnkcmo wrote:
LaPastenague (and AIO)
I am running Snow Leopard 10.6.8 (because last time I checked -- and it has been a while -- a software application I am using does not support Lion) and the TC is 4th generation, 2TB, Firmware Version 7.6.1.
Change the TC back to 7.5.2 it has far less issues than later firmware.
My original thought was to eliminate some clutter on my physical desktop and my home office by reducing the amount of media I have lying around and number of attachments to my iMac (without having to install a new HDD --internal or external-- on the iMac). Your post and the one below it concerns me about the reliability of the TC. Are TC’s really that unreliable? If the HDD in the TC fails, can the HDD be replaced? Do I need to ghost the HDD on the TC incase it crashes?
TC is designed as a wireless network backup for laptops.. more than anything that was the principle concern as people do not connect hard disk to a laptop and back them up.. so including it in the router was to help wireless users.. more than anyone or anything else. All devices die at some point.. if that is the only place your data is stored one day you will lose it.. bank on it.. now it is not likely to be tomorrow.. and it might not fail for 3years.. but you can easily corrupt it.. itunes and iphoto libraries should not be on network disks.. they can be on a media centre as a shared disk but really the TC is a device that is without backup.. if you corrupted it today .. when was the last time you backed it up.
The TC is a sealed unit.. You can open it and replace the disk.. Apple will deny warranty. If it breaks and you lose all your data in warranty.. apple will say or data or the TC .. take your pick. They will not help recover data.. they will offer a replacement at the cost of your original one. Thus ending its usefulness as a backup.. but you note if it was a backup then all the data is on disks elsewhere.
That is what Apple intends.. it is a backup not a file store.
Which would you recommend: upgrading the HDD on the iMac or just get an external HDD and hide it the best I can?
Whatever works for you. I think you can replace the DVD with a drive holder.. ?? I am not sure.. disk are hard to replace and expensive in iMac.. so hanging an external makes better sense. It can be a few feet/meters away.. Neatness.. is overrated.
I cannot see your screenshot and I don't know why it is greyed out.. Reset the TC and please don't use names with spaces or apostrophe in them..

Can I use Time Capsule as external hard drive?

I've been getting "your startup disk is almost full" message, so I bought myself a Time Capsule on the advice of a friend. My question is...can I store stuff on my Time Capsule instead of my laptop? And if so, can my computer access the info in the Time Capsule? Specifically....if I don't have my music library stored on my computer, will iTunes still be able to access my library if I want to play some music, AND would my Sonos system be able to access it?
If I've just wasted 400 bucks on something I didn't really want....what SHOULD I get to store stuff on but that I can still access via iTunes, or my Apple TV, etc?
Thanks for any help, everybody!

1. You can, but are better off putting it on a regular external drive and using the Time Capsule for backups and as a router.
2. Yes.
3. Launch iTunes with the Option key held down and choose a library on it.
4. Noting #1, a regular external drive. You can generally use any USB one, but ones not specifically intended for Macs will need to be reformatted first.
(112894)

HT1175 Can I use Time capsule as a hard drive

How can I put a folder on time capsule, I wanted to make a picture folder to manualy put pic off laptop

John,
You do not say what laptop you have.
Guessing a Mac, once you have your TC set properly for backup you should see your TC in Finder Window under Shared and its name (whatever you call it).
Just click on it, authenticate if you password protected it and you will have access to the drive.
You can create folders in there.
Just make sure you do not touch the sparsebundle files which are the Time Machine backups.

Can i use time capsule for external h drive and also for time machine?

Can i use time capsule for external h drive and also for time machine?

Hello, vascocaco.
If I understand correctly, you're wondering if you can use your Time Capsule's internal hard disk both for Time Machine backups and as an ordinary drive. Is this your question?
You can, but Time Machine backups may take longer.
To do it, you should partition your Time Capsule's hard disk to create one volume for the backups and one for other files.

Using Time Capsule as external hard drive

Hi. I have a Mac Book Pro, and external hard drive, and now, a Time Capsule. Since I don't have a Mac, all photos and music (occasional backups, etc.) have been stored on the one external hard drive. I got the Time Capsule to replace the external hard drive as primary (keeping it as secondary)–in addition to using the Time Machine.
If I'm understanding correctly, I open finder, open Shared>AirPort>Data–and then drag and drop all the files currently on the external hard drive onto this window? Is this correct? Will it COPY, and be accessibe, and not cause problems?
Will it mean, as I hope it means, that my MacBook and iPad will be able to open and use iTunes and iPhoto through this AirPort? (Instead of having to plug-in the external drive.)
I'd love to use the Time Machine as well. But can hold off, continuing to back up only occassionally, since this dual purposing may not to be advised?
Thank you for your guidance.

Will there be a problem running Time Machine in the back ground while using the Time Capsule's internal hard drive manually?
No.
Thus far, instead of using Time Machine in an automated mode, I've turned it on when I want to make a new back-up. Will it be necessary to run Time Machine in manual mode only or can I use its automated feature?
Or–I may be seeing the light–will running the two in tandem allow me to save each new back-up on both devices simultaneously, keeping both drives up to date?
I would suggest that you consider changing your backup strategy. Time Machine was designed to be an automatic "run and forget" operation that performs incremental backups of your Mac's internal hard drive. It will also backup an external hard drive attached directly to your Mac. Running it manually is not very effecient and you stand the chance of not getting a very recent (they run once an hour) backup when you need it.
For Time Machine I would suggest that you continue to use your external hard drive as is and dedicate your new Time Capsule for Time Machine backups. If you still need more external storage, you can always add additional external USB hard drives to the USB port on the Time Capsule.
Even better you will also want to include a second "full-clone" method to your backup strategy. This method will make a full copy of your Mac's internal disk drive that is bootable. Why do this? In case your Mac has a fatal hard disk crash, you can use the clone backup to boot your Mac back up and continue to use it within seconds. Without the clone backup, you would first need to install a new drive, then load a fresh copy of OS X, and then, perform a restore from Time Machine. This can take a while.
To perform these clone backups, I would recommend that you get another external USB hard drive with a capacity at least twice that of your current internal drive. I use Western Digital My Passport drives for this purpose, but any similar drive should do. To create the clone backup I would suggest using either SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner.
I would suggest that you create a new clone backup at least once a month or more often if your data is critical to you. Just connect a dedicated clone drive to any available USB port on your Mac and run the clone software to make the clone backup.

Using Time Capsule as external hard drive on a PC, and beyond...

I need to achieve two separate things with my new 500GB TC. The first is to send it to a friend on the other side of the country for her to use Time Capsule with her PC as an external hard drive.
I then want to take those files (once sent back to me from CA), and put them on my computer. After that I just want to use Time Capsule with Time Machine, but I'm pretty sure I can figure that set-up out.
My question is, is this possible? And if so, what is the easiest process to tell my PC friend in order for her to connect Time Capsule as an external?
The reason I am attempting to do this is because I didn't see a need to buy an external and TC as well. The guy at the Mac store said it would be easy to do this, but I'm rather computer illiterate.
That being said, I apologize for my ignorance in regards to the use of Time Capsule, but any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Brody M. Nasse

Well, you just hook the Time Capsule up (either wirelessly or wired via ethernet) and for the PC you will want to install AirPort Utility, run it, and then she will be able to copy files to it. Then when it gets back to you you can run AirPort Utility (it is located in Applications/Utilities) and then access the files she put on your Time Capsule.

Use time capsule as external hard drive

Hi, I'd like to know if can I use my time capsule as an external wi-fi hard drive, I just want to copy selected files to it, and call them when I need it, thanks!

OK.. I am going to do battle on this one.
The OP asked..
I'd like to know if can I use my time capsule as an external wi-fi hard drive, I just want to copy selected files to it, and call them when I need it, thanks!
I took the JUST seriously.. he just wants to use it for external wifi hard drive.. so how does he get internet and how is the TC connected into the mixture..
We cleared that up.. he then asked.
My question is, can I use that "hard drive" to save some info that I use frecuently (I'm a recording studio owner and I have a lot of recording sessions) So, I'd like to save it in my time capsule and call them whenever I want
Now if you were advising somebody for external storage of recording sessions.. as a studio owner.. ie this is a business and recording sessions are pretty valuable I imagine.. and pretty big.. would you in all honest recommend a Time Capsule..
You already stated you would not recommend it in business and then you want to fight me because I did not recommend it.. ???
He also said the files are used frecuently (sic).. and is the TC suitable for frequently used files.. each time you access the file the hard disk has to spin up.. as it is designed to spin down within a min of inactivity.. and that spin down cannot be reset.. because the TC is designed as a backup target for Time Machine not a NAS.. try it yourself.. open a file on a stopped TC and see how long it takes before the TC is ready to even respond.. and open the file. Many applications will toss up errors if they cannot open a file within a few seconds.. this will be a constant problem if directly using the files on the TC.

Use Time Capsule as a Hard Drive via Ethernet for Time Machine

Hi Folks
To summarise a very very long story here goes;
- About 12 months ago my father in law buys a Time Capsule without really knowing what it is for and how it works (I know don't ask!!!!!)
- I set it up for him connected to his wireless router so he uses his router to access the internet and uses the Time Capsule to back up his iMac via wireless with Time Machine. (from what I can see he could have saved himself some cash and just bought an external Hard Drive and connect it via USB to the iMac for Time Machine, but never mind. He has 1 iMac and no other Mac's in the household. His printer is connected to his iMac via USB in the same room and he uses a wireless router to access the internet, since the phone point is in another room)
- All is well until Monday when he tells me he cannot access the internet. After much much trial and error I have eventually managed to get his internet back up and running, but he has somehow managed to erase his Time Capsule.
- I set his Time Capsule back up as it was previously and it starts performing the initial backup again. However at the rate its taking I think it will take well in excess of 24hrs to do that initial
backup. Also so far It has failed 3 times during this initial backup and I get an error message stating it's failed. The setup guide makes reference to performing the initial backup via ethernet as it's quicker.
I'm thinking the best way forward would be to just plug the Time Capsule into the iMac via ethernet and use it purely as a Hard Drive for use with Time Machine. I've tried just plugging in the ethernet cable from the Time Capsule to the iMac, but it doesn't recognise it. Bear in mind that it currently works via wireless, do I need to perform some sort of factory reset or how do I go about telling the the iMac to no longer use the Time Capsule wireless, but just connect via ethernet instead.
Of course I could just forget about the Time Capsule all together and tell him to get a 500gb USB External Hard Drive, plug that in and set up Time Machine with that instead.
Am I missing the point here and can the Time Capsule do a lot more for him, given his current setup.
Thanks

That is true but if you mix your files with the Time Machine backups, Time Machine will have trouble contril disk space when it gets low.
If you are going to do that it is recommended that you partition the drive. Since Time Capsule is not able to partition the drive that means you will have to remove it in order to partition it.
A simple solution IMO is to get another external drive and hang it on the USB bus in the Time Capasule.
Allan

Can I use time capsule as a network drive?

I want to use the HD in my time capsule as a network drive in addition to backing up my macbook pro and imac desktop. I also have a couple of PCs anda yamaha tuner/amp on the network. Can this be done?

Click here and follow the instructions.
(66659)

Want to use Time Capsule as external hard drive / Time Capsule als externe Festplatte

Can somebody tell me what steps I have to take to use my TC as an external hard drive? Thanks! / Kann mir jemand einmal genau erklären, wie ich meine Time Capsule als externe Festplatte für meine Fotos etc. nutzen kann? Mein 128 GB Mac Book Air kommt nämlich an seine Grenzen:) Brauche ich dafür eine weitere externe Festplatte oder kann ich den Speicherplatz nutzen, den die TC hat und auf dem im Moment immer die automatischen Bachups über Time Machine gespeichert werden? Danke!

There might be a big improvement in the new photo app.
The OS X Yosemite v10.10.3 update includes the new Photos app and improves the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac.
With Photos you can:
Browse your photos by time and location in Moments, Collections, and Years views
Navigate your library using convenient Photos, Shared, Albums, and Projects tabs
Store all of your photos and videos in iCloud Photo Library in their original format and in full resolution
Access your photos and videos stored in iCloud Photo Library from your Mac, iPhone, iPad, or iCloud.com with your web browser
Perfect your photos with powerful and easy-to-use editing tools that optimize with a single click or slider, or allow precise adjustments with detailed controls
Create professional-quality photo books with simplified bookmaking tools, new Apple-designed themes, and new square book formats
Purchase prints in new square and panoramic sizes
It’s easy to upgrade your iPhoto library to Photos – just open the app to get started. To learn more about Photos, visit: https://www.apple.com/osx/photos/

Can i use time capsule as a backup drive?

i know that sounded stupid...
right now i have external hard drive where i back up my files like my music, jobs, music...because i don't have enough space on my internal drive
is it possible for me to "backup" by dragging them onto TC?
i don't even know if TC has an icon on the desktop...sorry
thanks

ironknee wrote:
i know that sounded stupid...
right now i have external hard drive where i back up my files like my music, jobs, music...because i don't have enough space on my internal drive
That's not a backup. That's extra storage. They are very different things.
A backup is a copy of something important, preferably on different hardware, so if one piece of hardware fails, you don't lose your only copy.
Depending on the sizes, your best bet is probably to put the original copies of things that won't fit on your MacBook on the external HD, and use Apple's +Time Machine+ to back both drives up to a Time Capsule.
Even better would be to get a larger internal HD for your MacBook, so you'd have room for all the originals there, and back it up either to an external HD or a Time Capsule.
The advantage of the Time Capsule is, of course, that you can back up wirelessly and also have a good WIFI router; the disadvantage is, it costs more than just an external HD.
You might want to review these:
What is Time Machine?
Time Machine Tutorial
and perhaps browse the Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip* at the top of the +Time Machine+ forum.

Can I use time capsule as a hard drive?

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