Can Synology NAS serve both time machine backup and video/audio servers?

I'm looking for a NAS box such as Synology 2 bay solution. I've seen the box can be used as Samba server to store network folders and files; and also there is discussions on Mac Time Machine backup using the Synology boxes; I'm wonder if the RAID disks can be partitioned to do both, some space for the backup from time machine and others with regular NAS services as network disk space, and if you can share your experience if you have done that.

Your answer is found on the Synology website with this link:
http://www.synology.com/en-global/support/tutorials/481

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I am out of space on my Macbook Air and have a Time Machine Backup. I want to complete reset my mac, but wonder if I can pick and choose what I restore to my computer? Can I also use my time machine backup and external storage as well?

I am out of space on my Macbook Air and have a Time Machine Backup. I want to complete reset my mac, but wonder if I can pick and choose what I restore to my computer? Can I also use my time machine backup as external storage as well for the files I don't need everyday?

If you are using "Restore from Time Machine Backup" option from OS X Recovery, you can only choose from the broad categories presented.
... Can I also use my time machine backup as external storage as well for the files I don't need everyday?
To be clear, if you are asking if you can use the volume containing your Time Machine backup to store additional, non-Time Machine files, the short answer is yes.
It's not a good idea though, since the Time Machine backup will eventually fill all available space, after which it begins to remove old, "expired" backups to make room for newer ones. The presence of additional files doesn't change that fact, and Time Machine will not erase them, but you will encounter a dilemma should you want to store additional files on that volume when there is no remaining space. You will have to make room for them on your own, by deleting existing files. Furthermore, since Time Machine cannot back up its own volume, those additional files will not be backed up by Time Machine.
The easy solution for what you describe is to purchase additional external storage. External USB hard disk drives have become very inexpensive; about $55 will buy a perfectly suitable 1 TB drive.
You can also choose to replace your MacBook Air's internal storage with a larger capacity one. Look for a suitable replacement from OWC / MacSales:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/Air-Retina
That gets a little more expensive but it is the optimum solution.

Using 500 gb WD Passport as both Time Machine Backup and Mac OS bootable HD

I just bought a 500 gb WD Passport to use as a Time Machine Backup HD with my MacBook Pro and was wondering if I could make it into a Mac OS bootable HD as well. I like having a backup HD and a recovery HD with me on the road and thought it would be great to have them in the same HD. One thought I had was to make two partitions on this HD: one for Time Machine and one for Recovery. Would that work? Is there a better way? Let me know your thoughts. Thank you.

One thing to consider is that certain WD external drive models do not work reliably as startup drives for Mac OS X, or at least for the latest versions of that OS. Before you get too far into this project, I suggest that you partition the drive (making sure that you use the GUID Partition Table partition scheme & HFS+ journaled volume scheme), install or clone Snow Leopard to one of the partitions to create your 'recovery' volume, & verify that your Mac will boot from it. If this works, you are good to go.
Obviously, you should not use this 'recovery' volume as your everyday startup drive or for data storage because as mentioned, if the WD drive fails, you would have no backup, but otherwise this is a good plan.
One little trick you might be interested in that I like for an external drive I use somewhat similarly: Normally, all the volumes on a drive will mount automatically when the drive is attached to a Mac, but it is sometimes handy if only the Time Machine one does this & the 'recovery' volume (or in my case a reference clone of my old Leopard installation) does not, which insures that this volume isn't accidentally disturbed by user error, is safe from any OS errors that might corrupt its files, doesn't tempt you to use it for normal data storage, & so on.
As it turns out, the OS provides an elegant method to do exactly that. As described in the Mac OS X Hints post "Prevent a given partition from mounting at boot" (which discusses doing this for essentially the same use as yours), you can create an "fstab" file in /private/etc/ that (among other things) can instruct the OS not to mount selected volumes automatically. This works perfectly with Leopard or Snow Leopard.
The really cool thing about this is that since the file is a part of the OS on the normal, everyday startup volume, it only has an effect if you start up from that volume. Thus, if say that volume is damaged & you can't start up from it, you don't have to do anything special to start up from the protected volume -- it appears in the Startup Manager's icons if you use the option key at startup time & even if you don't, if it is the only viable startup volume the Mac can find at boot time, it will start up from it automatically, after a brief delay.
If nothing else, check out the Hints post. It should reassure you that others do the same thing that you are considering.

Can you clear the old time machine backups and start fresh?

Is there a way to delete all of the backup sets at once, and start fresh with a new set of backups?

Do you really need Time Machine? It installed itself using my 300GB ext. drive. I never used it but watched it working-hard ever hour. And slowly it started filling-up my ext. drive until it warned me to remove some back-ups.
So I backed-up (manually) all the files I needed on the Ext. drive, cleaned the ext. drive completely with Disk Utility, disabled Time machine and haven't re-started it.
Now I see how great Leopard really is. Stable and fast. And now I back-up manually what I need when I need it.

Use TC 2TB for Time Machine Backup and Storage simultaneously?

Hi
I am planning to buy a TC 2TB.
I would like to know if the TC can be used as a Time Machine backup device and for storage simultaneously?
for example:
Can I use 1TB for Time Machine backups and 1TB for storage.
Please let me know if this is possible?
Thank you

I tried for ages to seek a relatively easy way to do this.. i.e. partition it, it's a huge pain! You can, but i'm pretty savvy and got bored and confused! What I did do was switch the TM back-ups to manual so they don't end up filling the disk. Trust me it's the easiest and best option!

Can the time capsule be used as both a time machine backup and NAS storage

Can the time capsule be used as both a time machine backup and NAS storage? I want to use the drive as external, wireless storage for all of my files so all my PCs, MACs and iOS devices can access the files. Plus, I want to use the drive for backing up my iMac via time machine. Can the time capsule device be used for both these purposes simultaneously? If not, are the other suggestions on how I can do this?

Can the time capsule device be used for both these purposes simultaneously?
It can, but is really not recommended. Sooner or later there will be a fight for space on the drive between Time Machine and the other files.
If you have plenty of free space on the drive, you can do this......but.....have you thought about how you will back up the "other" files that are stored on the Time Capsule?

Help Incomplete Time Machine Backup and I can't set ownership options

Two days ago my iMac HD stopped working and I decided it was time to upgrade my machine so I purchased a new iMac with Mavericks installed. I seem to only have a partial Time Machine Backup located on my NAS drive, so I read various threads about how to manually retrieve files from the .inprogress file. I was able to browse the package contents and when I navigated to Macintosh HD the folder was greyed out and when I attempt to open the folder it looks empty. When I select get info the Macintosh HD folder shows almost 80GB and over 160,000 files inside. I tried copying the folder onto the desktop which failed and also onto an external drive formatted the same way as the NAS - Mac OS Extended (Journaled, Case Sensitive). Everytime I try it says something along the lines of me not having the ownership rights to copy the file over.
I tried going to the NAS drive and the mounted sparsefile and couldn't figure out how to get the ignore ownership on this volume option. When I go to Disk Utility it says Owners Enabled Yes, I can't figure out how to turn that off to let me copy the file over. I tried some recommendations about creating an Alias to Macintosh HD and also setting up Automator actions Get Selected Finder Items > Get Folder Contents > Open Finder Items > Copy Finder Items (to desktop or external drive) both of these failed.
I also don't understand why I can't view the files inside the greyed out Macintosh HD as get info shows many files inside. The sharing and permissions already says everyone can read. Is there anyway I can recover some of the files? It would be so great!
Thanks for helping me.

I solved the problem and I hope this solution can help others with incomplete Time Machine Backups.
1. I made sure hidden files were shown by pasting the following line into Terminal:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -boolean true ; killall Finder
2. On NAS drive I have a folder called Time Machine Backup and inside that folder it lists the different users with Time Machine Backups. I double clicked the user with the incomplete time machine backup to mount it.
3. Once mounted there should be a folder called backups.backupdb > machine name > dateandtime.inprogress. I right click that .inprogress file and selected show package contents. This lead to another folder randomly named with numbers and text. Inside that folder you should see a greyed out Macintosh HD folder. The date of the greyed out Macintosh HD folder might read something like January 24th, 1984. This appears to be the date that the Macintosh 128k was first introduced. I read on another thread that the creation date of the folder is incorrectly set after a crash resulting in the greyed out folder.
4. Due to the NAS having ownership issues I was not able to drag either the greyed out Macintosh HD or the folder above it to an external drive or the desktop of my new computer. Automator didn't work either. Here is what did work: I trashed the folder with the greyed out Macintosh HD inside from the NAS and dragged it from the trash onto my desktop. The move took a few hours to complete and the files were now all successfully on the new computer.
5. Once on the desktop the Macintosh HD folder was still greyed out. The solution was to select in the finder: View > Show Path Bar, then search for any file you remember inside your backup. For example I searched the word download and files inside the greyed out Macintosh HD folder showed up. Left clicking the file confirmed the path, that it was from the greyed out Macintosh HD folder. Now you can simply right click one of the folders in the Path Bar and open in new tab if you have Mavericks. I still couldn't directly open the Macintosh HD folder in a new tab, but I could open any of the subfolders inside in a new tab, including the users which lets you access all the backup files. I tested in Mountain Lion that you can also choose Open in Enclosing Folder by right clicking the file that you searched for or right clicking the folder in the bottom of the Path Bar.
6. Once I was done organizing backup files, I turned off hidden files by pasting this line into Terminal:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -boolean false ; killall Finder
This took me days to figure out how to make use of an .inprogress file and greyed out Macintosh HD folder.
Hope this helps!!!

Time capsule as time machine backup and NAS?

I've read the TC section of the website and notice a blurb about computers able to connect to it as a HDD.
I realize the device has yet to be released but was wondering about this. I have a handfull of macs and a handfull of xp machines on my network (wired and wireless)
1 of my XP machine is just used as a file server. (1.5TB NTFS formated holding all video/audio/docs as well as having iTunes running to download HD podcast) All computers (Mac/XP) can access this. Five of my XP computers are MCE2005 which are configured to record SD and HD shows directly to this box.
I have yet to have a HFS formated drive to actually do time machine backups and I would like to start. I understand that going with TC I will loose some abilities I currently have by running a dedicated computer/file server but I like the fact that it is small and self contained.
I just want to make sure I understand the specifiations correctly. Can I make a various folders on TC and then map it to my Mac/XP machines via windows naming convention (ie \\TimeMachine\RecordedTV\)
I am in the process of upgrading my file server so this would be a perfect time to think about going this route. Should TC not meet my needs I will continue with my build of a Raid 5 server.

Until we get more information, at the present time the only certain thing we know about Time Capsule is that it will support TimeMachine backups.
What we don't know:
1. whether TimeMachine backups to network drives other than Time Capsule will ever be supported
2. whether the Time Capsule internal drive can be used for general file storage, or only Time Machine backups. Current information on Apple's web site could be interpreted either way. I suspect it can be used for general file storage - but that is just my opinion.
If it is not essential that you make a purchasing decision before Time Capsule ships within the next month (and more detailed information becomes available) I suggest you wait. My two cents worth of opinion - if it is general file storage that you want, and Time Machine automated backups are not a priority on the "wish list", then I think you would be far better off setting up your own network file server rather than using Time Capsule for this purpose.

Problem migrating to new Mac mini Server from Time Machine Backup

I sell my old Mac mini Server and after I purchase the new one (unibody). I had the Time Machine Backup but I'm not able to restore it to the new mac mini. I started it with the Server Install DVD into it and I went to Utility menu to choose "*Restore from Time Machine backup*" but it said that *it was not possible to restore the backup to this machine because its a different hardware, and suggested to use Migration*. So I restarted it and when it asked me to choose between "setting up a new server" or "transfer information from an existing server" I chose this last. In the next menu didn't appear any Time Machine backups so I mounted the time machine backup and copied the Latest hd backup to an external firewire hd and I connected it to the new one. In the migration menu list appeared my backup but there was a *yellow triangle icon* over it and the message "*Migration is not supported from servers which are configured to use dynamic network addresses. Configure the source system to have a manual network address and try again*". But how can I config a static address into my backup if I can't restore it into a machine? I don't have anymore the old mac mini to restore the backup and make any change in the configuration!
Any one can please help or give me suggestions?
Many thanks

I solved it!
I changed the network settings by editing /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/preferences.plist
So I successfully restored my SL server installation, but now I have an issue with Ethernet and SD reader. See this post if you are interested:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=11709463#11709463

I can't access my wireless time machine backup.

When I try to access my backup files wirelessly it says enter your name and password for the server "Base Station ddb9a1". I do not know my name and password. I had did a clean install to upgrade to Mountain Lion from Lion. I used the migration assistant, but I can't access my wireless time machine backup. Please someone help.

Hello,
I would like an answer to this question as well. As this is a time capsule and not a Airport extreme question I think here is a better start.
I'm planning on getting a Time Capsule but have been backing up to a 500GB USB drive connected directly to my MacBook. It's probably only a month or 2 worth of back ups and not that big of a deal but if i get a Time Capsule and want to access the old back ups it would be nice to know if that is possible and if so how it can be done. I was thinking it might be possible to use something like Carbon Copy Cloner and move the back up file to the Time Capsule drive and erase the external that I have now, and have Time Machine use that file like it has been doing from the wired drive.
I will look around the posts and see if I can find anything. In the mean time if someone finds something it would be nice if you could put the link in this discussion.
Cheers,
Shadowrider

I am trying to upgrade from Tiger to Snow Leopard. When I insert the disk and install starts, it states "This disk is used for Time Machine backups" and Mac OSX can't be installed. Does anyone know how to correct this (since Tiger doesn't have Time Mach

I am trying to upgrade from Tiger to Snow Leopard. When I insert the disk and install starts, it states "This disk is used for Time Machine backups" and Mac OSX can't be installed. Does anyone know how to correct this (since Tiger doesn't have Time Machine)?

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2986

I restored a Macbook Pro from a Time Machine backup and now none of my passwords are working (and I know they are the correct passwords). What can I do?

I restored a Macbook Pro from a Time Machine backup and now none of my passwords are working (and I know they are the correct passwords). What can I do?

First, make sure caps lock is not on.
Another reason why the password might not be recognized is that the keyboard layout (input source) has been switched without your realizing it. You can select one of the available layouts by choosing from the flag menu in the upper right corner, if it's showing, or cycle through them by pressing the key combination command-space or command-option-space. See also this support article.
If the user account is associated with an Apple ID, and you know the Apple ID password, then maybe the Apple ID can be used to reset your user account password. In OS X 10.10 and later, this option also works with FileVault, but only if you enabled it when you activated FileVault. It's not retroactive. Otherwise, see below.
Note: If you've activated FileVault, this procedure doesn't apply. Follow instead these instructions.
Start up in Recovery mode. When the OS X Utilities window appears, select
Utilities ▹ Terminal
from the menu bar at the top of the screen—not from any of the items in the OS X Utilities window.
In the window that opens, type this:
resetp
Press the tab key. The partial command you typed will automatically be completed to this:
resetpassword
Press return. A Reset Password window opens. Close the Terminal window to get it out of the way.
Select the startup volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name) if not already selected. You won't be able to do this if FileVault is active.
Select your username from the menu labeled Select the user account if not already selected.
Follow the prompts to reset the password. It's safest to choose a password that includes only the characters a-z, A-Z, and 0-9.
Select
 ▹ Restart
from the menu bar.
You should now be able to log in with the new password, but the Keychain will be reset (empty.) If you've forgotten the Keychain password (which is ordinarily the same as the login password), there's no way to recover it.

Can't connect to a Time Machine backup disk

I have erased my TM via Airport Utility
AirPort Utility 6.x: Erase an AirPort Time Capsule disk
So far so good...But now, I am unable to open TM, when I do it opens momentarily, then closes with message "Can't conect to a Time Machine backup disk".
I have turned off TM as I do not want to use the TM as backup..I want to use it as an EHD and transfer data to the disk manually (not by automatic TM backups).
How can I do this?

No. It is not in Finder at all..only I can see the Airport Capusle (on the left side) under "Shared"...but this does not allow for any data transfer.
It should show under "Devices", and allow for data transfer....don't know how to fix this one..

I can't access my own Time Machine backups in ML

A couple days ago I did an "erase and install" ML in my MacBook Pro. I had tested Time Machine backups and a bootable clone of my Lion system, so I was truly confident I had everything safe.
But no. When registering my Mac as "new", I chose a subtle different name for my main account. Maybe that was the problem? When I tried to recover my old files using TM, nothing was available. The dreaded "read only" batch was on every folder. I don't have permission to access any. I tried to use my Admin password to unlock and change permissions, to no avail, even using "apply to enclosing folders". In the Info window I can see myself now as the "owner", and my privileges as "read and write", but it's not working.
Is there a bug or anything fixable about this issue?
JJ

There doesn't seem to be an exact solution for this, but here are some suggestions:
Have you tried gaining access by connecting your Mac to the LAN port on the AirPort Extreme base station (AEBS)?
Have you tried disabling the Firewall on the Mac?

Can I have 2 Separate Time Machine backups on one Mac?

I have a Mac running Snow leopard which I keep connected to an external USB drive. That drive is set up to automatically back my machine through Time Machine and it works great.
I would like to also do a backup of my machine and all its files onto a portable USB drive that I can then take to the office (i.e. remove it from the house) for security purposes. Once every couple of weeks I would plan on bringing the portable USB drive back home, plugging it into the Mac, doing another Time Machine backup and then removing it again.
Can I have 2 separate Time Machine backups onto 2 separate hard drives (as described above) on a single Mac?

Well I tried it, and it worked.

Can Synology NAS serve both time machine backup and video/audio servers?

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