Can time capsule also function as a second drive for my computer wirelessly?

Can I use my time capsule as a second hard drive for my computer if I am running out of space on my current drive? For example - could I have my iphoto library reside on the time capsule and be mapped directly when I log into iphoto?

Definitely not recommended. Simply stated, I would never do this.
Access to the Time Capsule drive is slow, and if there are any errors when iPhoto is writing to the Time Capsule drive, the entire iPhoto library can easily become corrupted.
This assumes that you are connecting the Time Capsule to your Mac using a wired Ethernet connection. The potential for problems would be greatly magnified if the Mac was using wireless.
Another point to consider....the only copy of the iPhoto library that you have will be on the Time Capsule. When....not if...the Time Capsule has a problem, you will lose the iPhoto library unless you have a backup on another drive.
The correct way to do what you want is add an exernal drive and connect it directly to the Mac using USB or better yet, Firewire. Move the iPhoto library over to the external drive.
Then....the Time Capsule will backup both your Mac and the external hard drive. In case something goes wrong with the external drive, or the Time Capsule, you still have a backup copy of the iPhoto library.
For confirmation of all of this, please post in the iPhoto support forum.

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Can time capsule also be used as a regular external HDD as well as a backup

can time capsule also be used as a regular external HDD as well as a backup

It is now and forever more a network drive.. network drives are not like external hdd. you can only access it by network.. it is not accessible by USB.
If you want to store data on it. yes you can.. should you?? hmmm probably not unless you have backups elsewhere.. if you have both files and backups on the TC that would mean you are one hard disk failure from total loss of your files.
TC has no means to backup files stored on it.. nor can Time Machine backup the TC.. so it is designed for TM backup and nothing else.
Use it to store files at your peril.

Can i use the time capsule as just an external hard drive for music or does it have to be used soley as a backe up?? im thinking for music and photos

Can I use the time capsule as just an external hard drive for music or does it have to be used soley as a back up? I'm thinking for music and photos

Nickles96 wrote:
Hello friends.. I have a similar question, in that I would like to purchase the 2TB TC for use as a NAS device, in addition to taking advantage of the Air Port extreme.. Then I could dump my Linksys router.
I was originally looking at a Synology NAS solution, but the TC seems like it can meet my needs.
I have a Synology NAS as well as the Time Capsule. If you look at the 3.2 beta program, the Synology actually attempts to replicate TC functionality in that you can use it with Time Machine on your Mac.
I must say, Airport on the TC is definitely a nice feature!
Nickles96 wrote:
In addition to the obvious feature of the backup, can I indeed also use the TC as a NAS drive to access from remote locations (example from the office)?
I'm surprised more people aren't using the TC as a dedicated NAS deviced.. I've searched high and low on forums around the web, and don't seem to see many people trying to use it as I've outlined.
I can't see why this wouldn't fufill my needs, and take the place of a separate NAS solution (like the Synology, or iOmega, Seagate, etc....)
Has anyone used this TC as such?
Yes, you can do this and it's something I've been trying to do, but I'm currently having issues. I have another thread stating I consistently get "connection failed" messages. I'm basically storing my music/photo/video files on the TC and keeping my Mac hard drive fairly lean. In terms of NAS functionality, the TC is very basic. Synology/QNAP and others have a lot more features so don't rule them out.

Will time capsule also back up external hard drives?

will time capsule also back up external hard drives?

Yes. If you're using Time Machine, open its preferences and ensure the drives aren't excluded; Time Machine can't back up drives in some formats, such as FAT32.
(71818)

Can Time Capsule support an additional external hard drive?

A friend of mine is using Airport Extreme and has both his printer and external hard drive hooked through it accessing both wirelessly. The Apple site says this works great with Extreme but does not say you can do the same thing with Time Capsule. I called our local store and she wasn't sure. Both Extreme and Time Capsule have one USB port so no matter what, you have to split the USB(I know this works with Extreme). All my music is on an additional hard drive and it would be great if I could access it wirelessly. If anyone has done this with time capsule please let me know. I want to purchase it but if not I will go with Extreme.

Can Time Capsule support an additional external hard drive?
Yes.
(41832)

Can time capsule back up an external hard drive attached to my imac and the iMac internal Harddrive

Can time capsule back up an external hard drive attached to my imac and the iMac internal Harddrive

In addition to Kappy's comments, the external drive must be formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) in order for Time Machine to be able to back it up.

Can time capsule keep backup files that are removed from my computer

Can time capsule keep backup files that are removed from my computer? I am a photographer and have a ton of files that take too much space on my computer. I'd like to have a backup of them but keep them off of my computer. Does time capsul allow this?

files you remove from your computer will be removed from your time machine backups sooner or later.
better store important files on an external HD which, if connected directly to your computer and given enough space on your TC, can be backed up using time machine.

Time Capsule also backup an external hard drive connected to Mac?

My internal hard drive on my iMac Intel 2.4 20" is filling up so I'm looking at getting an external Firewire 800 hard drive to connect directly to the iMac. Can my Time Capsule back up my internal hard drive as well as an external hard drive connected directly to the iMac? I've searched for the answer but can't find a clear yes or no or how to set this up.
Thanks...

Yes, it's pretty much automatic. You can also control what gets backed up, as follows:
o In Time Machine preferences, Choose Backup Disk, then click Options. A list of locations that are backed up appears.
o To add a new "do not back up" location to the listing, click the "+" button below the list, navigate to the location you want to exclude and click Exclude.
o Click Done to return to Time Machine preferences.

Can I use my 2TB Time Capsule ONLY as an external hard drive for Time Machine backups?

Hi...wondering if somebody could help me out there.
I currently have an older Apple 2TB Time Capsule (previous generation) which I'm using as both my WiFi access point, as well as my Time Machine backup location for both my iMac and my MacBook Pro.
We've been having slow WiFi issues in our home, and seeing as how this Time Capsule is a number of years old, were thinking of upgrading to the faster WiFi routers with 802.11ac capability. I'll be honest when I say we were considering other options, beyond the newest Time Capsule.
My question is, can we somehow use the 2TB of storage on our current Time Capsule for the purpose of backing up our computers with Time Machine, but NOT use the WiFi functionality of the Time Capsule itself?
I'm assuming if I manually plugged either my iMac or MacBook Pro (wired ethernet) into the Time Capsule, I could likely get that computer to recognize and use it for Time Machine purposes, but I'd like to use it to backup both computers, ideally wirelessly on the MacBook Pro.
Any help would be great.
Right now I'm running a DSL line into a DSL modem, which then runs ethernet into my Time Capsule. From there, I have a 4 port switch connected for wired devices (we wired our home with ethernet jacks in almost every room). We also have an Airport Express to extend the range of the network.
Thanks,
Jason

You can bridge the TC and plug it into whatever wireless router you buy.
There is no need to turn off the wireless in the TC.. but you can set it up as a secondary wireless network. That is totally up to you. I find the Gen4 TC very fast on 5ghz.. but you need it to be close to the computers.. in your case that should be dead easy.. simply plug it in by ethernet in the same room as the iMac say.. and set it up with bridge and the imac plugged into it by ethernet.. one computer then can access the internet and backup via ethernet with huge speed improvements.. the laptop can then use whatever your new router wireless network.. or the TC one if it is close enough..
So there are plenty of variations and your setup is easy to handle with the large amount of ethernet you have.
Just post again if you need specifics.. but I need specifics to give them!!

Will Time Capsule also back-up an external drive?

I have a Time Capsule which I originally bought thinking it was both a back-up and extra memory device. I now also have an iomega network hard drive, and so need Time Capsule to back-up both my hard drive AND this external drive. Yet i can't seem to find how to do this in Time Machine. Can anyone help???

Time Machine can backup an external drive that is connected directly to your Mac via USB or Firewire, but it cannot backup a network drive.
If you need to backup a network drive, you might want to take a look at Chronosync. I believe that Carbon Copy Cloner now has this ability as well, but have not tried it.

Can Time Capsule be used to access video files for editing? Or do I need a wired hard drive using USB/Firewire/Thunderbolt?

MORE INFO ABOUT WHAT I AM TRYING TO DO:
I'm using Final Cut Express 4 and would like to store my video clips on an external hard drive so the internal hard drive in my MacBook Pro 13 doesn't have to work so hard. I heard from a reliable source that it might be impossible to access the files wirelessley though, meaning that I might need to get a wired external hard drive that uses USB, Firewire or Thunderbolt.
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot.
-Rick

The experts in the iPhoto, Aperture and iMovie support areas all strongly advise against trying to locate a "working" library on a network drive, like the Time Capsule, even if the Mac is hard wired to the Time Capsule. Things would be a lot more dangerous with a wireless connection.
Apple does as well:
“Additionally, storing the iPhoto (or other image) library on a network rather than locally on your computer can also lead to poor performance or data loss.”
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS5168
You might want to post in the Final Cut Express support area to see if the folks over there feel the same way.
Final Cut Express HD
Your best best....if you do not have the space on your Mac's hard drive.....would be to add a USB, FireWire or Thunderbolt drive directly to the Mac to establish a "local" connection. This is much better and more reliable setup that trying to use a network drive, like a Time Capsule.
Use the Time Capsule for its designed and intended purpose....your backups.....not "working" files. Time Machine on your Mac can back up both your Mac and the attached hard drive to the Time Capsule.

Can Time Capsule be used as an external drive but not a router

Greetings, I have a spare 1TB older Time Capsule that I would like to give to a friend who would like to use it as an external hard drive w/time machine. They currently have a current iMac with Comcast internet and router which they would prefer to continue using for internet access. My question is: can a time capsule be set up to be used as an external backup drive without using the router capability.Thanks for any advise.
Scotgt Lorigan

My question is: can a time capsule be set up to be used as an external backup drive without using the router capability
Yes
Connect the Time Capsule to the Comcast router using a wired Ethernet connection from a LAN port on the Comcast router to the WAN port on the Time Capsule and set it up to create a network.
Then, go back in using AirPort Utility and turn off the wireless function on the Time Capsule. The Time Capsule will operate as "bridge" in this type of setup, so it will not perform as a router.

Can a Time Capsule work as an additional hard drive for Apple TV?

Can I connect an Apple TV to a Time Capsule via USB and use it as an external HD?
thx

You cannot use the usb port for anything. there is no way to add additional storage directly to the tv. You would need to add storage to your itunes library and stream the content to the tv.

Can Time Capsule show a connected USB hard drive?

Hi, I have just purchased 1TB Time Capsule, which supposes to show a external USB connected hard drive. But why there is no drive nor icon shows in Find after it connected to Time Capsule?
that USB hard drive just works fine with direct connection to my MBP.
thanks all.
Message was edited by: marvinclick

marvinclick wrote:
But why there is no drive nor icon shows in Find after it connected to Time Capsule?
in the finder, click on the icon of the TC under shared. a connection dialog will appear and you may have to enter your admin password. then click on the folder symbolizing your USB drive
that USB hard drive just works fine with direct connection to my MBP.
in case above does not work, check if your drive is formatted for Mac or FAT32. your TC will not recognize NTFS formatted drives ...
JGG

Time Capsule or AirPort Extreme + External Hard Drive for iTunes Library

Hi, I currently have an Airport Extreme (Gigabit) and am planning on getting a MacBook Pro. What I want to do is keep my iTunes Library on an External Hard Drive and attach it to my AirPort so I can access it anywhere in the house (and world). Now I have been reading various reviews that perhaps a Time Capsule would be better for my needs. I don't plan on using it for Time Machine backups right now, just as a NAS Drive. If anyone has any experience with this I would appreciate the advice.
Thanks!
Message was edited by: Mr. Macintosh693

Hi,
I have something like that working at the moment. My setup is based on a Mac Mini Core Duo [ OS 10.5.6 ] connected to a Time Capsule. I have configured iTunes to store all archived music on the Time Capsule. I use the Apple Lossless format for my CDs and approx 420 titles have taken approx 130Gb from my 1Tb Capsule. In general this setup works well [ especially the optical out of the Mac ] but be aware of the following potential pitfalls:-
1. The Time Capsule is a little on the noisy side and depending on the quality of your playback equipment, your choice of music, ambient noise and your values of "satisfactory" you may want to put your Capsule or HDD in another room. This seems OK for generic playback, but in my experience wireless is not a good way to go for streaming content.
2. iTunes v8.0.2 has a preferences capability to allow you to redirect it's archive to the Time Capsule. However, even if you leave the Capsule switched on it goes into a "sleep" mode. Rip a new CD and iTunes won't tell you this; instead it will silently reconfigure itself to store on your local hard drive and then you're left with the challenge of moving your collection piecemeal if you want it in one location, followed by manually updating iTunes to "point" it to the new location of the music.
One nice thing about the Capsule is that it does allow other connection types. I have mine networked to a PC running Ubuntu Linux and a music player called Amarok and I am able to stream the Mac-Ripped lossless files and play them over Linux perfectly... Works very well. Apparently you can do this with a Windows client and iTunes for Windows, but I don't run Windows as a matter of principle and can't validate that.
My 1Tb Time Capsule runs hot, too. Not dangerously so, but hot to the touch. There are no cooling fans, but you might want to think about placement; it needs plenty of fresh air circulating around it.
For what it's worth [ and I appreciate this is going beyond your question ] I also wanted my setup to be able to store and retrieve recorded TV. I have Elgato EyeTV and a USB Freeview decoder. I quickly learned that despite claims to the contrary the performance of the wireless connection just isn't up to streaming video content. So I went out and purchased a pair of Ethernet-over-mains adapters from Zyxel that are absolutely perfect for the job.
Yes, the Capsule is a little pricey for what is little more than a Hard Drive in a box, but it does work very well.
Beware the timeout disconnections and the silently re-configuring iTunes thought...

Can time capsule also function as a second drive for my computer wirelessly?

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