Does the time capsule act as an external hard drive too?

I haven't got the time capsule but I'm thinking about getting it but I want to know does it Work as an external hard drive too, so can you store things like music files and things on there and access them anytime?

It cannot be plugged in via usb.. only by ethernet.. so it is not really external hard disk.. it is network storage but not a NAS.. it is designed purely as a target for Time Machine backups.. primarily for laptops with wireless only connections.. eg MBA as they do not have ethernet.
As a place to store files the TC can be pressed into service but is really poor in having no automated method to back itself up.. and they do die which leaves them a sealed unit which Apple refuse to fix or open even to recover your data.
Buy a NAS from any of the major companies.. if you want Network storage..
Buy a USB drive from any of the major companies if you want something to plug into your computer for storage.
TC is neither.. arthur or martha.

Similar Messages

  • Does the time capsule work as an external hard drive that you can access from multiple lapttops

    I have a mac desktop, a macbook and a pc laptop. I also purchased the time capsule. Will that functional as an external hard drive that I can use to save a share documents between. Trying to figure out the best way to work on documents between devices. new to max and trying to make the full switch but still working with toshiba laptop for a while too.
    Any help is appreciated.

    Hello jhettenhausen,
         Yes, it can function as an external drive for all the devices.  As for Windows, you just need to make sure that
    it is Windows Professional or XP, as they support mapped network drives.  Windows 7 Home Premium doesn't is not capable of mapping network drives.  At home, I have a ubuntu laptop, Windows 7 Profesional laptop, and Macbook Pro and they all backup to the Time Capsule 1 TB.  Hope this helps!!
    Best Regards,
    freesparks

  • 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.

  • Lost data on renamed time capsule acting as an external hard drive

    I have renamed my time capsule which i was using as an external hard drive, and now I cannot find any of my data on it. Have I somehow erased it or can I find my files somewhere?

    Turn on the guest account so you have full access. You cannot delete the data by renaming the drive.
    Are you sure you didn't copy the data inside a TM sparsebundle.. that will certainly not be visible unless you open it.

  • Can the time capsule function like an external hard drive?

    Can I place files there I want to archive but don't need access to everyday? I want to consolodate two older external drives that I have to the time capsule.

    You can place files on the Time Capsule drive if you want, but there will be a conflict at some point in time if you are also using the Time Capsule for Time Machine backups.
    Drives do have a way of filling up much faster than you expected.
    If you plan to place "original" or "master" copies of data on the Time Capsule drive, you'll also have to figure out how to back up those files to yet another drive.  Time Machine cannot do this.

  • Does Time Capsule works as a External Hard Drive?

    Does Time Capsule works as a External Hard Drive?

    The Time Capsule works as a network drive.
    An external drive connects to your Mac using either the USB or FireWire ports.
    If your real question is to ask whether you can store other data on the Time Capsule drive....you can.

  • 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 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 apple time capsule act as a wireless hard drive storage by Samsung smart tv?

    Can apple time capsule act as a wireless hard drive storage by Samsung smart tv? Samsung smart tv is connected to apple time capsule through wireless  as a modem at the moment

    If you look on the right side there pops up similar questions.. which works better than search btw..
    https://discussions.apple.com/message/16432256#16432256
    The Samsung.. may not be able to see the Time Capsule hard disk..
    because it does not contain any files it can read.
    because it is not conformed to standard SMB file system.. the TC name is often illegal.. remove all spaces and special characters and keep it short.
    Same for wireless name and all passwords.
    There is no media player in the TC so it is useless for your TV even if it can see the hard drive .. the TC is a dumb backup device.

  • How do i set my time capsule as a wireless external hard drive?

    it is currently doing regular automatic back-ups of our system, but we want to set it as our hard drive as well.

    If Time Machine backups are occurring correctly, then you already have the Time Capsule set up as a hard drive on your network.
    Although not necessarily recommended, that means that you can manually drag/drop or copy/paste data directly to the Time Capsule disk.
    Are you asking how to do this, or how to locate the drive?  Please clarify.

  • Can I simply just use my Time Capsule as a normal External Hard drive? A wireless external hard drive?

    Can I simply just use my Time Capsule as a normal External Hard drive? A wireless external hard drive?

    I am not sure what you mean by normal external but yes, it is a network hard disk drive.. and you can use wireless.. the only trouble then is, if there is no ethernet connection and internet is by wireless to a different router, then you cannot do both at once.

  • Is it possible to sync time capsule data to a external hard drive

    Is it possible to sync time capsule data to a external hard drive connected to time capsule via usb. (as an precaution just incase time capsule fails)
    Thanks

    Yes, if the USB drive has been previously formatted correctly in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format.
    Open AirPort Utility - Click Manual Setup
    Click the Disks icon
    Click the Disks tab below the icon
    Click Archive
    Allow plenty of time for the copy process to occur. You will not be able to make Time Machine backups from your Mac until the Archive process has completed.

  • Can I use Time Capsule 1TB as an external hard drive tos tore my music library(but with cable connection,not WI-FI)

    Can I use my Time Capsule 1TB as an external hard drive to store my music library but with a cable connection(Ethernet or USB) and not Wi-Fi.

    Yes, with the following warnings.
    1. A 1TB TC is a Gen3 or earlier and can die at a moments notice.. So backup is essential.
    2. A Gen1 or 2 is slow.. even over ethernet they were processor bound and so transfer speeds are not great.. a USB2 plugged into the computer will be faster. Gen3 is about 50% better as the processor was upgraded by 50% speed.
    3. TC has no built in backup.. TM cannot backup network drives.
    4. TC is designed to spin up slowly and spin down quickly.. you will have issues with itunes constantly losing the library.
    5. You cannot use USB to the TC.. it is a network drive. If you want to use USB directly on the computer buy a USB drive.. but buy as fast a drive as your Mac supports.. Thunderbolt>USB3>FW800>USB2
    USB3 is cheap and very good.. but the port is only from 2012 so check your Mac specs.
    Thunderbolt whilst being super fantastic and around since 2011, has a bank account clearing price although there are Thunderbolt to esata converters.. for around $160. esata falls between usb3 and fw800.
    FW800 from WD is no better than USB2 but other brands it can be twice the speed of usb2.
    USB2 is the worst. But still faster than a TC.

  • Will time capsule back up an external hard drive

    Will time capsule back up an external hard drive?

    Time Machine will backup the drive to the Time Capsule if it is formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and it is connected directly to your Mac by USB or FireWire....and it is not "excluded" from backups in Time Machine Options.

  • I have a macbook air and need additional storage should i consider a time capsule or a simple external hard drive?

    I have a macbook air and need additional storage should i consider a time capsule or a simple external hard drive?

    If you move live files (files you don't want to lose) to an external drive, you need to back them up.  Any files not backed up are at risk of loss.  Hard drives and SSDs can fail at any time.  It is hard to backup a Time Capsule so a TC should be used only as a backup device.
    Do you have a Time Machine backup now?  If so, and if it is large enough, you can backup your internal and external disk to it using Time Machine.  If not, you all need to purchase an external drive or TC as your backup device.  (I recommend an external hard drive for backup instead of a TC.)  Ideally the backup drive should be twice the size of what you are backing up but 50% larger will work so if you have an external 1 TB disk and an internal 250 GB SSD then a 2 TB backup disk will work well.
    By default, Time Machine will not backup the external disk.  You need to remove it from the exclusions list:
    To have Time Machine backup your system disk and your external offload disk up onto your Time Machine disk:
     > System Preferences > Time Machine > Options… > Remove the offload HD name from the exclusions list.

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