How can i use the airport time capsule as a external hard drive?

how can i use the airport time capsule as a external hard drive?

Why do you recommend not place things like iTunes libraries or photo libraries on the drive? It was what I am looking for...
I suggest that you ask the experts over in the iPhoto Support Community about their opinions on placing an iPhoto or Aperture library on the Time Capsule....even if you plan to use a wired connection for your Mac and the Time Capsule.
But, if Terrence Devlin answers, be prepared for a lecture about why you should not ever do this.
If you place the iTunes library on the Time Capsule, be prepared for iTunes to give you messages about not being able to find the library.
In addtion, LaPastenague has the answer for you in a nutshell......corruption problems.
Bottom line....the Time Capsule is for your backups.....not "everyday" files and especially not libraries.

Similar Messages

I have 2 macs and 2 PC laptops in my home wireless network. Can I use the Airport/Time Capsule hard drive to back up all 4 machines? I know that I will have to use different back up software on the PCs, but is it possible over the wireless network?

I have 2 macs and 2 PC (Windows 7) laptops in my home wireless network. (The iMac is hardwired via ethernet to the Airport/Time Capsule; the others are wireless connections using Airport). I want to use the hard disk drive in the Time Capsule as a network backup drive for all 4 computers. Is this possible? Could someone help me by telling me how to configure it? I know I will have to use different backup software in the 2 Windows 7 Laptops? Do I need to use the Windows backup software, or can I use a third party program like Acronis True Image? Thanks in advance for the help

It is your fault, pondini.. all your fault.
I read of all the things that go wrong restoring Time Machine backups.. particularly stupid things like mail, photo libraries don't go back.. etc. And looking through the incredible number of issues people have here, when their Mac finally takes a dive how hard it is to restore.
I restored a test hard disk from a TC.. and it takes ages and ages to even make up its mind to start.
I worked in computer support for ages, but not Macs.. so my experience is ghost.. ghost images.. on large commercial server setups, can stream restore to multiple computers at once.. even doing it computer by computer the image is simple as network boot to restore. But ghost went the way of Symantec.. sigh!! And was destroyed.
A product like clonezilla, Free linux boot cd.
http://lifehacker.com/5078397/clonezilla-backs-up-and-restores-your-disks
Can backup a Hard disk in just about any format.. yet to try it on a Mac to a TC.. but I will. Boot from CD.. instead of your lost Lion partition which no longer exists (because the hard drive had to be replaced) and the DVD they no longer give you, and restore the entire hard disk in a couple of hours .. to the exact image at the point you made the clone.. in any format, with any partitions.
My bet is that it will kill TM .. but you could be right.
It is just the prospect of all those permission changes, photos and mail libraries etc that worry me.

Can I use the Airport Time Capsule Wirelessly without being connected to my router/mac by ethernet?

Hey
I've recently bought a 3TB Airport Time Capsule, with the sole intention of being able to perform wireless backups.
Is it possible to perform these wireless backups without being connected by ethernet to my modem/existing router? I don't want to use the time capsule as a replacement for my existing router (at this stage) - just for wireless backups of my Macs.
If this is not possible, or practicable, are there other alternatives that I should explore? (non-cloud)
Thanks in advance
Steven
PS
Boring background:
I'm in a rental property with a woefully inadequate number of plugs in practical places. In addition there is only one phone socket. The result being insufficient safe space to have the existing router, and the Airport TC along with the existing electrical items.

Unfortunately, Apple designed the Time Capsule to connect to a modem or modem/router using an Ethernet connection.
If you do this, you do have the option of turning off the wireless on the Time Capsule and using your existing wireless for backups. Backups will be automatic this way, in the background. The Time Capsule could be located anywhere an Ethernet cable will reach.....up to 300+ feet or about 100 meters.
The other option.....not recommended and not convenient at all.....is to set up the Time Capsule......without an Ethernet connection and then have the Time Capsule provide a wireless network that would not have Internet access.
So, when you wanted to back up, you would have to manually "switch" to the Time Capsule network for that process, then once the backup was done, manually "switch" back again to your normal wireless network for normal operations. A real mess, not to mention the possibility of wireless interference between the networks that may create other issues.

Is there a way to use spare space on Airport Time Capsule as normal external hard drive?

A friend uses a hard drive with Time Machine for backup, but also has need for an external hard drive to hold a large number of photos that are filling up her computer's hard drive. Hers isn't an Airport Time Capsule but I have one that is. So that raised a two part question:
1. Can her external drive used with Time Machine somehow also be used to store many of her photos (sort of a second iPhoto library) to let her to offload them?
2. Can an Airport Time Capsule be used that way? (Mine is 2 TB but my hard drive is 500 GB.)
Just curious. Thanks.

Can her external drive used with Time Machine somehow also be used to store many of her photos (sort of a second iPhoto library) to let her to offload them?
Not sure if I understand.
To keep things simple, let's just say she has an image library on her Mac it might be iPhoto or another library.
Time Machine is backing up the image library to the external hard drive. So, the "original" version of the image library is on her Mac, and Time Machine is making a backup copy on the external hard drive.
If you move the image library to the external drive....Time Machine has nothing to back up....and the only copy of the image library will be on the external hard drive.
If the external drive has a problem.....she has lost all of her images since there are no other copies of the image library on another drive.
Is this what you are asking about? Do you see the danger here?
Can an Airport Time Capsule be used that way? (Mine is 2 TB but my hard drive is 500 GB.)
Yes it could, but the same dangers would apply.
Or, maybe I am not understanding what you are asking?

How do I set up my time capsule as wireless external hard drive?

I have a new iMac and and a new 2 TB Time Capsule. I bought the Time Capsule to not only use with time machine but also as a wireless external hard drive. What is the best way to set this up from the beginning? Do I just create a new folder under the data folder in my Time Capsule and then start dragging and dropping files? I want to make sure I have the best setup from the beginning. Thanks

My opinion is that the Time Capsule should really be used as it was designed....for Time Machine backups....not as an "everyday" hard drive.
For one thing, access to files on the Time Capsule drive if you place movies, music, images, etc. on the drive is going to be very slow....and really slow if you plan to connect using wireless. Expect lag, stutters, signal drops, etc.
That brings up another question.....if you move your movies, music, images, etc over to the Time Capsule drive.....how will you back up this data? Surely, you plan to keep "original" versions on one drive and "copies" on another to be safe, correct?
My suggestion would be to add an external USB or FireWire drive and attach it directly to your Mac. Move your movies, music, etc. to that drive. Access will be very fast to your media this way. Highly recommended.
Then, Time Machine will backup both your Mac and the hard drive.....so you have backups of everything. Make sense?
Although I do not recommend that you move your files over to the Time Capsule drive based on the information that you have provided so far....If you still want to setup the disk image on the Time Capsule drive, follow these basic steps:
Open Macintosh HD > Applications > Utiltiies > Disk Utility
Click New Image at the top of the window
Make sure that the little arrow next to the Save As box is pointing up
Navigate through the Finder like interace to open up the Time Capsule drive
Name the disk image and select the size that you want
Click Create
Allow a very long time for the image to created.

How can I use 300 GB of music on my external hard drive with my itunes on ipad?

I have 300 GB of music on my external hard drive. I use an ipod touch and want to to use an ipad to manage and make playlists and transfer to my touch. What is the best way for me to do this?? Thanks in advance.

It doesn't appear so. I am shopping around now and the latest review I read says that there is an interface built into the product to manage media.
http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/storage/seagate-goflex-satellite.aspx

How can I tell the app store to ignore my external hard drive?

I have a macbook pro, that was running 10.8.. I wanted to upgrade to Yosemite, but was very afraid I would regret it, so I got an external hard drive, made a bootable clone, and then installed yosemite onto that, upgraded XCode, etc-- made sure everything would actually work.. After I saw everything was relatively good and painless, I then went to install Yosemite on my main computer..
Whoops? Yosemite installer is gone? It self deletes? That is really annoying since it's a 5.8gb download... Anyway, I re-download it, format my MBP hard drive and install from scratch.
I then boot from my MBP-- and go to the app store to install XCode, and--- it just has "OPEN" as an option, not install.. When I click OPEN, it's opening it off my external hard drive. WHAT?
So I unmount my external hard drive.. Click install.. remount my external hard drive, it goes along downloading the multi-gigabyte XCode file... I continue copying the various needed files from my bootable clone to my MBP... Two hours later, the download finishes... Guess what? No XCode in my Applications.
Apparently when I remounted my external drive, it decided "I already have XCode! no need for this!", and discarded the download?????
... Anyway, needless to say, this is ridiculously annoying. Is there a way to tell the app store to NOT look at anything except my internal HD?

Check the date & version of the external Xcode. If that is current drag it to the Apps folder, eject the external & run Xcode. It should update if it has any available.
I don't know what would have caused it to abort or remove the download. It's possible it installed into your user folder, check for the Applications folder in there.
Does the store list it as installed with & without the external connected?

How Can I use the Apple time capsule on another network?

I have just swapped out Virgin Broadband for BT broadband (BT infinity - BT HOMEHUB 3 wireless device)
I would like to reconfigure my Time capsule so that I can use it as part of my new wireless network (as a wireless back-up device).. but not use the router part of it.
I believe this is possible? Am currently using 10.7.5 of OS X.
Can you please let me know what steps I need to follow? (I am happy to start again if need be).
With Thanks
Simon

You cannot use the extend option with another brand router.. so the above will not work with the BThub. And WDS btw is now not used on the TC or apple routers.. haven't ever since N wireless came out.. the above article is for G wireless routers of yesteryear.
The best way to do it is bridge the TC.. that is router bridge not wireless bridge.. and simply plug it by ethernet into the BT hub.
You can then setup wireless however you want.. it can reinforce the existing wireless. Simply use the same name (SSID) and security setting.. (should be WPA2 Personal ie AES).. and passkey.. but if you want to make it sure, then lock the wireless channels. This is called a roaming network.

Can I use the old Time Capsule as an external HDD only?

how to make TC to be a new external because i dont need to back up things,just want to be External HDD,if work,can the files through by wifi ?

Hedwig Wang wrote:
i dont need to back up things
when you lose important files for the first time, you will see how wrong that statement is
how to make TC to be a new external
click here for instructions. once set up, time machine may ask you if you want to use the TC for backups but you can decline.
the TC will show up in the finder under the shared header. click on the icon and your computer will connect to the TC, when that's done, you will see a folder called Data, which actually is the TC's drive. click on the folder and the TC's drive will mount on your desktop.
now you can drag & drop files to it like with any ordinary external HD.
can the files through by wifi ?
yes.

I'm using my old Time Capsule as an external hard drive. Can I back it up?

Upon upgrading my older iMac's hard drive to 500GB and more or less filling it, my 500GB Time Capsule became less useful as a backup and more useful as an eternal drive. I've bought a new 2TB Time Capsule to use as my primary backup/router, and have connected my old 500GB directly to my iMac via ethernet cable to store large media files and free up some disk space. My problem is that the "TC Backup Disc" partition appearing on my old Time Capsule is the only place I can store files, and this partition won't back up via Time Machine to my new Time Capsule. I've tried erasing and restoring, but remain unable to create any folders on my old Time Capsule that Time Machine will back up. Any ideas?

The Time Capsule is a network drive and Time Machine cannot backup files that are already on a network drive.
You might want to take a look at Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper, as both of these utilities will backup a network drive like the Time Capsule.
Carbon Copy Cloner: Mac Backup Software SuperDuper! - Shirt Pocket

Can I use the new time capsule running 10.68 on my Imac?

Can I use the new time capsule running 10.68 on my Imac? I thinking of buying my first Time Capsule and wanted to get the new one. Is it reqiured for me to upgrade my OS first?

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
You can use the Time Capsule with your iMac. The problem is that you need AirPort Utility 6.3 to set up the Time Capsule, and it needs OS X 10.7 or later.
If you have an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, you can connect the Time Capsule to the power adapter, open Settings > Wi-Fi, and set up the Time Capsule through it. Then, you will be able to connect to the Time Capsule.
If you haven't got any other device, upgrade OS X. Open the Mac App Store and purchase OS X Mountain Lion. While it's being downloaded, make a backup of your files with Time Machine and check that your apps are compatible > http://www.roaringapps.com
When the download finishes, the Mountain Lion installer will appear, so follow its steps. After upgrading, open  > Software Update, install AirPort Utility 6.3, open it in /Applications/Utilities and follow the steps to set up the Time Capsule

Can you use the apple time capsule as just a wireless hard drive without using it as a router

Can i use the apple time capsule as just a wireless hard drive without using a router

You can, but this type of configuration is not recommended or supported by Apple.
Two cautions if you want to try this:
1) The Time Capsule has to be configured to "Join" your existing wireless network in this type of setup...and to do that, you must know the exact type of wireless security that your network is using.
2) Backups are going to take twice as long. The wireless signal must travel from your computer to the wireless router and then from the wireless router back to the Time Capsule. Two "hops"......even if the computer is located close to the Time Capsule.
If you want to try this, we can tell you how....but with no guarantees on your results....since this is not officially supported.

Can I use the new Time Capsule to backup my mid 2010 Macbook Pro? Also can I want to free up my hard disk, can I save my photos and files on the time capsule and later access through wifi?

Can I use the new Time Capsule to backup my mid 2010 Macbook Pro? Also can I want to free up my hard disk, can I save my photos and files on the time capsule and later access through wifi?

Can I use the new Time Capsule to backup my mid 2010 Macbook Pro?
Yes, if you are asking about using Time Machine to backup the Mac.
Also can I want to free up my hard disk, can I save my photos and files on the time capsule and later access through wifi?
You are not thinking of deleting the photos and files on your Mac, are you? If you do this, you will have no backups for those files.
Another concern is that Time Machine backs up the changes on your Mac. At some point, Time Machine will automatically delete the photos and files from the Time Capsule.....you just don't know when this might occur.
In other words, only delete files from your Mac that you can afford to lose.

Can I use the Apple Time Capsule to store my compressed DVD's and access from my iPad/iPod/iPhone while on a trip if I have the Time Capsule plugged in in the car/SUV?

Can I use the Apple Time Capsule to store my compressed DVD's & BD's to access from my iPad/iPod/iPhone wirelessly while on a trip if I have the Time Capsule plugged in in the car/SUV?

castruck wrote:
I would be accessing the files wirelessly from the iPad/iPod/iPhone to play the files.
what player do you intend to use? That is what I am wanting to check.. you understand there is no itunes server in the TC..
BTW if you want to use the TC in your car/SUV.. convert it to 12v operation.
https://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/time-capsule-power-supply-repair-kits

HT1175 how do you set the airport time capsule as the primary base station rather than as a network client?

how do you set the airport time capsule as the primary base station rather than as a network client?

The Time Capsule needs to connect to a simple modem......not a modem/router or gateway type of device that is often furnished by Internet Service Providers.
So, the first logical question here would be......
What is the make and model number of the device that you call your "modem"?

How can i use the airport time capsule as a external hard drive?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for