I'm having a hard time setting up my external hard from with my AirPort Extreme and Time Machine Backups.

I have been using a Mac Mini with an external hard and Time Machine.  I bought an Airport Extreme and have had problem setting up the hard drive using the USB port on the Airport Extreme.  I also just recently bought a Mac Book Air and hope to have both computers back up to the external hard drive using Time Machine and Airport Extreme.  I have been using the optical drive from the Mac mini to load programs into the Mac Book Air.  I think I'm just getting confused in Finder.  I am just not seeing the hard drive.  I ended up plugging the hard drive back into the Mac Mini and that is work fine again.  How do I setting the external hard drive up to the AirPort Extreme and use for both computers?  Or at least to start with the Mac mini.

It's critical to understand that Time Machine (TM) stores backups differently between local and network drives. That would mean the TM backup on your locally attached USB hard drive will not be directly useable when it is connected to the AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBS). There is a way to copy a local version to a network version, but it is not fool-proof. When you do connect this drive and point TM to it, TM will start a brand new backup, leaving your existing backup as is.
If your current backup is critical to you, you may want to consider getting a second USB drive to attach to the Extreme and use your existing one as a backup ... or use TM's multi-backup process to backup to more than one destination drive alternatively.
So, at this point, you may want to make a decision on how you want to go forward to help provide a solution for you.
To directly answer your question, when you go to select a destination for a Time Machine backup, the drive(s) that show up under "Backup Disks" are those that TM already recognizes and has backed up to. Those listed under "Available Disks" are drives (either local or on the network) that TM can back up to.

Similar Messages

  • My Airport Extreme and Time Capsule both cannot do not mount my Seagate USB external hard.

    My Airport Extreme and Time Capsule both cannot do not mount my Seagate USB external hard.
    I am running OS 10.7.5
    Both the TC and AE are updated to 7.6.1
    The Seagate drive in formatted: Journaled HFS+
    I tried everything on Apple's Article: HT1331 and the basic reboots and restarts.
    "Next"

    It sounds like you may be confusing "mount" with "recognize".
    Connect the drive to the USB port on the AirPort Extreme
    Open Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities > AirPort Utility
    Click on the AirPort Extreme icon, then click Edit
    Click the Disks tab
    Does the AirPort Extreme "recognize" your hard drive?  If yes, it will be displayed in the window.
    See example below of a WD 500 GB drive connected to the AirPort Extreme.
    If your drive is formatted HFS+ and it does not appear here, then you will almost certainly need to use a powered USB hub with the hard drive.....even if the hard drive has its own power supply.  The USB port on the AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule is under powered.
    Post back when the drive is "recognized" and we will next "mount" the drive.....although you likely already know how to do this.

  • How do I connect Airport Extreme and Time Capsule to my new iMac so that AE is used for network and TC only used for Time Machine backup?

    I didn't realize that Time Capsule will only support the print function of a wireless multifunction printer.  So I want to use Extreme for my network to have full use of my printer and use TC as the Time machine backup only.  How to I make the connections?

    Thanks for your response and this is getting complicated but I just purchased a new iMac as well as the Airport TC.  I've had the Airport Extreme for a year or so.  The Airport Extreme worked perfectly with my old iMac wirelessly and I had all functions of my printer with no problems.  I was expecting the same with the TC.  But the instruction that came with TC say to connect the printer to the TC via USB...which I did.  And the print function worked perfectly but nothing else.  In researching I discovered that when wired that way the TC only supports the print function...not scan or fax or anything else.  I tried going wireless since my AE worked perfectly via wireless but I got no printer functions at all that way.  But I'm wondering also if I tried that during a time I was having other issues...I had to delete and re-add my printer which solved some other problems.  I may try that again...and see if I can get all print functions with just the TC connected
    As far as connecting both your AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule on your network, we're not clear on exactly how you want to do this.  Will the AirPort Extreme connect to your modem using an Ethernet cable and the Time Capsule connect to the AirPort Extreme using an Ethernet cable?.......or......do you want the Time Capsule to connect to the network using wireless?
    Well... first of all I would like not to have to use the AE at all...I would prefer using just my TC for network, all print functions and Time Machine backup if that's possible. My printer will not accept Ethernet connections (Canon MX512).
    After failing at getting this to work, I decided I would try to use my AE for net and print functions and just use my TC for Time Machine backup.  I tried several different connection configurations with no success until finally I connected cable modem to my AE via Ethernet and went wireless with the AE and printer. but connected the AE to the TC via Ethernet and amazingly everything worked like a charm (for a while) and I was patting myself on the back for being so smart.  But now I find that the connection only lasts for a short time.  If I leave it for a while the TC goes invisible...or at least I see a message saying the Ethernet is unplugged...but it is not... and I lose internet connection even though I have a green light on my AE. So now I'm at a loss. I don't know why I keep losing network signal and why my system thinks the Ethernet is unplugged.
    So... after all this...I figured I wasn't so smart after all and I must have things wired incorrectly.
    So... it sounds like you are saying I should go back and try again to get my new TC to work as I want it to via wireless instead of connecting via USB...is that correct?  Could you tell me exactly how I should wire my equipment from cable modem to AE and/or TC to achieve net capability, full functions of my printer and Time Machine backup...
    Thanks...

  • I have my Time Machine on an external drive (not connected to Airport Extreme) and I have an external HD attached to airport extreme. Is it possible to have Time Machine backUp computer HD AND external HD connected to Airport Extreme. How?

    I have my Time Machine on an external drive (not connected to Airport Extreme) and I have an external HD attached to airport extreme. Is it possible to have Time Machine backUp computer HD AND external HD connected to Airport Extreme. How?

    Is it possible to have Time Machine backUp computer HD AND external HD connected to Airport Extreme.
    Sorry, but no.
    Time Machine will backup your Mac, but not the hard drive attached to the AirPort Extreme.
    Time Machine will back up a hard drive only if it is attached directly to your Mac via USB or FireWire.

  • Is there a way to connect an old Sunflower iMac (OSX 10.4.11) to a new Time Capsule?  It used to work with old Airport Extreme with updates thru Snow Leopard but now seems to only allow WEP encryption instead of WPA.

    Is there a way to connect an old Sunflower iMac (OSX 10.4.11) to a new Time Capsule?  It used to work with old Airport Extreme network, run from a intel iMac with updates thru Mavericks but now seems to only allow WEP encryption instead of WPA and can't connect to Time Capsule.  Airport Extreme Base was controllable from either computer up through Snow Leopard (I didn't do any of the Lion upgrades).  Then when I upgraded to Mavericks I lost the ability to use Airport Utility with this hardware on the Sunflower but could still connect wirelessly to network without any problems.  But now with the Time Capsule upgrade the Sunflower is blocked from network by a dialogue that requests ony WEP password, not WPA pwd used by Time Capsule.  Neither can I use the old airport extreme base to extend the time capsule network since I can't input the correct password/encryption approach to join it.  Is there a work around?  Would a newer but old Airport Express be able to extend network to Sunflower?  Or maybe a third party wireless (such as Netgear, Dlink, etc) that has browser type control rather than special utility?
    Another question--before I used MAC addresses to control who could access network.  Now on Time Capsule I don't see anything about this--so is it true now that the only access control is via WPA2 pwd now (which appears to be the encryption pwd and not the time capsule pwd)?

    Is there a way to connect an old Sunflower iMac (OSX 10.4.11) to a new Time Capsule?
    I can’t claim to completely grasp the issue(s) you’re describing, but the underlying problem is presumably your iMac’s obsolete AirPort card. Whatever the case, an obvious (if not particularly helpful) answer to your stated question would be to connect your iMac with an ethernet cable, using powerline adapters as an alternative if you don’t want to have wire running all over the place.
    My still fully functional clamshell iBook, with an original AirPort card, connects wirelessly to my 4th Generation TC network by means of a cheap 802.11b/g/n USB Wi-Fi adapter. This might be an option for you too.
    Another question--before I used MAC addresses to control who could access network.  Now on Time Capsule I don't see anything about this
    When you edit your TC's settings the access controls appear under the Network tab, don't they?

  • Can I connect an external hard drive to one of the ethernet port of the airport extreme and access it from my Mac or PC?

    Can I connect an external hard drive to one of the ethernet port of the airport extreme and access it from my Mac or PC?

    If this hard drive is part of a NAS device, then yes it should be accessable from either a Mac or PC while connected to the AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBS) by Ethernet.

  • Cisco router RVS4000 with Airport extrem and Time capsule.

    Problem droping connection to internet when is Time capsule in extended wifi mode. When I turn off wifi on time capsule Airport extreme work fine.
    Airport extreme and Time capsule is conected via ETH.
    Any idea ?
    Thaks
    B.

    If you use ethernet to connect the AE and TC .. you must NOT extend wifi.. you use Create a wireless network. And setup with same name and security. You are using roaming network.. not extended wireless.. if you want to use extended wireless no ethernet
    see http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4260

  • Airport Extreme and Time Capsule – A few questions

    Hey guys,
    I have a Belkin Modem/Router with a USB port for storage, but I just found out it only has 10/100 Ethernet, and can only mount 1 hard drive to that storage port. Other than that, it works fine and I am happy with it. Its stated wireless speed is 300mbps, and it supports 802.11n draft 2.0.
    I also just got a Mac, and was considering a Time Capsule for using Time Machine (Or, because am also considering a Drobo, just a straight Airport Extreme).
    So my questions are:
    1. Is there any point in keeping the Belkin to use as my modem if it’s got 10/100 Ethernet ports? Will that make the Time Capsule/APE (And hence the attached drives/devices) perform at the slower speed?
    2. I don’t know if I can just “turn off” the Belkins Router abilities anyway. Assuming I can’t, will having 2 routers on my network even be possible? (Mac’s software is infinitely more user friendly, and I’d want to use it for my network).
    3. Is there a limit to how many Hard Drives I can connect to an Airport Extreme/Time Capsule? (My Belkin can only share one, even via a USB Hub – it only sees the first drive.)
    4. For now, my storage drives are standard HDD’s from WD and Seagate, but I am considering a Drobo (Some form of RAID storage is happening in the next few months, for sure).
    In either case:
    a) Will Airport Extreme recognize my External Hard Drive as a Time Machine Backup Destination? (And as a Drive to store other media)
    b) Will Time Capsule recognize my external hard drive, in addition to itself (Since it’s also a Hard Drive?)
    5. This page: ((http://www.apple.com/airportextreme/features/harddrivesharing.html)  says: “You can set up password-protected accounts for everyone on the network or allow read-only access to certain files and folders.”
    Some folders, I don’t even want to allow read only access to. Can I require a password before they can be viewed, or modified/deleted? (If I go the time capsule rout, I would want to protect the drives attached to it, and probably not the HD on the capsule itself).
    6. Also, the rest of my computers are PC’s, and I was wondering if it’s possible (and safe) to set up time machine to backup to the time capsule for Mac, and allow the other PC’s to backup to it using their version of “Time Machine” too?
    I know this will leave less room for mac and PC backups, but it would free up room on my Drobo / HDD’s
    7. Can Time Machine backup wirelessly to other drives, such as http://shop.nextbyte.com.au/Script/MCH/Products/532195-NextByte-WDBACG0020HCHAES N-WD-My-Book-Live-2TB
    Thanks so much for your help.
    P.S. Can anyone recommend a good modem to use with the Airprort/Time Capsule?

    No help?

  • Airport Extreme and Time Capsule

    Hey guys, I actually posted a few days ago  (https://discussions.apple.com/message/19406166#19406166)  but got no love. I think I've worked out a few of them myself from other sources, but of otherwise, the following remain unanswered. (Just copied and pasted from the above post) If anyone can answer a few questions for me, that'd be great.
    I have a Belkin Modem/Router with a USB port for storage, but I just found out it only has 10/100 Ethernet, and can only mount 1 hard drive to that storage port. Other than that, it works fine and I am happy with it. Its stated wireless speed is 300mbps, and it supports 802.11n draft 2.0.
    I also just got a Mac, and was considering a Time Capsule for using Time Machine (Or, because am also considering a Drobo, just a straight Airport Extreme).
    So my questions are:
    2. I don’t know if I can just “turn off” the Belkins Router abilities anyway. Assuming I can’t, will having 2 routers on my network even be possible? (Mac’s software is infinitely more user friendly, and I’d want to use it for my network).
    4. For now, my storage drives are standard HDD’s from WD and Seagate, but I am considering a Drobo (Some form of RAID storage is happening in the next few months, for sure).
    In either case:
    a) Will Airport Extreme recognize my External Hard Drive as a Time Machine Backup Destination? (And as a Drive to store other media)
    b) Will Time Capsule recognize my external hard drive, in addition to itself (Since it’s also a Hard Drive?)
    5. This page: ((http://www.apple.com/airportextreme/features/harddrivesharing.html)  says: “You can set up password-protected accounts for everyone on the network or allow read-only access to certain files and folders.”
    Some folders, I don’t even want to allow read only access to. Can I require a password before they can be viewed, or modified/deleted? (If I go the time capsule rout, I would want to protect the drives attached to it, and probably not the HD on the capsule itself).
    7. Can Time Machine backup wirelessly to other drives, such as http://shop.nextbyte.com.au/Script/MCH/Products/532195-NextByte-WDBACG0020HCHAES N-WD-My-Book-Live-2TB
    Thanks so much for your help.
    P.S. Can anyone recommend a good modem to use with the Airprort/Time Capsule?

    Ok, thanks for clarifying.
    Unfortunately, the "jury is still out" on this. Apple's last stance (ref: Mac OS X 10.5: Time Machine doesn't back up to AirPort Disks) is that Time Machine (TM) does not support backups to AirPort Disk drives. However, others (ref: Time Machine now works with AirPort Extreme's AirDisk feature) have reported that this is now working with firmware v7.3.1 or later.

  • How can I set up a WD My Book with my Airport Extreme

    I just got a WD My Book and want to set it up as an external drive for back up using Time Machine.  I have an Airport Extreme and using the USB port hooked it up to the Airport.  With in the Airport Utilities I am able to see the WD My Book when I click on manual and then go over to disks.  Im at a loss now at this point.  How do I finish this off and get Time Machine working?!  I opened up Time Machine and there are no disks that show up for me to select.  I am hoping someone can help me out!!!!!

    Are you sure on this? I read the support article, but unless there was a recent upgrade that changed this, I was able to do this for some time using an Airport Extreme
    I'm sure it's not supported by Apple. Here is what Apple says:
    Time Machine can’t back up to an external disk connected to an AirPort Extreme, or to an iPod, iDisk, or disk formatted for Windows
    Now, to clarify......I never said that  you could not do this. I said that it was unsupported.
    Most of us who have tried this find that oddly....it does work....for a period, sometimes a few weeks, or even a month or two....before you start to have corruption issues.

  • Confused about which would be best. Is there a site I can quickly compare airport express, airport extreme and time capsule?

    I'm confussed about which would suit me better and was looking for a comparison chart to quickly see the differences of each. Is there a site I can quickly compare the Airport Express, the Airport Extreme and the Time Capsule? The Time Capsual is a little more obvious seeing as it lets one back up one's hard drive, but I'd still like to see it's other features in comparison.

    There is. Look at the AirPort Express page....Mac > Accessories > AirPort Express.... or look here:
           Compare Apple Wi-Fi base stations          AirPort Express    AirPort Extreme    Time Capsule    

  • AirPort Extreme and Time Warner RoadRunner Service Issue

    I have Time Warner's RoadRunner Turbo Internet service, which promises a minimum bitrate of 15 Mbps for downloads and 1 Mbps for uploads. Recently, my measured throughput has crashed on uploads, to well below 100 Kbps (0.01 Mbps) while going through my AirPort Extreme over 100/1000Base-T cable (system 7.4.2). When I directly connect my Mac to the cable modem, I get a consistent 28 Mbps down and 1.7 Mbps up and a ping time of 20 ms. I've tried cycling power, soft resetting, and even hard resetting to factory settings, but nothing seems to fix this throughput issue. I'm going to try a cheap 3rd party router (D-Link or Linksys) to see if I can get my throughput back up, but is there something I'm missing on my setup? I have opened SSH, IMAP and Apple Remote Desktop through the AirPort Extreme, and have enabled Bonjour on it. I can't figure out why this change has happened so suddenly.

    power down the network and the modem. connect modem to the extreme wan port. connect pc to ethernet lan port. power modem up first then the router. use Airport Utility to configure your network.

  • Help with new Airport Extreme (and network name) not recognizing Time Capsule and other Airports in the home

    I had a Time Capsule running in an AV Cabinet and it made too much noise as it backed up and ruined soft/quiet music passages (and created far too much warmth as well).  So, I visited the local Apple store and the guy I met worked through a few solutions with me.  I decided on an Airport Extreme for the audio cabinet, and would move the Time Capsule to another room where it would not create noise interference.
    So, I have the Airport up and running perfectly well.  I changed my wireless network name and password.
    I cannot get the Airport Express and Time Capsule to show up on my network.  They both just blink that brown/orange color on the front.  When I go to the Airport Utility, it does not pick up the Time Capsule or Airport Express.  I have tried unplugging and plugging back in and scanning for devices, but dont know what else to do.  Are they still looking for my old network?  Is there a way to reset them??
    Thanks for any help.

    I've tried the option key on both--the AEBS offers 14 options, including Automatic, while the TC offers 8 options, and no Automatic. The AEBS lists (among others) 802.11 a/n-b/g compatible, 802.11 a-b/g compatible, or 802.11 n (5 GHz)-b/g compatible. The TC offers 802.11.n (b/g compatible), 802.11n only (2.4 GHz), and 802.11n only (5 GHz), among others...
    I had already followed the instructions in the link you supplied, except that the wireless options don't quite match...
    I am currently trying 802.11n (5GHz)-b/g compatible on the AEBS and 802.11 (5GHz) on the TC, which gives me a rate of 270 on my n devices and 54 on my g devices, according to the Airport Utility.
    This might be the best I can do, without buying a new TC. Thanks for any advice you can give...
    C.

  • Using an external hard drive with an airport extreme and HP computer

    - I recently bought the airport extreme, and also bought a Seagate external hard drive for my music files.  I can see the hard drive on the airport utility but cannot access it or find where to access it.  I am using an HP computer with windows 7.
    Help please!

    The AirPort Extreme cannot share out the attached Seagate USB hard drive if it is formatted in NTFS or ExFat. Please check to see that it is formatted in either FAT32 or HFS+ (Apple format).
    If it is already formatted in either of the latter two formats, then verify that the AirPort Utility can properly identify the hard drive by using the AirPort Utility for Windows.
    Finally please checkout the following Apple Support article for details on accessing this shared drive from a Windows PC.

  • Setting up TC on N (5 GHz), with older AirPort Extreme and Express on B/G

    Hi there,
    I've done a search through the forums (and the net) to see if I can find a solution to my query, but the answer currently escapes me so I thought I'd ask outright....
    I have recently purchased a Time Capsule. Previously my wireless network relied on an AirPort Extreme Base Station (one of the older white models that looked like a UFO) over 802.11 b/g which was extended by an AirPort Express (again, non-N).
    What I would very much like to do is create a setup that has the Time Capsule running 802.11 N only over 5 GHz, with the AirPort Extreme connected to it over Ethernet and still running a B/G network out with the Express.
    There is a diagram here, which shows exactly what I want, but their instructions are far from complete or up-to-date with the current AirPort Utility software: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/03/31/exploringtime_capsule_wifi_802_11n_and_the_5ghzband.html
    However, I can't for the life of me work out how to do this. If someone could help me out I would very much appreciate it.

    For the TC, I suggest that you change the Radio Mode to: 802.11n only (5 GHz) - 802.11n only (2.4 GHz).
    For the AEBS & AX, I am assuming that you still want them as an extended wireless network ... correct? If so, all that would need to change is the following for the AEBS:
    o Connect the AEBS directly to one of the TC's available LAN (opposing arrows) ports by Ethernet. Connect this Ethernet cable to the WAN (circle-of-dots) port on the AEBS.
    o Reconfigure the AEBS as a bridge. (ref: AirPort Utility > Select the AEBS > Manual Setup > Internet > Internet Connection > Connection Sharing = Off (Bridge Mode))
    o You may want to rename the AEBS/AX wireless network with a new Network Name (or SSID). This is totally optional, but may prove helpful as a reminder that you only want non-"n" clients to connect to it. For example, and with absolutely no imagination on my part, you could name your TC's wireless network: My Really Fast Network, and the AEBS/AX's: My Not So Fast Network.
    o Finally, you will want to be sure the the AEBS/AX wireless network is at least 3-5 channels away from the 2.4 GHz network provided by the TC. This will prevent any Wi-Fi interference between them.
    The WDS settings created earlier when you configured the AEBS & AX for an extended network should remain the same.

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