Possible to make a Time Capsule actually work?

We have an original Time Capsule. It has never worked well enough for a reasoned person to be satisified. It has, on two separate occasions it did actually back up a computer. Many many times it was left for days and days to back up and it never completed. I understand it can take a stupid long time for initial wireless backups with a TC. This one ran for ten days once and no joy.
We took it to the apple store. they said it is fine, they reset it.
It doesn't show up wirelessly. The instructions don;t really help one get it to show up on a wireless network.
This is the single most frustrating big ticket item we've ever purchased. The angrily defensive sales tech told my calm happy smiling wife that it is a fine functioning product, and she is just not tech savvy enough to use it. We are terribly frustrated.
Anyone know how to make one of these things work at all? or better yet, any one know of a way we can dispose of this overheating rip-off without poisoning the environment and maybe get some of our money back?
thanks

The answer to your subject line is YES - millions upon millions of people have with no problems
Are you using it only for backup, as a wireless base station, as a wired router or some combination of there three capabilities?
as to disposing of it - sell it on EBay
LN

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How can I make sure time capsule is working?

How can I check time capsule to make sure it is backing up?

Suppose time capsule is working and I delete some pictures. Will I just need to remember what date I deleted pictures and just keep that date in mind to know pictures from a certain time only live on the time capsule?
This is a very good way to lose your images.
Time Machine keeps track of the changes on your Mac. If you delete files on your Mac, Time Machine will "backup" that change....and at some point it will delete the files from the Time Capsule......you just don't know when this might occur.
It might occur within the next day or so, or at some point in the future. You cannot predict this.
But, even if the files stay on the Time Capsule for a few weeks......these are your only copies of your images. You have no backups in the event of a problem with the Time Capsule.

Time Capsule only works for one device at a time, how to make it capable to be used for multiple devices at times

Time Capsule only works for one device at a time, how to make it capable to be used for multiple devices at times.
Please help to set it up, thanks in advance

You need to give more info..
Firstly only works for what.. networking.. backup.. wireless. You need more nouns.. more adjectives... describe what you want and what fails.. then we can figure out why.
Most likely you have bridged it when it should be in router mode..
Most likely you are using Lion or ML which has the airport utility bridge the TC by default.
Change it to working as a router. That might help.
If you press reset button it will default back to router btw.
If you are on Lion.. use a real utility. http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1547

My Time Capsule stopped working suddenly. The led won't lit up even if I do a hard reset.

Suddenly I noticed that my Time Capsule stopped working. The led doesn't light up any more and there's no noticeable activity in it.
Is it possible to recover my backups?

Dead TC power supply syndrome is standard on all Gen1 and Gen2 TC.
It has plenty of info on the web.
https://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modem s/apple-time-capsule-repair
As far as HD is concerned it will mostly be ok. Either fix or remove the TC hard drive and use in USB box, as mentioned.
If it is Gen3 there is a different problem.
Tell us the actual model number from the rubber base.

Time capsule not working as wireless base station suddenly

I have been using my time capsule as base station for wireless network in our house for some time and suddenly network is not working for all wireless devices in the house. Desktop imac is connected to internet via ethernet cable through time capsule and works fine so I know problem is not with cable modem or signal coming to house. Laptops appear to be connected to my network fine but when attempting to connect any site through safari or firefox I just get the spinning wheel thingy.

Check that the laptops are getting DNS and router (gateway) from the TC.. if not reset it and do the setup again.
What OS are you actually running on the laptops.. this problem started with Lion and is much worse in ML.. it is actually not a Snow Leopard issue which you list as the OS.

Possible or Not: Two Time Capsules One Network

Hey all,
In brief, I am wondering if it is possible to join 2x Time Capsules over the wifi network in order to extend the range of the wifi signal?
In depth, down stairs in the house we have an adsl router which is connected to time capsule no.1 via a CAT5 cable. The problem is that upstairs there is a number of "wifi dead spots"
My proposal is to install a 2nd Time Capsule upstairs and connect it to TC no.1 using the wifi signal. Then connect office computers via Ethernet and use TC no.2 to extend the wifi signals into the wifi dead spots.
I've read mixed reviews on if this is possible or not but your views are much appreciated.
Thanks in advance

Hey Mate
TC 1 is your main time capsule and is connected to your modem via a CAT5 cable. It is set to "Create a wireless network" as it should be already.
TC 2 (your new TC or AE) is then set to "Extend a wireless network" it then connects to TC 1 over the wireless and:
(A) extends your existing wireless network on G and N if you get a dual band one.
(B) gives you a couple of extra usable ethernet ports.
The only problem I've noticed is when playing games either physically wired to TC2 or wirelessly connected to TC2 is an increased ping/latency.
However I highly recommend the setup and it works wonders for extending range, or setting up a remote LAN which you wish to have wired computers (connected over ethernet for fast transfer speeds) but also have to have access to the internet.
Hope this helps mate any more questions let me know.
Cheers

Time Capsule wifi stopped working but drive access is ok and 2nd bridged time capsule is working

After six months of successful setup, the wifi on my new 3TB Time Capsule stopped working. At first I would just power everything down and then power it up and it would come back but it had to be reset multiple times per day. Now it is not working at all. I find this very weird because even though the wifi is not working and I can't access the internet, I still have access to the hard drive through finder on my MAC and through the Network on a PC. Also the 2nd (much older) time capsule I have in bridged mode is working just fine for both the drive and the wifi.

I think you should take the TC back to apple for testing.
It does make it confusing if you have multiple wireless AP's .. you should turn off everything but the TC that is giving you problems.. then when the wifi drops out, test with ipad or iphone for instance.. if it is gone .. then take the TC to apple for replacement.

HT3728 My Time Capsule is working fine with ethernet connection, but it is no longer working with wifi, probably because of my wrong setting; is there a way to reset wifi setting without losing backuped data? Thanks you all

y Time Capsule is working fine with ethernet connection, but it is no longer working with wifi, probably because of my wrong setting; is there a way to reset wifi setting without losing backuped data? Thanks you all

Giancarlo Messalli wrote:
1) are you sure a reset holding the reset button will not delete my data?
Absolutely sure.. There is no connection at all.. reset is only the router side of the TC.
For the hard disk to be erased you need to access the airport utility disk page.. request erase and confirm the operation.
2) I can access to time capsule by ethernet but I am not able to input the corret setting by myself
Thank you again
I am uncertain why if you have access you cannot change settings.. but that is why you reset things so any of those problems should be fixed.
Here is the Apple info on reset.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3728
And here is the quote from the horse's mouth so to speak.
Factory default reset: Perform this reset if you wish to repurpose the AirPort Base Station or Time Capsule and want to remove all personal profiles and settings first. This reset resets the device to its state when you first purchased it. Data stored on internal or external hard drives connected to the device will not be erased. If you choose, you may manually erase the hard drive using AirPort Utility.

I just upgraded from my 2008 MacBook to a new Macbook Pro. How do I get my time capsule to work on my new MacBook? I did data migration, but the time capsule did not pick it up. Any ideas?

I just upgraded from my 2008 MacBook to a new Macbook Pro. How do I get my time capsule to work on my new MacBook? I did data migration, but the time capsule did not pick it up. Any ideas?

If you migrated all the info from time machine to your new MBP. The TM will usually ask to connect to the old backups.. sorry I am not sure is this what you want to do.. Personally I think you start a fresh backup.
BTW Time Capsule does not do anything.. it is a dumb hard disk in a box.. it is TM that does everything.
Look at B5 and B6 here about connecting to your backup.
http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html

What is the best way to get a time capsule to work with a new network name?

What is the best way to get a time capsule to work with a new network name?

Well it seems that you did not explain to us the full story. Did you change ISP's or something? Why would it not show up anymore?
What colour is the light on the time-capsule? If it's blinking amber, then you probably need to do a factory-reset. That should get it to show up again in AirPort Utility.

Time Capsule error 22 - My time capsule was working fine and didn't notice anything wrong with it until it stopped backing up about two weeks ago. I never changed anything like computer names or the Airport settings. All I get is the following: The backup

Time Capsule error 22 - My time capsule was working fine and didn't notice anything wrong with it until it stopped backing up about two weeks ago. I never changed anything like computer names or the Airport settings. All I get is the following:
The backup disk image "/Volumes/Data/Linda's Computer 1.sparsebundle" could not be created (error 22).
I tried resetting the Time Capsule and connecting with an ethernet cable, although the Ariport Utility says everything is working fine through WiFi.

If the light will not turn on the TC is dead. No matter that the hard disk is running.. it should only run at start up or when it is accessed not constantly.. that means the board in the TC has failed. Apple do not repair them.. They will replace it under warranty or applecare.
If you have gone over the 12month warranty it will still be covered if you have applecare on any computer or an Apple TV. In fact the cost of the apple TV plus apple care is still cheaper than buying a new TC.. so it is a route some people are taking.. certainly depends.. in some places like Europe or Australia now, there is a recognition that statutory warranty must be longer on a product that is premium to the market. 12months is not good enough. Apple will sometimes listen.
They might be fixable but I do not know how.

My time capsule was working and then I added another Macbook pro. TC stopped appearing in Airport Utilities. I have tried resetting TC, I have turned if off and held reset button with pen for 10 secs. I just cannot work out what else to do?

My time capsule was working and then I added another Macbook pro. TC stopped appearing in Airport Utilities. I have tried resetting TC, I have turned if off and held reset button with pen for >10 secs. I just cannot work out what else to do? I have turned router off and on. Amber light is flashing.

The ethernet says self assigned IP 169.254.67.6
Then the ethernet is not getting an IP from the TC.. there is no connection.
I am not sure where you mean when you say the green LED should be on. Do you mean the TC?
Thanks
In order to help troubleshoot ethernet connections all routers use connectivity leds.. even APPLE.. it has one big LED on the front.. and 4 tiny leds beside each ethernet port. That light has to come on for ethernet to be active.. if you plug an ethernet cable into the port and the light doesn't come on.. then there is no connection.. either the other end isn't plugged in.. or the cable is bad.. or the ethernet port is bad.. something is wrong.
To get access to the TC you need this led to be green.. is it?
If it is green and the WAN is also green.. then I want you to unplug the WAN connection.. the blue wire in the picture.. the port slightly separated from the 3 LAN port.. computer plugged just into LAN port.. no airport turned on.. and press the reset again for 10sec until front led flashes rapidly.. then try and bring up the airport utility again.. assuming the ethernet led is green.
How old and what model is the TC?
The A number from the rubber mat will tell us the model.

My time capsule stopped working. amber light comes on for a few seconds then turns off.

my time capsule stopped working. When I try to power it up the amber light comes on for about 10 seconds and then turns off. That's as far as it gets. Any ideas on how to solve this problem.

Kazandjaz, Welcome to the fourm! There is a 99.5% chance that your problem is caused by a failed internal power supply unit (PSU)! If you have operated it for about 18 months or so, that is the cause. Take it to your nearest Apple dealer and ask them to check it out.

What does Time Machine and Time Capsule actually do with data?

Recently got a new iMac and Time Capsule. Working fine, AFAIK, but it's a bit disconcerting not being able to see real files on the TC.
All I've got on the TC is a big sparse disk file, which I assume is a compressed image of my HDD. Reading up on various backup programs, it seems that this is the way network backups tend to work - create an image file, and append any changes. Presumably it's done this way, rather than with real files, to keep network traffic to a minimum, at the expense of local CPU overhead.
A couple of questions:
If I'm right that this sparse image contains all my data (and there aren't some hidden files somewhere), why doesn't the "modified" date change each time TM does a backup? It stays the same as the "created" date.
Can I do anything with this file, outside of TM, or is it best to leave it alone?

Yes, that is the way TM works for network backups. Data are stored in a sparse image file. The sparse image file's modification date would only change when the image file is expanded. Adding data into the image will not change the image's modification date (but the file's in the image file will be properly dated.)
Leave the file alone. There is nothing you can do with it that will be any good.

After 1,5 year my time capsule stopt working. What should I do best?

After 1,5 year my time capsule stopt working. Could this be a known problem or should I go to the nearest service center?

Yep right on schedule.. 18months.. the power supply died.. !!
Apple will not repair them.. they do not recognise it is a problem.
If you have applecare on any computer the TC will be replaced.. all your files will go with it.. bye bye files.
If you don't have applecare or really want your files back.. a repairer may be able to help.. outside of apple network. Remember they don't have a problem.. apple said so.. !!
http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modems /apple-time-capsule-repairers
You can also fix it yourself if you have some soldering skills. Instructions are on the website there.

Possible to make a Time Capsule actually work?

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