Shared File Missing from Time Capsule

Question

This morning all of my shared files are missing.  There used to be two folders in the time capsule file and now there is only one "DATA" which is where our workstation backups go.  The other one was a Shared File where we put all of the files we shared across the network.   The DATA file is there, but the Shared file is completely missing.  I have tried searching the individual workstations and I cannot find it or anything that was within it.   Any ideas how to find/restore it?

Answer 1

Very strange stuff happens.. let me tell you .. if you put a computer onto yosemite .. even one..even briefly.. like a laptop someone bought in and connected to the TC,  it can do some very odd stuff to the network files.. permissions is a big big issue.
Time Machine cannot backup network drives.. so sharing files from the TC is always a very very bad idea. The TC is designed purely as a backup target for Time Machine. It should be used very carefully beyond its design parameters.. since it cannot back itself up either.
I still think the files are there.. unless it was deliberately deleted.
I don't think you will like my suggestions to get the files back though.
But here is an odd one.. get /borrow /lone a PC laptop running windows.. and load up the airport utility onto it. Then open the TC disk in windows explorer.. type the name directly into the address bar..
\\TCname.local or \\TCIPaddress (where you replace the TCname with actual NETWORK name (which is not its name as shown on the TC if it has spaces and illegal characters).. that is why using the actual IP is easier.. TCIPaddress replace with IPv4 address eg 10.0.1.1
Windows cannot read Mac permissions so tends to open everything. It cannot read it correctly all the file info sometimes but you will quickly see what is there and what is missing.
Another suggestion.
Full factory reset of the TC. No files on the hard disk are changed doing this.
Factory reset universal
Power off the TC.. ie pull the power cord or power off at the wall.. wait 10sec.. hold in the reset button.. be gentle.. power on again still holding in reset.. and keep holding it in for another 10sec. You may need some help as it is hard to both hold in reset and apply power. It will show success by rapidly blinking the front led. Release the reset.. and wait a couple of min for the TC to reset and come back with factory settings. If the front LED doesn’t blink rapidly you missed it and simply try again. The reset is fairly fragile in these.. press it so you feel it just click and no more.. I have seen people bend the lever or even break it. I use a toothpick as tool.
N.B. None of your files on the hard disk of the TC are deleted.. this simply clears out the router settings of the TC.
Run through the airport utility and use all short names no spaces and pure alphanumerics. Passwords should also match that except longer.. 8-20 characters work well for both.
Now manually mount the disk in Finder.
Use Go, Connect to Server in Finder.. type in
AFP://TCname.loca or TCIPaddress (same as above definitions).
In the new clean mount of the TC disk see if you can locate the directory or folder with your missing files.
Otherwise if the files are important.. you must immediately stop using the TC.. remove its hard disk or get a store to swap disks for you .. and preserve the old one.. use a proper USB to SATA holder and plug it into your Mac and use a file recovery software like Data Rescue 3 to see if the files are deleted but available. I have had success using this method. Even just running disk utility to fix permissions can sometimes get the results you want.
If it is a fairly old TC.. with say a 1 or 2TB disk it is very easy to open the TC and change out the disk.. ask if you are prepared to go this path and we can give you more info.