TC solid AMBER LIGHT then dies. Apple won't help.

Over the weekend my time capsule powered off. When I tried to restart it, it went to a solid amber light for 15-30 seconds, and then died.
I unplugged it for half an hour, same problem, unplugged it overnight, same problem.
Soft reset won't work, hard reset won't work. Can't access it with ethernet.
Tried factory reset many times, solid amber light starts to blink, then when I release reset button (having held it for various amount of time) it goes solid amber, for a split second it sounds like it might start, then dies. No light. D E A D.
So, I've researched it online, and it seems a little different to the heat / power issue. I call Apple support, and the first tech just tries to order me a new one. My serial number 819 however prevents this. So a senior advisor comes on to tell me it can't be replaced. He get's cut off....
So I call back, and the tech reads the notes and basically tells me there is nothing that can be done, and is quite blasé about the whole thing. He offers me no advice and makes no attempt to diagnose the problem, just tells me it's done and I need to buy a new one as I don't have applecare.
I point out (nicely) it's only two years old, I expected more, it's supposed to be server grade, etc.
He replies "It's only a hard drive" which I found very interesting. ONLY A HARD DRIVE? So why did I pay $340 for it? He also tells me I should have backed up my back ups. So how many "server grade" back ups do I need to make? I need to buy 5 time capsules to back up my macbook incase 4 of them just give up suddenly? He also says that it's an electronic device and electronic devices fail. Just like that. May as well have just said "Tough luck, buddy!"
Later he tries to retract that statement and puts me through to another senior advisor. Predictably she tells me the same thing. No offer of repair or attempts to diagnose problem, just it's finished. She was as nice as she could be about it, but that's the conclusion. Eventually after I explained I was disappointed with this attitude, she said maybe I could take it to the genius bar to have the information taken off and moved to a new TC.
So basically, my new drive will be costing me in the region of $700 (given that my original $340 TC is only good for the trash).
My current thinking is I shall try and retrieve the data myself, use one of my other much, much cheaper external HD's that have been running flawlessly for years as a back up, and wait to see if Apple start to issue replacements for my serial number.
Ultimately I don't want a free replacement TC, I'd rather mine worked. I was expecting a better service, at least an attempt to make me feel like this was out of the ordinary, or they were concerned about me buying more Apple products in the future.... I was also expecting a server grade HD to last more than two years.....
Anyway, stepping off my soap box..... If anyone has any suggestions how I can get this going, or what the cause might be please before I try and retrieve the data myself.
Thanks!

I had the same problem while doing a backup. My Capsule is a 2008 model, but an "818" in the serial number so it's not part of the recall.
THIS IS HOW I RETREIVED MY DATA FROM MY DEAD TIME CAPSULE:
Put time capsule in Zip-lock freezer bag and suck all the air out of the bag using a straw.
Put time capsule into deep freezer for a few hours. (the zip lock is to stop/reduce humidity on the electronics inside the capsule)
Remove from freezer, cross your fingers and plug it in.
On mine, after the solid yellow light went out, there was loud fans and lots of noise. Let it boot for a couple minutes and either connect to it wireless/ethernet and start transferring your data. Depending on how cold your freezer is (deep freeze is usually -18C/0F and house freezer is -9C/15F) will probably depend on how long the TC is up and running. Mine ran for 45min straight, then i was done transferring and left it to see if it was fully operational again. Checked back on it an hour later and the drive had stopped and the light was off...
You could even try to run it from inside the freezer as well...
GOOD LUCK!!

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thanks,
-A

If plugging an ethernet cable won't help, hard/factory reset won't too, then you need to:
1- Submit a feedback to Apple at http://www.apple.com/feedback/airportexpress.html with explanation.
2- Call/Visit Apple to explain the problem hopefully they know the common issue that everyone's having these days and get you another one for free or even fix it.
References:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2031252&tstart=0
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2022396&tstart=0
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1979687&tstart=60
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2035806&tstart=0
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1932053&start=15&tstart=75
Have a good day.

HT4600 i Get a solid amber light sometimes, bUT all works fine. I have to unplug the airport extreme to reset it and then it turns green and starys that way for a week or so and then turns back to amber. why is this and how do i fix it ?

I gat a solid amber light once a week on my airport extreme, but all works fine. I have to unplug it to reset it and then the light turns back to green and it is good for another week and then it happens again. why is this and what can i do to fix it ?

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Hi Armando,
The solid amber light means that it is completing its "startup sequence". It is not set up in WDS right? Anyways if it is solid and not working I would reset it. The link below will bring you to the Apple Tutorial on how to reset your Airport Express:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=108044
I hope that helps,
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Hi,
i am having trouble to get Apple TV (First edition from 2007) to display a picture on my beamer. its a ASK Proxima M3 wih DVI input, resolution is XGA. My MacBookPro interfaces perfectly with the beamer. Cable is HDMI-DVI from Oehlbach.de.
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Hi Winston,
thanks for reply.
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Besides the connection and the beamer... the solid amber light is there!
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Message was edited by: tvchicklet
Message was edited by: tvchicklet

Have you tried connecting your MacBook directly, using an Ethernet cable, to one of the AEBSn's LAN port, and then, tried using the AirPort Utility to access it?
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Thank you very much

alzheimer78 wrote:
Hi!
I tried to update my airport extreme's firmware and now it doesn't restart. The LED shows a solid amber light, and airport utility doesn't find it.
What can I do?
Thank you very much
hola alzheimer78 !
try a +factory restore+ by pulling the unit from power and inserting a paperclip or pointy object into the reset button at the back of the extreme. keep the button pressed while you put the plug back into the outlet. wait until the extreme starts flashing amber rapidly (5-10 seconds) then release the button.
does that work ?

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I have tried powering it down (unplugging it from the back) and even leaving it powered down for up to five minutes. When I plug it back in, it shows green, blinks once and then shows solid Amber.
Solid Amber is supposed to mean that it's starting up. Airport Utility does not recognize the base station at all. I've tried a hard reset, but it seems to have no effect. No blinking light or anything.
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Bummer.
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Orsky,
*_Time Capsule Has Disappeared From Airport Utility / Amber Light_*
Review this thread!!!! [http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1650087&tstart=0]
*Reboot ISPs’ Modem & Time Capsule*
If you are using the Time Capsule as your only router then power down your ISPs modem.
Unplug the TC from the wall outlet.
Wait 10-15 seconds.
Next turn your modem back on first. Let it initialize and acquire an IP address (about 30-60 seconds).
Re-plug in the TC again.
After it has restarted (30-60 seconds), does it show up in Airport Utilities?
If not try "Rescan" from the File Menu.
If the above doesn't work, then…
*Cycle Airport Preferences*
Open Network Preferences.
Click “Turn Airport Off”, wait 10 seconds.
Now click “Turn Airport On”. Close Prefs.
Does it now show up in Airport Utilities?.
If not go to the “File” menu and select “Rescan”.
Does it appears now?.
If not, unplug the TC, wait 10 seconds, and plug it back in.
Does the TC show up now in Airport Utility?
If the above doesn't work, then…
*Hard Reset*
Take a look at this KB article. It will explain how to reset the TC:
[http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1300]
Make sure you hold in the reset button for at least a good 10 seconds. Note: If you already have data on the TCs hard disk, this procedure +will not+ cause you to lose this data.
Then you should be able to see it. Now follow this KB article to set it up again:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1178
Cheers!

New 2TB Time Capsule: solid amber light, but TC working well...what's wrong?

Hi, I'm hoping someone can help me...thanks in advance for reading through this question!
I have a brand new 2TB Time Capsule, using it with the AT&T U-verse modem/router 3801 HGV.
After much consternation, I finally got the TC set up in bridge mode with the U-verse router.
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However, I have some questions that I feel need to be addressed:
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Solid amber indicates that the "Time Capsule is completing its start-up sequence". I would expect
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Any ideas as to why the light on the TC could be solid amber??
2- What should I do to get the light to be green??
3- I have no idea of the speed of the back-up, and what it should be. I have about 190GB of data
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tab in the Airport Utility?? The info from my "home" network populates those fields now, and I
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1- The light on the TC is solid AMBER, not green. When I check the connections in the Airport Utility, all indicator lights on my screen are green, and the "dot" beside the TC icon is green.
That is weird.. most TC I look at solid AMBER means the hard disk is dead. Not sure but since it is working it is no biggie.. there is some control over how the led functions.. but I doubt you can set the color different.
In other words.. not a clue.. if the TC is new take it to the genius and show them.. that is not the way it is supposed to work.
3- I have no idea of the speed of the back-up, and what it should be. I have about 190GB of data
to back up. I totally understand that it takes many hourse for the first back-up. It looks like the
speed I'm seeing is changing frequently, and it's backed up about 3.5GB in about 20 minutes or so.
Is that a fairly "normal" speed?? I just want to make sure my configuration is good.
Over wireless expect slow.. you did not state wireless or wired.. but those look like reasonable wireless speed. your files will load at different speed.. small files are slow.. larger files much faster.. it takes time to write the tables for many smaller files.
We always recommend first backup over ethernet.. even if the TC is pulled out of the network.
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It sounds like you have tried to reset the device by holding in the reset button while it is plugged in until the amber light blinks quickly, correct?
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