Time Capsule and external drive

Quick question: can I use Time Capsule to backup data automatically on an external hard drive?
I've got a Mac Mini set up as a media server in the living room. The 200 or 300 gigs of media files (music, movies, etc.) are on an external hard drive already, but aren't backed up to anything. I was considering using Time Capsule as that would solve two problems (backing up my primary "work" computer and the Mini). But what I'm wondering is, would Time Capsule only back up the Mini's internal hard drive, or would it grab the external hard drive hooked up to the Mini, too? Or would I have to back up it manually to TC?
Thanks!

Interesting. Reading that thread, though, I'm not sure he's actually using Time Machine on Time Capsule to backup his music-dedicated external drive automatically. Maybe I'm just reading him wrong, but it looks like he's trying to do exactly what I want to do but can't. Maybe I'm wrong. But it seems like what he's saying is that Tim Capsule/TM is backing up his Mac Pro's internal drive, but not the external one.

Similar Messages

Time Capsule and External Drive Options

I wanted to inquire if I can use my Time Capsule as an external drive. Reading some of the questions submitted I am still a little unclear. Here is my issue, I have a macbook pro and I am reaching my maximum capacity on my hard drive space. Most of the data is iMovie, Photos, and iTunes. Now I do not need all this data all the time, it just sits on my macbook pro as if it is being stored. I would like to move this to a external drive and I assumed the Time Capsule functions as a external drive. But reading all the posts in the communities it seems like that the Time Capsule can hold some space as an external drive but then if the TC starts to reach its maximum capacity it would delete the stored data. I am interested in doing the following, please guide me if this is possible:
1) The videos/music/pictures that I do not need anymore but would like to archive it, can I store it on the Time Capsule and treat it like an external drive?
2) I got a 2TB TC which I know only 250GB space would be utilized maximum by my MacBook Pro and the remaining space would be utilized for nothing. Unless for instance my Macbook backs up everyday to the TC and it stores 250GB each day then it would reach its maximum capacity on the TC really quickly and will delete the latest version of back up automatically. Is that true? Or does the TC only creates another back up of the changes found. I am just trying to figure out if I can somehow utilize the space on the TC for storage especially if I know that I probably wont have enough data for 2TB.
3) What are my options if I want to store the data and want to retrieve it at my disposal. I just want to make more space on my MacBook Pro.
4) What is the return policy on the TC if opened?
Thank you

But reading all the posts in the communities it seems like that the Time Capsule can hold some space as an external drive but then if the TC starts to reach its maximum capacity it would delete the stored data.
When space is tight on the drive, Time Machine will automatically start to delete the oldest Time Machine backups to make room for newer backups.
But, Time Machine will leave any regular files or folders that you might have stored on the drive untouched. Those files will never be deleted unless you delete them yourself.
1) The videos/music/pictures that I do not need anymore but would like to archive it, can I store it on the Time Capsule and treat it like an external drive?
If you move any files from your Mac, then the only copy of those files that you will have will be on the Time Capsule drive. You have no backups for these files, so you might want to think about this a bit. If your attitude is such that if the files are lost due to a Time Capsule drive problem, and it is of no great concern, that's one thing.
If losing thes files would cause you grief, you would want to think about having a backup plan in place for the "original" files that you move to the Time Capsule drive. For some reason, users seem to forget that if they move a file from their Mac to another drive, they only have one copy of that file....unless they create backups manually.
Unless for instance my Macbook backs up everyday to the TC and it stores 250GB each day then it would reach its maximum capacity on the TC really quickly and will delete the latest version of back up automatically. Is that true?
Sounds like you are confused about how Time Machine works. The Time Machine application will back up everything on your Mac on the first backup. After that, it only backups up any changes that you make to the Mac.
If you do not anticipate making a a lot of changes or adding a lot of new data, your backups will remain very small. If on the other hand you regularly add a number of new large images from your camera, or new movies, Time Machine will be backing up each new set of images or movies that you add.
3) What are my options if I want to store the data and want to retrieve it at my disposal. I just want to make more space on my MacBook Pro.
You can move files from your Mac to the Time Capsule if you want to, as long as you remember that when you do this, you are moving the "original" files to the Time Capsule disk. You will have no backups in the evernt of a problem with the Time Capsule.
It sounds a bit harsh....but the truth remains that all drives will fail. If your Time Capsule fails , you lose the Time Machine backups, but you still have the "original" files on your Mac.
If you move an "original" file off of your Mac to the Time Capsule and the Time Capsule fails....you have no backups of these files.
The whole idea about a good backup plan is that you have "originals" on one drive and "backups" on another.....in case one drive fails, you still have a copy of everything. Make sense?
4) What is the return policy on the TC if opened?
Best to ask the store that you buy from about their return policies in advance. We can't speak for any stores, or for Apple here.

Time Capsule and External Drives

I just converted from Dell to Mac with purchase of a MacBook Pro. At the advice of two salespeople in my local Apple Store, I bought a Time Capsule 1TB for use as a wireless base station for my apartment and to back up my laptop and my two external hard drives, which have 400 GB and 250 GB of video files.
I just bought and hooked up the computer last night and this am. I am using the TC as my wireless base station without problem. I have attached the two drives to the TC with a USB hub, and I can access files on those external drives wirelessly throughout my apartment.
I now want to back up my files onto the TC. Since the MacBook Pro is new, I have almost nothing to back up from the laptop. But I want t do be able to backup the stuff on the external drives to the TC.
How do I do that? I cannot seem to find the answer anywhere. For that matter, I cannot even seem to move a file from one of the external drives to the TC. I can only move them to the Documents folder.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

Of course you can back up your external drives, providing that they are formatted in HFS+ (it is also known as "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)". Just connect the external drives to your Mac, go to System Preferences -> Time Machine -> Options, and remove them from the excluded items list. You may have to press the padlock at the bottom left part of the Time Machine window in order to do that.

Migrating to a new iMac, Time Capsule and external drive involved.

The family has gotten a lot of use out of the good old 2.16 iMac Core 2 Duo but it was time to upgrade. So now we have a 27” 3.2 iMac, 2x 4Gb, 1Tb of storage to migrate to.
The mess is this...
There are 4 users on the old iMac.
The old iMac is full to the brim, no room left on the HDD.
Some time ago I hooked it up to a WD 500GB external drive and moved each users music to the WD. In addition I moved the iPhoto libraries to the WD too.
Now it’s time to migrate and I’m not sure where to start. I do know where I want to end up though.
I want to move all the information that is spread across the old iMac HDD and the WD external drive to the new iMac...consolidate it back. To back things up I have a new 3Tb Time Capsule which will also wirelessly back up a Macbook Pro and a Macbook Air. For additional back up I also have a 2Tb G Tech external drive.
My thoughts are these.
Use the G Tech as a temporary bridge. Partition the drive, and back up the iMac to one side and the WD external to the other.
Then migrate the old iMac to the new iMac.
Then from the G Tech move the iPhoto libraries and the iTunes to the new iMac.
Questions I have:
There is a back up of the old iMac on the WD external that may have important information not stored on the old iMac internal drive. Is there a way to merge the files and keep the newest information and dump the redundant?
How do I ensure that my iPhoto libraries don’t get messed up? It seems that when even installing updates that now and then some thumbnails disappear.
How do I partition the Time Capsule for multiple machines?
What is the best use for the G Tech? Storage of photos and music or redundant back up of the Time Capsule?
I’m sure my post will generate as many questions as answers so I’ll stop here and see what shakes out. Thanks in advance for the input and responses.
Stuart

I'm ready to use Setup Assistant now but connectivity may be an issue. Pondini's recommends Firewire. The issue is I don't have a FW400-FW800 cable. USB is all I have that is common to all my devices. Is that even a consideration? Ethernet is an option between the two iMacs but Pondini seems to elude to Migration Assitant over Setup Assistant when using that connection. Am I confused on that issue?
Sources options
2006 iMac                         G-Tech
USB 2.0                            eSATA
Firewire 400                       Firewire 800
Ethernet                            USB 2.0
Destination
2013 iMac
USB 3.0 (2.0 compatible)
Thunderbolt
Ethernet

Please Help - Time Capsule and External hard drive Issues

Recently, I switched from Comcast to AT&T uverse as my internet provider and I started experiencing problems.
(1) I have a 4th generation Apple Time Capsule which I am using as my router.
(2) Connected to the Apple Time Capsule - USB - is an external hard drive (not for backup with Time Machine.)
(3) I have a 2011 Macbook pro which I use to access my file on my time capsule and external hard drive.
(4) I had been using my AT&T portable Hotspot from my cell phone to get internet access on my MacBook pro from remote locations to gain access to my external hard drive which is attached to the time capsule.
(5) On August 2, 2014, I switched from Comcast to AT&T and had the AT&T turn off the router function. (I have been using the router from my apple time capsule)
(6) Under Network I switched to bridge mode.
(7) And since August 2, 2014 my time capsule has not been backup.
THE PROBLEM - I need to be able to use the hotspot function from my cell phone to gain access on the external hard drive using my MacBook Pro which I was able to do before. Now it is showing time capsule under finder but unable to connect.
Do I need to reset my Time Capsule since I have a new service provider. Everything else works fine - meaning able to get internet signal but unable to access my external hard drive and backup my time capsule. Please HELP.

(5) On August 2, 2014, I switched from Comcast to AT&T and had the AT&T turn off the router function. (I have been using the router from my apple time capsule)
(6) Under Network I switched to bridge mode.
(7) And since August 2, 2014 my time capsule has not been backup.
If you got ATT to turn off router function in their modem..
Then 6. is wrong.. You cannot have the Network switched to bridge mode..
You must have it set to dhcp and nat.
That is also why you cannot backup.. the TC is off the network.
Please change back to router mode in the TC.
Ensure the internet tab shows dhcp and you create a wireless network.
Then power down the TC... power down the ATT modem.. wait about 20min (you can try 5min.. but it might not be long enough).
Power up the ATT modem.. wait 2min for things to flash lights in de right blinkin order.. then start the TC.
Open the airport utility and make sure your TC captured the public IP and is now working as the router.
That should fix that end of it.. the hotspot end??
Tell us what happens.

Time Capsule and external 2 tb drive

I am trying to connect a 2 tb seagate free agent desk external drive for mac to my time capsule through the USB port. I would like to have additional memory available for the three macs on the home network. Everything works fine for 15 mins or so and then the drive and the time capsule seem to hang. I can no longer see the external dive or connect to the time capsule. I have to restart the time capsule and the drive. (the network stays connected however).
I talked to apple support they tell me that they only support the time capsule not what is connected to it. Seagate says that they only support direct connection to the Mac pc not a network device......any help would be greatly apreciated.

Hi, and welcome to the forums.
Be sure the drive is formatted right (it sounds like it probably is, but double-check it). It's usually best to completely erase and reformat an external, to get rid of the often-problematic software that comes with them.
That drive has it's own power supply, doesn't it? It should work without a powered USB hub, but that's a possibility.
WD's don't have the best reputation here; among other things, some of them have a built-in sleep or "spin down" mode that doesn't always wake or spin back up properly. We see this mostly when they're attached directly, but it's quite possible you're having the same problem.
You might want to try using the drive temporarily while connected directly to your Mac; if the problem persists, then it's something to do with the drive's hardware or firmware.
Also check WD's site for any driver or firmware updates for it.

About time capsule and external hard disk

I have got rMBP. I also have got time capsule. External WD hard disk is connected to time capsule.
I have got 3 users in my rMBP:
(1) Admin : Administrator
(2) User A : I normally do all my work from this user.
(3) User B: I recently added this new user.
Here, using Finder tabs, User A can see time capsule and External WD hard disk. But, Admin and User B cannot. I also want User B to have the ability to see WD hard disk (and time capsule). For User B and Admin, time capsule does show up, but it shows as not connected. How can I provide User B the ability to see External WD hard disk (since User B needs to store large different files there)? Any permission issue on hard disk?
(Amazingly backup does take place automatically even if I am connected as User B or Admin).
I will appreciate your feedback. Thanks.

Emma1609 wrote:
Hi,
hi emma, and welcome to discussions
Once the external HD is turned on my Time Capsule is not longer recognized. I can't connect to Time Capsule and make any backups. It is also no longer appearing in the Airport settings.
you could try a power cycle on your devices. turn off modem, TC, and HD for, say, 10 minutes. turn the modem back on for 2 minutes, followed by the HD, followed by the TC.
then go airport utility > manual setup > disks. see if your HD is showing beneath the TC

1st Gen Time Capsule and External Hard Drive Issues

I have a 1st generation Time Capsule and have never had any luck connecting an external hard drive (both Western Digital MyBook and Seagate FreeAgent Pro) via an USB hub for an extended period. They will connect for a few hours or up to a day or two before they lose the connection and look up the wi-fi connection (although the internet and connected printer don't seem affected). Thought it might be an issue with the powered hub, but have same issue with both (Belkin and APC). I have read that others have had similar issues.
For laughs, I connected a dinky personal drive (WD My Passpoert 750gb) to the USB hub and it came up instantly and had no issues for the 12+ hours it was connected. Question #1: can I run a portable drive for an extended period of time (weeks, months, years) via USB hub without killing it?
Also, I would like to house my large iTunes and iPhoto libraries to be accessed by 3 different MacBooks. Question #2: is a NAS drive connected directly via ethernet to the TC is the best answer?
I am spoiled by the simplicity of the plug-and-play connectivity of Apple products. Is there a mysterious sequence of procedures that I need to follow to get the Time Capsule to play well with the USB connected HDs?
Thanks in advance for your help.

To answer the general question, a drive that is constantly spinning is both more likely to be damaged and less likely to give issues of access to the USB.. the one fights the other. Feel the small passport drive and see if it is continually spinning.. if so that could account for it maintaining connection.. although according to your testing 12hrs is not long enough to know for sure. Feel the other drives. If they spin down and then when you try to access them, do they spin up? Or is it the spin down time that dictates the time they are available on the network. It may simply be a case of usb connected to a router is not getting the correct spin up info.
IMHO a NAS is the right way to do this.. especially if you have multiple computers accessing it. USB is not a fast connection. Especially hanging off the TC series 1, were not renowned for speed. A NAS is not that expensive now and using a mirrored raid you at least have some protection. Remember to always have the source files in mulitple locations. A NAS can also work as an itunes server, which the TC cannot. And the connection from gigabit ethernet to sata is not made via usb.
As a secondary option.. open your series 1 TC and put in a 2TB hdd.. this is well documented.. larger sizes give trouble but the series one can easily be updated to 2TB.. remember also the power supply in a series one can go at any moment. Get ready for it, plan for it.. one day it will happen.

Setting up Time Capsule and external hard drive

Hi,
In the past i've been using Time Machine for backing up all my data from my Mac Book Pro to a 120GB lacie external hard drive.
I've now purchased a Time Capsule and want to know the best way to transfer my backup data from the External HD to my Time Capsule.
Once that is done, i want to mount my External HD to the Time Capsule so i can use it as external storage for music, photos etc. and access it from my laptop when required.
Is this possible and recommended.
I've also got a PS3 and was wondering whether i can hook this up to all of the above as well.

read these hypertexts and then you'll determine its a no no...different file system.
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/04/04/exploringtime_capsule_feature_and_suitabilityreview.html

What is the best configuration with Mac Book air, time capsule and external hard drive?

Hi, I just bought a MacBook Air with the new Time Capsule and I was wondering what is the best set up:
Option 1: use the time capsule as my main drive and back it up onto an external drive plugged at the back of it
or Option 2: use the external drive as the main drive and use the time capsule as the back up? in that case, would the ext drive need to be plugged to the MacBook Air?
Many thanks

Option 2 is far superior.. and actually the only one that works.
That is without killing yourself or having continual issues accessing your files.
You do need to plug the external disk into the MBA.

Time Capsule and External HD as Network Attached Storage

I was wondering if I can
a. Attached and external hard drive to my Time Capsule and access is wirelessly?
b. Back up to that external hard drive using Time Machine?
c. Access that external hard drive and Time Capsule from a remote place off site?
Thanks

a. Yes
b. I think so. But why not just use the TCs hard disk for TM backups?
c. Apparently so based on these instructions I have found: (Haven't tried it myself)
In the Finder preferences check the box "show server" to mount to desktop.
Under Airport Utility:
Disks - check over wan and check file sharing and write down the ip address
Under the Finder, use the GO function to find your server ie the hard drive on the TC. In the window provided type afp://ip address then password if applicable. The hard drive should mount and be shown on the desktop.

Question on Time Capsule and external USB HDD

Hello everyone,
I have a 500GB Time Capsule that is working wonderfully. I recently have been downloading a number of large .iso image files that are taking up a lot of space on my internal drive on my Macbook Pro. I do not back these files up on the Time Capsule as it is getting full and i want it to backup other more important things.
I do however wish to backup these files. My current desk is rather full and really will not allow me to purchase a large 3.5" HDD and plug it in USB.
Is it possible to plug an external drive into the back of the Time Capsule and have it be used as a wireless disk as well?
I would prefer to have that drive not be part of the Time Capsule disks, i just want to be able to access it wireless over my network.
I would be grateful if anyone can help me out. If this solution will not work, is there some sort of NAS disk solution i can get to work with my TC?
Thanks

All you need is an external USB HDD. It needs to be formatted HFS+ (Mac OS Extended - Journaled), if you plan on a future Time Machine Disk on this drive, or FAT/FAT32. You could get a NAS, but you don't need to if you already have TC. Can I assume the USB port is free or do you have a USB printer hooked up to it?

Back up from Time capsule to External Drive

I want to move all of my media from my hard drive on one macbook to my time capsule. i currently use the time capsule with time machine to back up my hard drive. but, i have multiple computers. at home, i have a macbook and a macbook air. at work, i have an imac. i'd like to keep my photos, videos and music on the time capsule's hard drive, so i can access it from each computer. i have the time capsule registered with mobileme, so i can see the contents of it from each computer. presumably, then, if i put the media on that disk, i can access it from each location.
but, now i want to have a back up of all of that media. i have an external hard drive i can plug into the time capsule. my question is this: is there a way to use the time capsule as i have described and then have the time capsule's contents backed up to the external hard drive? if not, is there a way to put everything on the external hard drive, connected to the time capsule, access the content from all three computers, and then have the external harddrive back up to the time capsule?
any help would be really appreciated!

Hi, and welcome to the forums.
No, Time Machine cannot back-up any network drive.
Your options are limited. See #Q6 in the Using TIME MACHINE with a TIME CAPSULE *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum.

Can I use Time Capsule as external drive with a Time Capsule?

I have a Time Capsule set up with AirPort and it works well for backups. Can I buy a second Time Capsule and plug it into this TC with ethernet and use it as an external drive?

jshafer wrote:
So, you are recommending using a USB drive into the TC or using an NAS plugged into the ethernet port...is that correct?
Yes, correct. USB drive is not fast but it is still mostly going to be faster than wireless.. it is of course slower than ethernet.. so what you are using on your clients dictates what is the rate determining step of the network.
Am I correct in thinking that an NAS using ethernet connection would be faster than USB?
Does a true NAS have its own internal backup system?
Yes, to both.. but remembering the client has to be able to make use of it. ie is also ethernet.
True NAS is faster than TC as they use RAID systems.. more reliable.. you can replace disks in the raid.. TC is sealed.. and all decent NAS will be able to back themselves up to a USB drive.. on incremental basis.. which is major shortcoming when people try and use the TC in this role.

Backup Time Capsule to External Drive

I have AirPort utility 6.1, and am not able to backup the contents of my Time Capsule to an external HD plugged into the USB port on the Time Capsule. The airport utility recognizes the external drive but I cannot back up the Time Capsule to the drive. Is this feature no longer available? If the feature is available, how do I access it?

Why would Apple remove that feature?
As you know, we are all users here, just like you....and cannot answer for decisions made by Apple.
If you want the feature back in AirPort Utility 6.x, you might want to let Apple know.
Apple - Time Capsule - Feedback

Time Capsule and external drive

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for