Time capsule as a hard drive & time machine

Hi,
I jsut purchased a 2TB TC and would like to use it as an external hard drive and a time machine for automatic backups. Can you please let me know how to do this? Thanks!

I think the Apple stores do sell a few uber expensive drives.. I am not at all sure that is the best plan.. but if you want to stick to one supplier and have loads of spare cash that is fine.
My advice is to buy the fastest interface drive that fits your computer.. and you can afford.
So latest Macs have USB 3.0 it is fast and cheap.. a very good choice.. there are heaps of USB 3 external drives available from all the major suppliers.. I prefer NOT WD or Seagate.. but that leaves plenty of other choices.
You can get 2.5" or 3.5" drives.. but never buy self powered only ones.
If your computer is older FW800 is still a great interface but slowly disappearing.
USB 2 is old and slow... only if nothing else would I buy it.
Thunderbolt is the new shiny version.. as fast as internal disks.. but uber expensive.. not good value for money yet.
Choose what suits.

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Want to use Time Capsule as external hard drive / Time Capsule als externe Festplatte

Can somebody tell me what steps I have to take to use my TC as an external hard drive? Thanks! / Kann mir jemand einmal genau erklären, wie ich meine Time Capsule als externe Festplatte für meine Fotos etc. nutzen kann? Mein 128 GB Mac Book Air kommt nämlich an seine Grenzen:) Brauche ich dafür eine weitere externe Festplatte oder kann ich den Speicherplatz nutzen, den die TC hat und auf dem im Moment immer die automatischen Bachups über Time Machine gespeichert werden? Danke!

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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.

How to restore from Time Capsule to bare hard drive

This is more for information, than a question, but I really hope that it helps someone else out facing the same challenge.
Scenario:
1 complete recent backup on Time Capsule
2 failed hard drive on Mac
3 no startup or OS disk
[My teenage daughter was distraught, as her much loved and much abused MacBook Pro died completely on a college tour; quick diagnosis confirmed that the hard drive was completely toast. And with it, she believed, all of her work this summer on her college applications.
That was the bad news. Now for the good news. Unbeknownst to her, I had configured her machine to automatically backup to the Time Capsule on the home network.
Now the problem. We just moved home. No OS disks. No install disks. And I discovered that she hadn't told me that the optical disk drive was also toast. So no way to get a disk in, in any case.
So I have a backup, and a new hard drive to go into the dead Mac, and (fortunately) a good Mac (actually several). But all of the guides assume that you have some way to get the zombie Mac to boot.]
Solution:
1 figure out spec for new hard drive, find one, buy it and install new hard drive in dead Mac (making it a zombie Mac - it moves but it has no real brains) http://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/0/MA161/en_US/MacBook_13inch_HardDrive_DIY .pdf and http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2010+Hard+Drive+Repl acement/4305/1
2 mount hard drive as FireWire disk in Target mode by using ⌘T to any good Mac
3 download Carbon Copy Cloner http://www.bombich.com/
4 start the process of cloning, which involves creating a (hidden) Recovery HD partition http://help.bombich.com/kb/advanced-strategies/the-disk-center#recovery_hd
5 do NOT proceed to clone the 'good Mac', ejecting the formerly dead Mac, which was a zombie Mac, and now has a brain again, and shut it down
6 connect the now undead Mac to the Time Capsule
7 boot the now undead Mac, and restore as usual from the Time Capsule http://pondini.org/TM/14.html
[... and thereby obtain many many good father points]

Read Q14-18 in Pondini.. the grand poohbah of Time Machine.
http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html

Using Time Capsule as external hard drive

Hi. I have a Mac Book Pro, and external hard drive, and now, a Time Capsule. Since I don't have a Mac, all photos and music (occasional backups, etc.) have been stored on the one external hard drive. I got the Time Capsule to replace the external hard drive as primary (keeping it as secondary)–in addition to using the Time Machine.
If I'm understanding correctly, I open finder, open Shared>AirPort>Data–and then drag and drop all the files currently on the external hard drive onto this window? Is this correct? Will it COPY, and be accessibe, and not cause problems?
Will it mean, as I hope it means, that my MacBook and iPad will be able to open and use iTunes and iPhoto through this AirPort? (Instead of having to plug-in the external drive.)
I'd love to use the Time Machine as well. But can hold off, continuing to back up only occassionally, since this dual purposing may not to be advised?
Thank you for your guidance.

Will there be a problem running Time Machine in the back ground while using the Time Capsule's internal hard drive manually?
No.
Thus far, instead of using Time Machine in an automated mode, I've turned it on when I want to make a new back-up. Will it be necessary to run Time Machine in manual mode only or can I use its automated feature?
Or–I may be seeing the light–will running the two in tandem allow me to save each new back-up on both devices simultaneously, keeping both drives up to date?
I would suggest that you consider changing your backup strategy. Time Machine was designed to be an automatic "run and forget" operation that performs incremental backups of your Mac's internal hard drive. It will also backup an external hard drive attached directly to your Mac. Running it manually is not very effecient and you stand the chance of not getting a very recent (they run once an hour) backup when you need it.
For Time Machine I would suggest that you continue to use your external hard drive as is and dedicate your new Time Capsule for Time Machine backups. If you still need more external storage, you can always add additional external USB hard drives to the USB port on the Time Capsule.
Even better you will also want to include a second "full-clone" method to your backup strategy. This method will make a full copy of your Mac's internal disk drive that is bootable. Why do this? In case your Mac has a fatal hard disk crash, you can use the clone backup to boot your Mac back up and continue to use it within seconds. Without the clone backup, you would first need to install a new drive, then load a fresh copy of OS X, and then, perform a restore from Time Machine. This can take a while.
To perform these clone backups, I would recommend that you get another external USB hard drive with a capacity at least twice that of your current internal drive. I use Western Digital My Passport drives for this purpose, but any similar drive should do. To create the clone backup I would suggest using either SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner.
I would suggest that you create a new clone backup at least once a month or more often if your data is critical to you. Just connect a dedicated clone drive to any available USB port on your Mac and run the clone software to make the clone backup.

Can i use time capsule as another hard drive?

Can I use time capsule as another hard drive?

You can, but it was not really designed for that purpose. Access to files will be quite a bit slower than a drive that is directly attached to your computer.
The Time Capsule's main function is as a back up device using the Time Machine application.
If you are using it already for Time Machine, it is generally not a good idea to mix Time Machine backups and regular files on the same drive as there will be struggle for space when the drive starts to fill up.

Trying to restore from time capsule to nes hard drive, keeps looking for disks ! Can you help

ccan't restore from time capsule to new hard drive, after changing to new HD, after calculating required space to restore it keeps looking for disks! Have have put original OS X install disk 1 in it won't Eject , any help

The very best way to do this is with ethernet to the existing router. Put the TC in bridge mode manually.
Then plug it in to existing router.. we recommend LAN router to WAN on the TC but even that is not 100% necessary.
If you want to link by wireless, to a non-apple router that is bad.. recommend strongly against it. Join a wireless network is super slow.
If you have a desktop Mac you can plug it directly into the Mac by ethernet.
But we need to know how the Mac is connected to internet.
I have given some info on one layout here.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4817218?tstart=30
If you end up relying on an old TC. And any of the models from Gen1-3.. and increasingly Gen4 have all reached EOL.. they can die suddenly and either take your files with them or be hard to recover. Also a TC is slow cf a USB external drive even, which is more reliable. Considering a 2TB is <$100 I would be careful using an old TC simply because you got it free.

HT201250 How to restore laptop from time capsule after replacing hard drive

How do I reload all my programs and files from a time capsule after changing hard drive? Also Apple store reloaded with Snow Leopard and not Lion. Will that be a problem? Thank you

Plug the external drive into a computer by usb or whatever box you have available..
When you say blank, is it correctly formatted.. we recommend HFS+ which is Mac OS Extended (jorrnaled)
Make sure you use GUID type disk setup not MBR if it came from PC world.
Copy the files via finder from TC to the external drive.

Use Time Capsule as a Hard Drive via Ethernet for Time Machine

Hi Folks
To summarise a very very long story here goes;
- About 12 months ago my father in law buys a Time Capsule without really knowing what it is for and how it works (I know don't ask!!!!!)
- I set it up for him connected to his wireless router so he uses his router to access the internet and uses the Time Capsule to back up his iMac via wireless with Time Machine. (from what I can see he could have saved himself some cash and just bought an external Hard Drive and connect it via USB to the iMac for Time Machine, but never mind. He has 1 iMac and no other Mac's in the household. His printer is connected to his iMac via USB in the same room and he uses a wireless router to access the internet, since the phone point is in another room)
- All is well until Monday when he tells me he cannot access the internet. After much much trial and error I have eventually managed to get his internet back up and running, but he has somehow managed to erase his Time Capsule.
- I set his Time Capsule back up as it was previously and it starts performing the initial backup again. However at the rate its taking I think it will take well in excess of 24hrs to do that initial
backup. Also so far It has failed 3 times during this initial backup and I get an error message stating it's failed. The setup guide makes reference to performing the initial backup via ethernet as it's quicker.
I'm thinking the best way forward would be to just plug the Time Capsule into the iMac via ethernet and use it purely as a Hard Drive for use with Time Machine. I've tried just plugging in the ethernet cable from the Time Capsule to the iMac, but it doesn't recognise it. Bear in mind that it currently works via wireless, do I need to perform some sort of factory reset or how do I go about telling the the iMac to no longer use the Time Capsule wireless, but just connect via ethernet instead.
Of course I could just forget about the Time Capsule all together and tell him to get a 500gb USB External Hard Drive, plug that in and set up Time Machine with that instead.
Am I missing the point here and can the Time Capsule do a lot more for him, given his current setup.
Thanks

That is true but if you mix your files with the Time Machine backups, Time Machine will have trouble contril disk space when it gets low.
If you are going to do that it is recommended that you partition the drive. Since Time Capsule is not able to partition the drive that means you will have to remove it in order to partition it.
A simple solution IMO is to get another external drive and hang it on the USB bus in the Time Capasule.
Allan

Time Capsule as external hard drive

Hi -- Hope I'm not duplicating a thread here, but I couldn't find anything precisely addressing this question.
I recently upgraded to Leopard and bought a Time Capsule to serve as wi-fi base station and backup drive. As I understand it, Time Machine's backups are basically snapshots: whatever's on my computer's hard drive at the moment gets saved on top of previous backups, rather than being integrated with them.
So: If I want to maintain master libraries of songs, photos and documents on the Time Capsule, will I be able to do that? In other words, if I back up my data, then delete some songs or photos from the computer's hard drive to open up space for new files, will the next backup contain the new files but not the ones I deleted? My concern is not having to switch among multiple backup copies to get to all of my files.
Ideally I'd like to use the Time Capsule or another external drive as a master iTunes jukebox -- save my entire music collection there and either play music from there over speakers or use it to swap songs out on my iPod. Is it possible to do this using Time Machine/Time Capsule?

Assume deleted files will eventually be deleted. In fact, if you load and delete a file within 7 days, the TM backup may not exist. TM is NOT for archiving.
To best understand what Time Machine is and how it works, click on the following link and read the primer:
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/10/12/roadto_mac_os_x_leopard_timemachine.html

Time Capsule after new hard drive installed.

I am new to this and consider myself a novice Mac person.
I just installed a 500gb Seagate hard drive and reinstalled my MAC OS on my Macbook.
I restored my old info onto the new hard-drive.
Do I need to reset the time capsule to do back-ups?
Will it automatically back-up wirelessly off the new hard-drive?
Should I reset the time capsule?

If you used Time Machine to restore your entire system, you shouldn't have to do anything special.
If not, you might have to set TM up again.
But do be aware that the first backup will be a full one, since everything on your new drive is +*new to that drive.+*
If there isn't enough room on your TC for a new, full backup, you might consider either erasing the TC's internal disk or deleting the sparse bundle. Otherwise, it will take Time Machine a very long time to make room.
I'd strongly advise you to connect to the TC via an Ethernet cable until the first backup is done; it will be much faster than WIFI.

How to backup MacBook Pro without AirPort Time Capsule or External hard drive

How to backup MacBook Pro without AirPort Time Capsule or External hard drive

This is crude but if you need a work around, just plug the USB drive directly into the iMac.. copy the files to it.. then plug it into the TC.
You also do not need to use the TC as an intermediary between your iMac and MBP.. just turn on sharing in the computer.. so you can directly copy files from one to the other.. Macs have public access directory preconfigured for each user account.
As far as mounting the TC..
In finder use Go, Connect to server.. and type.
AFP://TCname or TCipaddress
Where TCname is the actual name of the TC.. I strongly recommend you follow SMB network rules.. ie if your TC has a name like
Fred Blog's Time Capsule 2445566.
It is too long.. it has spaces and it has non-alphanumeric characters.
Shorten it to FredTC
No spaces no characters that are NOT alphanumeric.
TCIPaddress is simply the standard IP.
You can also use CIFS://TCname which according to the article forces the connection back to SMB1 rather than SMB2 which as usual is broken.
But I would definitely use AFP if possible. I cannot understand the decision to move to SMB as standard.

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 as external hard-drive, as back-up drive with Time Machine

Two questions today:
I understand that I can use the Time Capsule as an external hard-drive while using it as my back-up location, using Time Machine. It has been suggested that to do this, it is best to partition the Time Capsule to prevent the TM program from confusing the files it manages, the data files from the backed-up files. (I hope I got that right.) I believe I read in this forum that one can partition the TC after the fact, and not destroy any data on it. Is this possible? A clerk at the Apple Store in San Francisco told me that I would want to partition, but that it would require that I erase the TC. Which to believe?
Secondly, how does TM create the back-ups? I have used SuperDuper and appreciated the difference in how (and what) it backs up. My example: my first back-up involved having an 80gb external drive attached to my computer and TM backed up both my HD and the External Drive. I then turned off the TM. Today I turned it on and allowed it to back-up every hour as it is designed to do, but without the 80gb External drive attached. When I checked the newer back-ups, they all showed the original configuration of HD and 80gb external drive.
So for it's incremental back-ups, does TM back up new files and updated files without deleting missing files? Is it an additive process? Or does it at some point delete missing files from it's most recent back-up? Or since it recognized that it was backing-up two different drives, it will always keep them separate, maintaining one (80gb External drive), even as it backs-up and changes the other (the HD)?
O.K. a third request. Has anyone published a manual on TM and/or TC with this level of understanding so we can make the most of it's 1 TB storage capacity?
Thanks in advance, LeRoy

LeroyHoward wrote: So, does this mean that TM never deletes a file?
It will when it starts to run out of space and it should likely be the oldest deleted files first.
As I understand it, as long as I have a multi-linked file icon on the TM, I have the original data. And everytime the TM backs-up, it recreates every multi-linked file icon on the previous back-up. Right? So, if you delete a file by mistake, you can go back and find it. But I see a contradiction here. If you delete it on your desktop, shouldn't it be deleted from the back-up of that desktop? We expect it to be on earlier back-ups, but not the most recent one right? So, eventually as the TM fills up and begins deleting earlier back-ups, that data will be lost.
The newest timeline will not point/display the deleted file(s), but it still exists on the backup until the backup drive fills up and needs to erase deleted data.
I'm trying to understand this aspect of the TC and TM, because we want to use it as both an external HD and as one of our back-ups. Any light you can shed on this will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, LeRoy
Read Glenn's response to dedicating TC to TM backup and the difficulty in partitioning the TC HDD.
Glenn Carter wrote:
However, this is not an option for Time Capsule users as there is not an easy way of partitioning the Time Capsules’ internal had disk without elaborate effort. In this case, use the Time Capsule hard disk solely for Time Machine backups. Then attach an additional hard disk to the Time Capsules USB port and store additional files there. This added disk will still be available to all Macs that can access the Time Capsule.
This works to share the files on the USB HDD attached to TC, but if you want this drive backed up by TM (and this drive is formatted HFS+), then it needs to remain plugged into the Mac directly for TM to back it up.

Is it possible to use my time capsule built in hard drive as a airport disk for my home network instead of just a back up with time machine?

I am setting up a new wireless office system for at my job. We have 5 employees and are looking for a wireless hard drive system for us to dump files on and pull files from. We plan to use dropbox for things we are currently using/modifying but would like a wireless hard drive to store our older and completed information/projects on so we can still access them if necessary without using up all of our dropbox space. I'm looking at either getting the new airport extreme and just hooking up a lard external hard drive to it or getting the new time capsule.
I am wondering if it is possible to use the built in hard drive on the time capsule as a wireless hard drive for collaborating/accessing instead of just as a time machine back up? If so then it seems to make sense to buy the TC w/ 3tb hard drive instead of buying the extreme and a larger external drive.

Yes, it is. Note that both the original and backup copies of a file shouldn’t be on the same drive, as it may fail at any time.
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Time capsule as a hard drive & time machine

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