Time Capsule or Something Else?

I am trying to decide on getting one. I currently have a perfectly capable Airport Extreme Router 5th generation less than a year old. I thought if I got the new TC I would have the latest technology in wireless, plus I could begin to do backups to my NEW Imac computer (NEVER EVER DID THEM BEFORE). So I read through some of the review, some of the issues that keep coming up like dropping WIFI on devices.....slow hard drive ..... needing to reset the TC for various reasons. So now I am wondering if just keeping my Airport Extreme as is and getting some other brand of hard drive storage that plays nice with Apple Imacs would be the better thing. I am also wanting to get the Black Friday deal on the TC if I do go that route, so I need some advice soon please.....

For a desktop Mac like iMac. it is better to use an external drive.. new one has USB3.. fast and cheap.
Much faster, cheaper and more reliable than a TC.
That is what I would do.

Similar Messages

Internet slow - how can I test if Time Machine vs something else?

Just set up my new Time Machine (excellent!), but my internet connection has been painfully slow (not excellent!).
I'm wondering if there is an easy way to tell if the Time Capsule is slowing things down, or if it is simply my internet provider. Is there a simple test that will do that? Will an online DSL test work (just try it with and without the Time Capsule)?
Thank you-

You could probably do it via ControlPlane.

Is it best to use a basic (ISP supplied) router just as a modem and use the Time Capsule for everything else?

Just feeling my way into using a Time Capsule as the main networking device for two macbooks, two iPhones and occasional vistors including an iPad. Right now the basic ADSL router provides, internet conection, Firewal, DHCP and NAT. The Time Capsule provides WiFI and backup to the MacBooks. The MacBooks and iOS devices all use WiFI and a couple of media devices use ethernet (a hub is part of the network).
Would it be better (i.e. more effective in performance or management) to limit the router as much as possible so for instance turning off DHCP and NAT then reconfiguring the Time Capsule to do that - sort of part way to a situation where the router would be replaced by a modem? Or am I just wasting effort to no good purpose?

There is no simple.. yes or no to your question.
Often modems cannot be bridged.. or if they can the TC does not have the ability to provide the correct services to connect.
What is the broadband type and what is the modem router you are talking about?
Generally the supplied modem is perfectly adequate to the speed capability of the service provided.
In some cases we do say bridge it.. eg alot of cable modem routers supplied here are very poor, Have terrible NAT tables and pathetic abilities.. so we encourage them to be bridged or replaced. Most DSL type modem routers seem to be ok.. and are easily replaced anyway.
Time Capsules are far from being giants in the router world btw.. they have absolute min of controls possible. Lots of good things might be supplied on your normal modem which are missing in the TC. eg QoS. Decent logging, NAT table connection lists.. along with all the other lists.
Overall the gain.. I think for most people will be small.. try it out.. that is the only way to know.

Time Machine Or Something Else?

Hi guys. I purchased my first Mac just before Christmas after using Windows for 14 years. So far it has been great but still feel like a newbie at times. After building and fixing many PCs the Mac was a bit foreign at first but am getting the hang of it
I am wondering about using time machine. I have read up about it and looks like a great idea. But if I read correctly it does not create a bootable drive in case of disaster. But can it be used to migrate to a new Mac?
I am asking because I bought the low end Mac Mini. I love the thing but am considering an upgrade. It has a 500 GB HD built in but I have a 4 bay HD external case that I keep all of my files on, plus I also have two d-link NAS enclosures that I have for a back up of my documents and one for streaming movies to my Mac and laptops.
I would like an easy way to keep a backup of the Mac HD if something happens, or I upgrade. I see there is also the migration assistant. I assume that would be the best way to do an upgrade. But I thought that might also be nice to have a bootable drive in case of disaster.
As I said I am new to Macs so am looking for any suggestions you guys can give. Should I use the time machine app or would I be better off getting other software to do this?
Thanks.

CptKirk wrote:
I am wondering about using time machine. I have read up about it and looks like a great idea. But if I read correctly it does not create a bootable drive in case of disaster. But can it be used to migrate to a new Mac?
Yes: http://pondini.org/OSX/Setup.html
You can also backup using a cloning program such as CarbonCopyCloner. I use Time Machine and have a clone.

An Apple TV, A Time Capsule (or not), and an iPhone...

Ok so basically I want to use a Time Capsule (or something else if you think that would be better) as storage that my iphone can access to airplay to my Apple TV.
Now, I have read that using the Time Capsule in this way isn't recommended, but I if there is a better recommendation out there without using a running OS on a live computer that would be amazing.
I know this is basically a setup for a NAS but I don't feel I am technically savvy enough on my own to choose the equipment knowing for sure it will work for what I want.
If there is anyone out there who has a setup similar to what I'm describing and has some advice I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you again.

You do realise this cannot be itunes.. moving your itunes library to the TC and trying to play it from iphone is pointless.. it won't work.
If you are using some other media player on the iOS device that plays MP4 or AVI or whatever format your video is in that is fine.. but for most people you must use iTunes... and that means a computer turned on.
Of course if you used an actual media player.. like WD live TV then you can play files directly over the network from the TC... no need for airplay or iphone or anything else. That is because it is a proper player.. the ATV is a streamer.. the Media player has to be in the iphone.. and that is where you will find it difficult. Airplay seldom works well because you have to pick up the files from the TC.. copy them to the iphone.. copy them back to the TC in the airplay stream so it goes to the ATV.. it is going to jitter and pause.. because wireless does not do such things well.

Slow network with Time Capsule

Hi There!
We have a network at home consisting of a Time Capsule (to provide wireless to the house as well as to hold all of our iTunes content and use as a file server), two Mac Pro towers, a MacBook Pro, an iMac, and two Windows-based notebooks, and an Apple TV. We are NOT using the Time Capsule for backup.
The problem we're having is that the network is incredibly slow. Trying to copy a large file over the network can take hours when it should only take minutes. And we can't stream shows/movies in iTunes from the Time Capsule because it pauses every one or two seconds to catch up. We also have business grade cable modem service but we can't do iChat videoconferencing without the audio/video completely dropping.
We tried purchasing an Airport Express to extend the range of the signal (and even purchased a second one!) but those didn't help, either. The firmware on all devices it up-to-date. And the network is closed (no one is leeching).
Are there any tools, either built in to OS X or another source, that can help us diagnose what's wrong with our network? What other things can we try to diagnose the slow network?
Thanks!

First of all, be aware that the more devices you connect to a wireless network, the slower it goes. In addition, if you have devices that only work at B or G speeds, all devices on the network slow down to the slowest device.
For example, when you have a 300mbps N device and a 11mbps B device connected to the same network, they'll both go at a maximum speed of 5.5mbps. You are limited to 11mbps because of the B device and then further limited to 5.5mbps because there are two devices sharing the total (11mbps) bandwidth.
As far as testing out your current connection, try these:
1. On a mac, you can hold down Option and click on the airport/wireless icon. This will show transmit rate and other information. The maximum transmit rate for N devices is 270, G: 54, B: 11. If the transmit rate is very low, this indicates a poor wireless signal
2. Change the wireless channel used by your time capsule to something else. Try them all to see what gives you the best wireless signal
3. In the airport utility, select the time capsule, go to manual setup, go to advanced, click on Logs and Statistics, then click Wireless Clients. This shows the transfer rate, noise, and signal for each device connected to the time capsule.
4. Download iStumbler. This mac application will show other wireless networks in the area and what channel they're using. It is typically not good to set your network to use the same channel as others in your area.
5. Download some sort of application that shows transfer speeds (like iStat Pro). Test transferring large files between computers to see how fast it goes with different setups.
There's a few things you can do to improve wireless performance when bogged down with too many devices:
1. Turn off any wireless devices not in use. If it's on, it's using bandwidth space even though it's not transferring data.
2. Use multiple routers or a dual-band router to create separate networks. For example, you can make the time capsule make a 802.11N-Only network which will only the new N devices will connect to. Plug an express into it and make it create another network (G-only or B/G-only). Keep plugging in additional routers and make new networks as needed.
3. Replace older B/G devices with N devices if possible.

Help, I need to use my Time Capsule and iCloud more efficiently for memory!!

I have an early 2011 Macbook Pro. It is running low on memory. I finally broke down and purchased an Aiprort Time Capsule yesterday. I was able to back up and everything ran smoothly. Now that I have done this, I am hoping someone can help me figure out how to remove some items from my laptop to free up some memory. I had 6 movies in my itunes that I deleted (saved on an external hard drive a few days ago) and yet I still seem to have a large percentage of movie memory taken up. Although, maybe it is some tv shows I have in itunes. Along with the Time Capsule I also have 15 GB of iCloud memory which I am using almost 10 GB. I have 98.87GB free of 319.21 GB on my laptop. I know it isnt terrible, but I would really like to open up some space as I tend to add a lot of pics and music to my computer. We have an iPad, 2 iphones and an itouch and appletv that are all using space and I seem to be running out of space on my ipad and iphone as well. So, I would love to be able to put my music and tv shows and pics on my time capsule or something...Not sure. If anyone has any ideas that would be great on my computer or for that matter my ipad since I just keep removing items! Thanks!!

The best thing for you to do, in my opinion, is to:
Buy a larger internal drive - I recommend the Hitachi Travelstar 7K1000 - 1 terabyte, 7200 rpm & SATA III negotiated speeds for your model, and;
invest in some more external storage. 1 terabyte drives are common and cheap. You may want to get a larger drive (I use two LaCie 2big Thunderbolt drives - one 4 terabytes, the other 8 terabytes. I also have four HGST Travelstar 7K1000 1 terabyte drives that I use for cloning my internal drive).
Buying the larger internal drive should be your first step. Adding additional external storage can come later.
Good luck,
Clinton

HT3728 After upgrading to mountain lion, my Mac no longer sees the Time Capsule. What am I doing wrong?

After I upgraded to Mountain Lion, my Mac cannot access the data disk on the Time Capsule. Who else is having this problem and have you been able to solve it?

Bonjour PanicRev16
   I use Grapher 2D 3D on my early 2006 iMac, but I tried it on my wife's Macbook Pro with Lion then Mountain Lion : no problem with Grapher 2.1 3D gcx files, Grapher 2.3 loves them !
   You can try the 3D Grapher 2.1 files from the website http://y.barois.free.fr/grapher/ and see the result on your Mac Mountain Lion.
   I updated Grapher documentation and bugs of this website on 15th december 2012 (Lion, then Mountain Lion).
Au revoir,
YB24

Printing to HP Laserjet 2100 via Time Capsule very very slow

If I connect the above printer directly to my Macbook (OS 10.5.2) it prints fine, at reasonable speed and quality.
Connected via the Time Capsule a half-page text document takes about 4-5 minutes to print.
I have updated the printer driver from this link http://www.linux-foundation.org/en/OpenPrinting/MacOSX/hpijs - the driver name is HP Laserjet Foomatic/hpijs
Using the standard 2100 Kaserjet driver offered by the operating system didn't work at all.
The printer is connect via USB using a USB to Parallel converter cable which again works fine when connected to my Mac directly (and to my PC).
I have restarted the Time Capsule.
What else can I try?
Richard

Hi dperomingo,
Welcome to the HP Support Forums! I understand when you try to print to your HP Laserjet p1102w you get an error message. Can you please let me know the exact error message you are getting? Have you ever been able to successfully print to your LJ 1102w? Also which Operating system are you currently running?
I would like you to go ahead and run the HP Print and Scan Doctor- It was designed by HP to provide users with the troubleshooting and problem solving features needed to resolve many common problems experienced with HP print and scan products connected to Windows-based computers.
I will watch for your reply with the requested information, please run the PSDR and let me know the outcome!
Thank you,
HevnLgh
I work on behalf of HP
Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
Click the “Kudos Thumbs Up" to the left of the reply button to say “Thanks” for helping!

Extra hard disk via USB time capsule (2TB) does not show in finder etc

I've found hunderds of questions that look alike but not one has solved it.
I have a Time Capsule with 2 TB hard disk. In all descriptions of the TC Apple states that an extra drive can be attached through the USB.
I did that. Wanting to create an extra network drive. I connected a (Apple formatted) WD Essential to the USB. With te newest airport configuration programm I do not see the hard drive. I do see it with version 5.6. BUT: I cannot see what is on it and so (not) select anything. I don't see it with the finder. I did do everything to make sharing possible. When connected directly to IMac it works fine. In airport I selected sharing etc etc. I don't want the disk to be used as a backup system (via Time Machine). Just an extra network disk. Please help.

I don't have a Time Capsule; I have an AirPort Extreme Base Station, which is similar except for not having the built-in storage. Since your question got moved from the initial category (where you posted it) to Time Capsule, maybe someone else who has a Time Capsule will pop by with some advice. If you don't get any more replies (other than from me), you may want to summarized what you learned so far, and post a new question (in this category). New questions often get more views and responses.
With a Time Capsule, you can share the built-in hard drive as general network storage (not just for Time Machine purposes), is that correct? Does that work for you? Can you set that up using the latest version of AirPort Utility?
If you set that up, I'm guessing it would appear in a Finder window in the same way. The Time Capsule appears in the Finder window sidebar, under SHARED. When you select it, the Time Machine's built-in shared volume appears to the right, and you can mount it using whatever security settings you used. If you have an external drive attached to the Time Capsule as well, and it is set up to be shared, it appears as a second shared volume. It is still just that one Time Capsule under SHARED in the Finder window's sidebar, but to the right, there are now two shared volumes. But I don't have a Time Capsule, so I'm not sure about that...
I don't know why the latest version of AirPort Utility does not see the external drive volume? If possible, I would try another USB storage device (even if it's a 4GB thumb drive), to confirm it does work, and it's not a hardware problem on the Time Capsule's USB port.
Also, if you have not tried so far, you may want to reset your Time Capsule (to give it a fresh start).
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3728
This also has some relevant information about attaching a USB drive.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2426

Time Capsule and all in one printer HP Photosmart C4280

Hello,
I recently got me a Macbook pro finally. Its awesome!! I love it. Im looking to get Time Capsule or something like that. I want to be able to hook my printer up to something and print from other room. I want to print wirelessly...the scanning and copying feature really doesnt bother me not to have.
Any know if the Time Capsule works with the HP Photosmart C4280. I got this printer with my computer. Its a multi function printer.
The backup feature is neat, but its not as important to me...Im sure it will be if I never lose my hard drive.
Anyone have any advice? Anyone have the HP Photosmart C4280 printer running on time capsule or any other wireless device in order to print wirelessly? Thanks
Amy

Hi Amy,
It should work just fine as a printer. I have a similar setup, and printing works, but I can't scan or fax across the network.
I'd probably recommend the Time Capsule over an Airport Extreme- your MBP can use it for Time Machine backups- untethered!
I've got one on order for our Mac notebooks.
Oh yeah: we have an HP Printer, too. Works fine.
If you price out 500GB and 1TB drives and wireless N routers, I think you'll see that Time Capsule is a pretty good deal.
Enjoy your new Mac!
Message was edited by: Seanessy

Help! Time Capsule and MacBook Pro not talking

I'm really hoping some bright spark out there has some suggestions.
I recently took my MacBook Pro and Time Capsule to an Apple store due to 2 problems:
1. The computer was slowing down and occasionally crashing.
2. Whenever Time Machine tried to back up to my previously happy Time Capsule, it said it "could not mount the back up disc image" and failed.
They suggested that changing the hard drive would fix both problems as the time capsule issues were probably related to the struggling hard drive. They then planned to get back the previously saved information from the Time Capsule to give me back all the stuff from the old hard drive. After a great deal of trouble getting the hard drive actually changed over (after doing a lot of backing up to USB sticks), they called to say they had some issues getting the info back out of the Capsule because it hadn't saved properly last time. They didn't seem interested in pursuing the idea of getting the most recently saved snapshot that had worked (a month or so ago now) so just gave me back computer and a Time Capsule that they said was working but apparently with my info imprisoned inside.
So, I took it home and I've now got a computer (with none of my user info) and a Time Capsule set up for direct connection rather than wireless. When I went to set up my Time Capsule as something connecting wirelessly to the computer, it updated the settings but the Time Capsule failed to reboot and ever since has been giving me the flashing amber light. Every time Airport Utility scans for wireless devices, it can't find the Time Capsule.
I've already tried:
- Re-installing my original Leopard from scratch.
- Updating to most recent Leopard and Airport utility.
I'm nervous about resetting the factory settings on the Time Capsule because I don't want to lose the data in there, I'm keen to try and get it back somehow (I've backed up most vital things but there are always going to be some things I'll lose otherwise.
Sorry it's a long entry but I'm looking for all the help I can get!
Thanks to anyone who tries.

The new TC will need to be setup again in the MBP..
Just go to TM and select the target disk for backup again.
If you have issues plug in by ethernet and make sure the wireless setup is configured correctly.
Read the stuff in pondini about resetting TM.. that can help.
A4 http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html

US Time Capsule in EU?

Hi there!
I brought my Time Capsule from the United States to the EU (Scandinavia) and I'm having minor problems here.
At first the "Wireless Network Options" dialog doesn't give any other options for county than American ones (US, Canada, Brazil, Venezuela, etc). Ok, I kept the US and everything works. I know there's some channel differencies between EU and US, but I hope I am not breaking too many telecomm laws by now...
The second and more serious problem is that 5 GHz radio mode is not working. If I choose 5 Ghz mode, my laptop (the newest macbook pro model, from EU) won't see it. The laptop works with other 5 GHz Airport Extreme, so there's nothing wrong with my laptop. 2.4 GHz works fine, not problem here. I've tried all tricks I am aware but no result. Is this due the piece of hardware thinks it's still in the States?
Do you guys have any ideas what's is going on? Or how do I change this US identity thing to EU. My TC has decided that he is a proud american and do not pretend to be silly european like I am. Is there any way to convince him to play with european way?
Time Capsule is something 3 years old and it's firmware is the newest version for this model: 7.4.2
My OS X and Airport Utility are up to date too.
Hjälp!
Message was edited by: Axel K2

Select a 5 GHz Channel from among one of the following to see if that helps:
36, 40, 44, 48
5 GHz radio mode has only one channel to choose and it is "automatic". No other options given.
Thanks for the Wikipedia article you gave me. I was afraid of this kind of thing. I guess the TC selects automatically "free" channel that is ok in States but forbidden in EU. And my laptop won't even scan those frequences because there's no point for that... Oh dear.
Don't think there is any way to change the firmware in the US version to another region. Or, if there is, it is a secret available only in hidden menus or options.
Bummer.

Time Capsule is EXTREMELY slow.

So I have had my time machine for about two years now, and everything has been going great. I have it set up on a WDS network with my b/g Airport Express, both broadcasting at 11mbps. I do have it set to 2.4 hz even though I have two wireless phones one the same frequency, and I plan on changing that as soon as I get a b/g/n Airport express to replace the b/g one. Recently however I upgraded my internet speed. I should be getting 25mbps download and about 15 upload (or more). However wirelessly I only get less then 1 mbps down load and 3 mbps upload. All this is based on speedtest.net. I did notice that my ethernet wire running to my time capsule is dry and un-wrapping. that shouldn't make a difference though. Does anyone know how I can fix this and regain the speed I should be getting?
~LA

SlippySlope wrote:
I've only had my Time Capsule a few months now (previously I used to Time Machine and backup to a portable HD) and recently the hourly backup process has just choked my processor down to the point that the computer becomes unusable. In fact, to the point that I just turned Time Machine off a few minutes ago. I don't know wether it is the Airport or the Time Machine software or the Time Capsule but something is not right.
First, try a +*Repair Disk*+ on your backups, via #A5 in the Time Machine - Troubleshooting *User Tip,* also at the top of the +Time Machine+ forum.
If that doesn't help, note whether the size of the backups is reasonable, considering what you've done since the last one. If the backups seem too large, see #D4 in the Troubleshooting Tip. It lists some of the common culprits, and a way to determine just what's being backed-up so you can take the appropriate action.
If the backups are still too slow, see #D2 in the same place.

Airport network form time capsule does not see airport express

Hello,
I'm rather new, bought my first apple few days ago, it's great. Have been throwing away years by using the blue screen machines
I now have mac mini, today i bought time capsule and an airport express.
time capsule to make my network and the airport express to connect my stereo.
Important: I have no internet connection yet, it will be installed in 10 days.
for now i use a mobile phone connection on the mac mini.
I installed time capsule. time machine works and airport is in the air.
With airport utility i can see the time capsule, but nothing else.
it has been there for a short time, but then time capsule was gone.
i can not find the utility to start installing airport express all over. Maybe i gave the wrong WPA2 password with the first install, but can not find the software to try again.
I placed the a.expr within 1 meter of time capsule for this test.
led of time capsule is green, led of a.expr is amber blinking.
I did a reset of the a.express, no response.
I downloaded the latest a.express client, no difference.
airport is still on. it does not see the a.express.
how to proceed?
Is it only possible ONCE to setup a.express the right way? I remember answering questions which i can not find anymore.
Sorry for the long story,
hope you can help,
Rik

oh oh oh oh........ :O
Found it.... before i connected the a.express with time capsule by a wire....does not help!
Solution is to make this wire connection between a.express and mac, then it's possible to reconfigure.
After this wire everything worked in 5 minutes.
Anyway.... thanks for reading...
Rik

Time Capsule or Something Else?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for