Time capsule spinning up every 5 minutes

I have two Time Capsule's - a 3rd gen and 4th gen both running firmware v7.6.1.  1 is used as a TC (4th gen) and the other (3rd gen) is in bridge mode simply used as a NAS.  That said, the TC only spins up every hour as expected to perform the backup.  The NAS TC in bridge mode spins up VERY briefly every 5 minutes then immediately spins down.  Resetting this TC fixes the problem for several hours then it magically returns.  My question is, since both TC's are running the same firmware, why is one behaving different from the other?  Could this issue run deeper than just firmware?

Yes, it is deeper issue.. 7.6.1 is not great on the earlier hardware..
Most people who ask about it find that flashing firmware back to 7.5.2 will fix it without causing any issues.. Simply hold the option key when you select firmware update.. and turn off the weekly check for firmware upgrades.. although it will still occasionally flash amber asking to update to the latest worstest firmware.
And it is good you are taking it seriously.. the hdd will be ruined with continuous spin up and down and particularly parking of heads which some of the green drives are renowned for.. they blow up in fairly short order after that.

Similar Messages

  • My time capsule backs up every hour.  how do I change this to daily backup, my time capsule backs up every hour.  how do I change this to daily backup

    My Time Capsule backs up every hour.. How do I change this to back up daily?

    http://pondini.org/TM/13.html

  • Time Capsule reboots about every 20-30 minutes

    Hey all,
    I have a Time Capsule (about 6 months old) with a cable modem plugged into it.  My wifi is being extended by a brand new Airport extreme.  I have 4 computers connecting via wifi to it.  About every 20-30 minutes the wifi signal drops from the TC, confirming this with iStumbler, and the TC has to reset.  I haven't gotten a back up to complete in quite a few days due to this.  Any ideas?
    I have unplugging all ethernet devices, hard reseting it to factory defaults, and of course power cycling it. 

    I would firstly go back to 7.6.1 firmware.. the latest firmware has some horrible bugs .. especially in cases of extend wireless.
    To go back you simply hold down the option key whilst selecting version.

  • Time Capsule Spins

    My time capsule constantly spins up for a few seconds, every minute or so.  It never used to do this and it doesn't sound good.  It is backing up fine and I just restored my disk from it too.  Should I be worried or doing something about it?

    It is wrong and very bad. You must find the cause and stop it happening.
    Do a full factory reset and leave the TC with no connections at all.
    Does the disk still carry on.. spinning up and down. If not the issues is a computer making continual attempts to access the drive but not doing anything but access. Plug each computer in turn or turn it on and wait a few minutes to see if any computer causes the problem. If so you have nabbed the culprit.
    If the disk spins up and down with nothing connected then the disk is faulty..although the best test would be to do a one pass erase to low level format the drive. Archive off the material if anything is valuable to you beforehand.
    Take it back to apple for replacement if nothing you do fixes it. And it is still in warranty or applecare.
    The drive will eventually fail..
    If it is old.. flash the firmware back to 7.5.2.. that often fixes it.. you cannot flash back to 7.5.x on latest Gen4 only early ones.

  • Time Capsule backs up every hours and takes 1/2 to back up, it slows down all funtions on computer to a crawl.

    I have the time capsule with the ethernet cord running from it, this is the way my husband set it up. In the last month, when time machine backs up it takes forever and then repeats itself every hour. I can't get anything done because it slows everything down, or I am unable to open applications. I read in discussions what to do and have not had any luck. I checked my speeds: download 10.58pbps and upload 4.85 mpbs. My husband pays for preminum cable for fast service. I don't know how to fix this issue, or perhaps I don't know how to ask the right question. Can anyone help?

    This is a hard one..
    With Time Machine turned off, what speed do you get using a speed test service to the internet?
    Remove the TC and connect directly to the cable modem and check the speed.. if the TC is slow as a router, then there is some issue.
    I see you are on SL.. did you update the firmware on the TC to 7.6.x recently..
    There does seem to be some bugs in the latest firmware for some people. I would downgrade the firmware back to 7.5.2. I would also check if the TC isn't almost full. That hugely slows things down.
    Do a full factory reset and redo the setup.
    Otherwise I think it can be worth getting a different wireless router, and simply bridge the TC to use for backup only.. I think that is what I would do in your situation.

  • Time Capsule spends about 30 minutes "preparing" for each backup.

    My Time Capsule has two MacBooks backing up to it. One of them backs up fine; the other has a problem. It goes into "preparation" mode before each backup and it stays there for ridiculous lengths of time -- even if the machine was not used therefore nothing needs to be backed up. The TC hard disk just spins and spins.

    You have continual messages.. No space left on device
    Is your TC full..?? Are you using wireless to connect to the TC?
    The time capsule has been  stuck in the "preparing for backup" stage indefinately: like months and months.
    Note that Time Capsule is the hardware device.. Time Machine is the software that prepares the backup.. They are completely different.. !!
    Open either the TM preference or the airport utility and tell us how much space is reported left on the drive.. or is the local hard disk full??
    If you upgraded OS on the computer it can fail to properly clean up old backups and you will need to step in and erase the TC yourself. Or plug in a USB drive and set that as a new destination for the backup.

  • Time Capsule spinning clock?

    The spinning clock on my time capsule no longer functions. (The one in the header at the top of the computer screen) It used to spin when a backup was in progress. Since installing OS 10.9.1, it no longer "spins" even though a backup is being done. Is there something I can do to restart this function?

    Apple has decided for you that you no longer want the clock to spin in Mavericks, so they have not provided a way to allow that to happen.
    You might want to let Appe know if you agree or disagree here:
    Apple - Mac OS X - Feedback

  • Time Capsule spinning constantly

    I have noticed in the past few days that my 1st generation Time Capsule has stopped spinning down. Previously you would only be aware of the TC when backing up the two machines in the house which use Time Machine on the TC. I upgraded my iMac to Lion and the constantly spinning TC seems to have been since the upgrade, though I appreciate this might be a coincidence.
    Any thoughts on this? Is this something which other Lion users have noticed, is it a sign that my TC is getting old and tired, or some other issue?
    Thanks

    Ken
    Had what sounds like the same situation, TC running for what seemd like for ever. 
    What I did to resolve the issue was just show some patiance, turned off TC in System Preference, shut down the computer, left everything alone for a couple of hours, as TC seemed to be very warm.  I did a reinstall of Lion, repaired permissions, any and all updates, reparied permissions again, turned TC back on, and let it run.
    It started at 1:03 it took about 40 min to prepare for back up, then indexing backup took another hour and a half, I finally got the size of the back up at about 6.43 gig, when it got to the point it showed about 2 gig had been loaded, it jumped to cleaning up.  the whole thing took about 4 plus hours.
    At this point which is about 30 later, everything is back to what it was with 10.6.8, back ups take there normal, time, TC icon dismounts from the desktop.
    I had decided to just let it run, it worked.
    hope that helps
    Mike

  • Time Capsule HD turn on every 10 minutes.  Normal operation?

    The hard drive in my time capsule spins up (turn on) about every 10 minutes and stays on for about 5 minutes before turning itself off. During this "power cycle" the hard drive is not doing any backup (according to the Time Machine preferences panel and menu bar icon). Rather, the hard drive just seems to be spinning up every 10 minutes, staying on for about 5 minutes, then powering itself down again. I checked the Time Machine specs and it says the program backup interval is a backup every hour. So I'm wondering why my HD powers up every 10 minutes.
    This is fairly annoying hard drive behavior as A) it's not needed for backups, just seems to be extraneous hard drive spinning, and B) it's annoying as the hard drive, while quiet, is not silent. I would assume this behavior is not good for the lifespan of the disk either, but I may be wrong.
    Has anyone else been seeing this hard drive cycle behavior? Any fixes to make the hard drive just spin up when needed (for the hourly backups)?

    Well, to answer my own question above. I did the following:
    - Return the unit for another one at the Apple store
    The new TC does not stop and start every 5-10 minutes. It backs up every hour as advertised
    If this is not an option for you, try the following:
    - disable any anti-virus program you have (at least for initial backup). Caused a huge increase in throughput for my initial backup
    - switch to 802.11N only mode (wide band) for the router settings
    Those were the only two settings/changes I made with the new unit. Not sure if I had a defective initial unit, or one of the two fixes above made a difference. Good luck.

  • My time Capsule Starts from scratch every time it is interrupted!

    First I tried doing the initial backup wirelessly. After 48 hours I had 30 GB of my 54 GB. Then we had a power outage. When the power came back, I clicked on ´backup now`, but it started from scratch. So I interrupted it and set up TC through Ethernet. I had gotten up to 16 GB when I went to bed. The next morning, a message said the connection had been lost. I fiddled with the wires, and then the backup started AGAIN from scratch. I am now in my fourth backup and it is always starting from zero. The thing is, the size of the Time Capsule keeps getting smaller, (only 383 of 461 GB available) evidence of the fact that the backups ARE IN THERE- just time machine does not seem to recognize them.
    Help?

    Experienced the same issue with an Apple Time Capsule 802.11n (1st Generation, warranty replacement) connected to iMac (Late 2009) running Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.8. This Time Capsule was configured solely as the Time Machine backup drive, no Wi-Fi (Wireless Mode: Off). The hard drive would spin up every minute or so for no apparent reason. Tried disconnecting/reconnecting Time Capsule, power off reboot of both Time Capsule and iMac to no avail. Only solution that worked was to downgrade firmware to 7.5.2 using latest Snow Leopard AirPort Utility 5.5.3.
    For those that need to know how to do this, run AirPort Utility application in /Application/Utilities folder, click Manual Setup, and click on the word Version in the list, in the dialog box select 7.5.2 from drop-down menu, click OK, and click Update and allow Time Capsule to restart.

  • How can i connect xbox to time capsule?

    Hi, I am (whilst being shouted at by my 11 year old son), trying to connect Xbox 360 to a time capsule. I tried last year without success, and afer chatting with a bloke yesterday in an Apple store, I thought I would try again. No luck. I've tried inputting every set of numbers and address I can find, but the Xbox, just will not connect. Is there a simple set of instructions that will do this? The forums I've looked at have information that is beyond me. The time capsule is connected to a Virgin media modem via ethernet. The Xbox Live connects via ethernet cable to modem just fine. I would just like it to work wirelessly so I don't have to keep plugging the cable back into the time capsule and rebooting. As an alternative is there a piece of kit that would let both the Xbox and the time capsule remain wired up to the modem? There only seems to be one connector however. Many thanks in advance.

    Connect an Ethernet cable from a LAN <-> port on the Verizon gateway to the WAN port (circle of dots icon) on the Time Capsule.
    Then, temporarily connect a spare Ethernet cable from your Mac to one of the LAN <-> ports on the Time Capsule to help AirPort Utility "see" the Time Capsule. Once you have the Time Capsule configured and updated with new settings, you can remove the spare Ethernet cable.
    If that is not successful, you will need to perform a Factory Default Reset on the Time Capsule as follows:
    Pull the power plug on the Time Capsule
    Wait 4-5 minutes
    Hold in the reset button on the Time Capsule and while you continue to hold it in, plug the power back to the Time Capsule
    Keep holding the reset button for 8-10 seconds before you release it
    Wait 30-40 seconds for the Time Capsule to restart to a slow, blinking amber light
    Restart your Mac, then open AirPort Utility to configure the Time Capsule

  • Poor performance with Archived projects on Time Capsule

    I work in an educational environment where multiple students share four iMacs (all 2008 models or newer, with 2 or 4 GB of RAM on each machine). When a student is done working on a project for the day they save it as an Archive to a Time Capsule, which is shared by every computer on the network, so that they can access it on any of the computers in the building The problem is that often times, even on projects with only 4 or 6 tracks, the load time is extremely slow from the Time Capsule (10 or more minutes for a 11 MB project yesterday) and once loaded the same projects frequently give the "too many tracks" error and will not play and are thus useless. I tried temporarily moving the project to the HD of the computer in use, but this also took a long time and didn't really solve the problem.
    Is it possible we're having bandwidth issues? I could see how this would slow the load time, but not playback once loaded. Our ISP plan is rather slow... probably no more than 5 Mbps and it's shared between 6 or 7 computers at a time.
    Any other thoughts or solutions? It's slowed some of our students progress to a halt.

    1 megabyte per minute is extremely slow in terms of transferring or opening a file.
    it is, but assuming you have more than one machine connected to it, the bandwidth is being split between every machine that's accessing it. as well, it's not designed for what you seem to have purposed it... it's a backup drive, not a working drive (which would also mean you have no backups)
    once the Archived project is loaded, shouldn't it no longer be referring wirelessly back to the TC
    i've never studied how much disk access GB utilizes, but OS X in general does a lot. the latency alone across that network would have to be huge, and to add to the problem, i doubt there's a 7200RPM drive in the TC.
    looking at it anotehr way, we always recommend firewire drives due to the bandwidth problems associated with the file sizes of audio or video data (even USB 2.0 does not have the sustained throughput that FW does). as a quick off-the-top-of-my-head calculation, firewire 400 offers around 50MB/s throughput. 802.11n, the fastest of the current wireless specs, offers around 6.75MB/s (theoretically up to around 15MB/s, but i think that requires multi-channel usage). that's a HUGE difference, and when you're moving lots of data, it's very relevant.

  • Time Capsule won't accept my user name and password for access - Help!

    Hi all,
    My Time Capsule seemed to stop working one day and I had to do a hard reset with the little button at the back. After that it worked and I restored my wireless network settings but now I can't access the Time Capsules hard drive with Time Machine.
    When I try to choose it as my Backup Disk in the Time Machine preferences it says "Enter your user name and password so Time Machine can access the file server "Our Time Capsule" (the name of my time capsule). However, every time I try to enter my password I get "Sorry, you entered an invalid username or password".
    I've already tried several resets of the Time Capsule and I've also tried logging on my computer as the Root user and changing my administrator account password back and forth but no go.
    Help! and Thanks.

    Norman & Harry,
    Consider the following:
    *_Time Capsule Keeps Asking Me For a Password_*
    It will be important to know what is going on, or what you are doing when it asks for the password. Is it asking for a password only when Time Machine attempts a backup? Consider this:
    It is NOT your username and password it wants when you try accessing the Time Capsule. (I know... it SAYS "username and password") But it means the Time Capsule's Name and Password.
    You will find that by launching Airport Utility.
    Select the TC on the left.
    Click "Manual Setup".
    Click the "Time Capsule" Tab.
    You will see "Time Capsule Name:" and "Time Capsule Password".
    Make sure “Remember password in keychain" is checked.
    That is the information you need to enter when it asks for "username & password."
    *I Don’t Remember What My Time Capsule Password Is*
    You can see what your current TC password is by going into Keychain.
    Open your Keychain and select "login" from the Keychains pane in the top left. Highlight "Passwords" in the Category pane from the lower left.
    Sort all the items by Kind. Note everything labeled "Airport...". How many do you have listed? There should only be one "Airport base station password" for each base station that you have active. Also, there should only be one "Airport network password" for each network you have created. If there are more than these, then delete all but the ones with the most recent Modification date.
    To see what passwords are being stored, double-click your Time Capsules' entry. A new window will appear.
    Put a check beside "Show Password". You may be asked for your own Admin password so enter that.
    Now the Password field will display the password you entered into Airport Utility for your Time Capsule
    *It Still Won’t Accept the TC Name and Password*
    Launch Airport Utility --> Manual Setup.
    Select "Disks" in the tool bar above.
    Click the "File Sharing" tab.
    Is "File Sharing" checked? It should be.
    What is selected beside "Secure Shared Disks"? If it says "With Accounts" or "With a Disk Password" then the system will ask you for a password every time it mounts the TC hard disk. If you switch it to "With Time Capsule Password" then use the password you designated earlier in the “Time Capsule" tab. It should only ask you once and then never again - because you had checked "Remember password in keychain".
    If you have made any changes then click "Update".
    Let us know if this resolves your issue.
    Cheers!

  • How to set up for wireless through time capsule

    I have at&t u-verse but I disabled the wireless in u-verse modem and now have forgotten the steps to take to set up my time capsule but to wireless.  I had my time capsule used as wireless router before we moved to a different state but it has been a few months not that I was using the at&t wireless router and I didn't like it and my time capsule would not back up so that's when I realized I must disable my wireless in the At&t modem and use the time caspule wirelss.  Please help.  Thank you

    Power on the Time Capsule for a few minutes, then hold in the reset button firmly with a ball point pen or something similar for 10 seconds and release. Allow a full minute for the Time Capsule to restart to a slow, blinking amber light.
    Connect an Ethernet cable from one of the LAN <--> Ethernet ports on the back of the Uverse router to the WAN "O" port on the Time Capsule
    On your Mac, open up Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities > AirPort Utility
    Click on the Other WiFi Devices tab
    Click on the Time Capsule
    The setup utility will open up automatically and take a minute to analyze the connections then suggest a setup on a screen that looks like this:
    Type in a simple name that you want to use for the Wireless Network Name
    Type in a name that you want to use for the Time Capsule device
    Type in a password
    Verify the password
    Click Next
    The utility will set everything up for you in a minute or two. When you see the message of Setup Complete on the screen, click Done
    You can now log onto the wireless network that you created by selecting the name and entering the password
    Post back on your progress and we will next get backups going again

  • Can I connect my Airport Extreme Time Capsule via ethernet to another router (non-Apple)?

    I've been trying to figure this out for a few hours and have gotten nowhere. I have an Archer C7 AC1750 router set up in my office, connected to my Zoom 5341 DOCSIS 3.0 Modem; this has been my main router and has worked fine. I have moved some things around and now have my PS3 and PS4 in my master bedroom but can no longer hook them up via ethernet to the Archer C7. I have run ethernet through the attic into the master bedroom and want to use my Airport Extreme Time Capsule as a way to hook up the consoles via ethernet. If I can use the Airport Extreme to extend my wireless network back to the bedrooms that is even better, although that is an afterthought.
    I am not sure what the settings need to be to make this happen. I have searched and tried a number of things but have not found a working solution.
    Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    Please start over with a default reset on the Time Capsule. This will not affect any of the stored data that you might have on the drive. You can use the same device name and password that you used before if you wish.
    Power up the Time Capsule for a few minutes. Then hold in the reset button firmly for 10 seconds and release. Allow a full minute for the Time Capsule to restart to a slow, blinking amber light.
    Make sure that the Ethernet cable connection from the Archer router connects to the WAN "O" port on the Time Capsule
    Open up AirPort Utility
    Click on Other WiFi Devices
    Click on Time Capsule xxxxxx
    AirPort Utility will suggest a setup, which you want to ignore
    Instead, click the Other Options button
    Select the Create a new wireless network setting and click Next
    In the Network Name box, enter the exact name of your Archer wireless network
    In the Base Station name box, enter a name that you want to use for the Time Capsule device
    Uncheck the box to use a single password
    In the Network Password box, enter the password for the Archer wireless network
    Verify on the next line
    In the Base Staion box, enter a password that you want to use as a device password for the Time Capsule
    Verify on the next line
    Click Next and wait while the AirPort Utility creates a network
    Ignore the step about unplugging the modem and click Next
    Do not enable the Guest Network option and click Next
    Wait while the network is being set up. When you see the message that the wireless network is available, click Done
    The Time Capsule will now appear in AirPort Utility with a blinking amber light
    Click on the Time Capsule icon, and then click on Edit in the next small box that appears
    Click the Network tab at the top of the window
    Change the setting for Router Mode from DHCP and NAT to "Off (Bridge Mode)"
    Click Update at the lower right and click Continue
    Wait a full minute for the Time Capsule to restart and you should have a green light
    It would be an excellent idea to power off both the Time Capsule and Archer router now, wait a minute, then start the Archer router and let it run a minute. Then, start the Time Capsule up and give it a minute
    You should be all set. The Ethernet ports on the Time Capsule are now operable and the wireless network has been extended using AES encryption.

Maybe you are looking for