Time Machine in combination with Airport Extreme and an external disk

I have a MacBook upgraded from Tiger 10.4 to *Snow Leopard OS X 10.6.1.* I'm now using *Time Machine* to make back-ups on a *MiniMax external drive* through an USB connection. However, I wish to make wireless back-ups by connecting the external drive to my *Airport Extreme*. I learned that this wasn't possible until the recent release by Apple of the software update "*About Time Machine and AirPort Updates v1.0*". The minimum system requirement for this software update is OS X 10.5.2. I should think this requirement is met because I have upgraded to 10.6.1. But when I try to install the software I get the message that the system requirement is at least 10.5.2. and as a result *I can't continue installing*. Apparently my OS update is not recognized by the software. Is there a solution for this problem? Many thanks.

GJinAmsterdam wrote:
I have a MacBook upgraded from Tiger 10.4 to *Snow Leopard OS X 10.6.1.* I'm now using *Time Machine* to make back-ups on a *MiniMax external drive* through an USB connection. However, I wish to make wireless back-ups by connecting the external drive to my *Airport Extreme*. I learned that this wasn't possible until the recent release by Apple of the software update "*About Time Machine and AirPort Updates v1.0*".
this has been possible for a long time, since about February 2008 when those updates came out.
The minimum system requirement for this software update is OS X 10.5.2. I should think this requirement is met because I have upgraded to 10.6.1. But when I try to install the software I get the message that the system requirement is at least 10.5.2. and as a result *I can't continue installing*. Apparently my OS update is not recognized by the software. Is there a solution for this problem? Many thanks.
you don't need to install those updates. they are for leopard, not snow leopard. you should be fine as is. do keep in mind that TM backups to air disks are not "officially" supported but they have worked for a long time. also, keep in midn that you'll need to start a new backup sequence once you move the drive to AEBS as remote backups are stored differently from directly attached ones.

Similar Messages

Hard Drive for Time Machine for iMac with AirPort Extreme??

I just switched back to Mac after too many years with a PC. I bought an iMac 24" 2.8GHz with 4GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM and 750GB Serial ATA Drive.
I'm planning on adding an external hard drive for Time Machine to attach to my AirPort Extreme. From reading information posted on the Apple site and my AEBS I understand that it needs to be connected to the USB port on the AirPort Extreme.
While I may be opening up a technological "can of worms," I'd like to know what will be the most dependable drive 1TB, USB 2.0 that I can buy. Noise and bright lights are not a consideration here. I just want a drive that I can depend on to work with Time Machine. The "original" data will be stored elsewhere. I've heard of, read about and experienced so many hard drive failures that I'm getting "gun shy" about this subject. Please feel free to let me know what's good and bad. Thanks.

Here is a quote right from Apple's site today:
Quote:
AirPort Extreme lets you turn your external USB hard drive into a drive you can share with all the >users on your network. It’s called AirPort Disk, and it’s a simple and convenient way to share files >among everyone in your family, office, or class.
I tried to return my AEBS to Apple but I was a few days beyond their 14 day limit on returns (limit is bases on shipping date of the item in question, not when all parts of the shipment are received). Part of my reasoning with the Apple Store CS was the posts like yours saying that this couldn't be done. The Apple Store rep. and the tech. rep. that he claims that he spoke to said it could be done. The only way I could return the AEBS, according to the Apple Store CS rep., and get a new Time Capsule would be if I bought a hard drive and discovered that my AEBS would not work with the hard drive. No, I'm not a happy new customer. So, I want to buy a good, reliable hard drive and want to know which one to get.

How do I use time machine back up with airport extreme

I want to use my airport extreme to back up with time machine, I am not that good with computers, so could some one please explain to me how to do this.
Thanks
Ben

Unfortunately, Apple does not support Time Machine backups to a hard drive at the USB port of the AirPort Extreme due to corruption issues.
Despite this, some users who have tried this have success with this, some limited success and some no success.
Our recommendation would be to connect the hard drive directly to your computer and use Time Machine that way.
To do this, you would need to make sure that the hard drive is formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled), or buy a hard drive that has been pre-formatted for Mac. Then connect the drive to the USB port on the Mac.
After that, you would open System Preferences (gear icon on the dock), then open Time Machine to turn it ON, click Select Disk to select your hard drive and then click Use For Backup. That will get Time Machine backups going.

Time Machine over WiFi with Airport Extreme

I have had an iMac for 5 years with a WD 500 gb drive hardwired (Firewire 400) into the machine for use with Time Machine. I just got a new Macbook Pro 15". When I opened the machine, I migrated everything over from my old iMac using the Time Machine Backups drive. Everything was working fine and TM recognized all of my old backups.
A couple days later, I wanted to up the portability of the laptop so I plugged my drive in USB to my Airport Extreme. The Macbook immediately recognized the shared drive and every put a little "Time Machine Backups" icon mounted on the desktop. I went into the Time Machine preferences and designated the network drive as my backup drive. It seemed to be working but the first time it went to backup, it created a new .sparsebundle file, even though I still have the Backups folder full of the old backups. It then tried to create another .sparsebundle file with the same name as my computer but with a 1 at the end.
I went to my local Genius bar and the guy plainly said "Time Machine does not work wirelessly unless its a time capsule. (Sarcastically) The only people who can answer that question are the software engineers who designed Time Machine".
The fact that Time Machine and the MBP immediately recognized the wireless drive as a backup disk tells me that its possible to do it. Is there anyway to tell Time Machine to include all of the backups on the drive and not to start from scratch??
Thanks.

iliv4apl wrote:
But I was not using a new backup drive, it was the same drive, just different connection. How do I tell it to incorporate the backup files on the drive into the time machine program?
You can't. Time Machine stores it's backups differently when they're done over a network, and you can't switch between the two.
You might be able to copy the "local" backups to be used over the network. See #18 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).
And you need to know that backing up with Time Machine to a USB drive connected to an Airport Extreme is "iffy" and +*not supported by Apple.+* See Using Time Machine with an Airport Extreme Air Disk (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).

Nas on airport extreme not recognized by time machine. same nas was previously used as time machine backup on different airport extreme. are there any configuration files that i can delete to fix this problem ?

nas on airport extreme not recognized by time machine. same nas was previously used as time machine backup on different airport extreme. are there any configuration files that i can delete to fix this problem ?

Time Machine has been working just fine, but in the last week or two it has given up the ghost. I reset the connections to the drive, and it will basically save a few bytes of data and then hang.
Although Apple originally announced, prior to the release of the first 802.11n AirPort Extreme Base Stations (AEBSn), that it would support Time Machine backups to AirPort Disks, they removed that option before they did finally release the base station for sale.
Since then, Apple has posted (as you have noted) that they DO NOT support Time Machine backups to AirPort Disks. As far as I know, they have not changed from that position and those who do these backups find that they become corrupted over time. Sorry, but it sounds like you just confirmed that for yourself.
1) Has one of the recent updates either on the AE (firmware) or OSX disabled this function?
No. Again, this feature has never been supported by Apple for every generation of AEBSn released.
2) Are there any changes I can make to get this working again?
If your data backups are critical to you, then you will want to use a different solution for your Time Machine backup destination drive strategy. I would suggest that you connect your WD My Book directly to your Mac in the mean time.
Your other options would be to either use a Time Capsule (which interestingly does support TM backups to AirPort Disks) or a non-Apple solution like the Drobo FS or HP MediaSmart server.

Regarding the product time capsule...is the modem the same as airport extreme and is the disk drive always running? I'm worried about it lasting for at least five years.

Regarding the product Time Capsule... is the modem the same as the Airport extreme and is the disk drive always running??? I'm worried about it lasting at least five years.

John,
I'd pay good money to bet it wouldn't last 5 years... I don't rate the in built power supply and as for "server grade hard disk" - Hmmmm..... The failure rate of all HD's on the market after 3 year is 60%.
Regards,
Shawn

Can i use time machine with a airport extreme and a external hard drive

I have connected a hard drive to my airport extreme.
Now i would like to use time machine to back up my computers, and would like to do this on the hard drive which is connected to my airport extreme.
Next step is that i would like to be able to approach my external hard drive via the internet.
Is this possible or not?

Both are possible. However, Apple does NOT support Time Machine backups to AirPort Disks attached to the 802.11n AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBSn). Doing so will potentially lead to data corruption and is highly not recommended. Please check out this excellent Pondini article for more details. This article also provides the Apple Support references that states Apple's position. Bottom line? If your backups are critical to you, then you may want to rethink your backup solution.
As far as accessing the AirPort Disk from the Internet, the following is the basic steps to do so:
Start the AirPort Utility > Select the AEBSn, and then, note the IP address shown.
Select Manual Setup.
Verify that Connection Sharing = Share a public IP address is selected on the Internet > Internet Connection tab.
Select Disks, and then, select File Sharing.
Verify that both the "Enable file sharing" and "Share disks over WAN" options are enabled.
Verify that Secure Shared Disks = With a disk password. (Recommended)
Verify that AirPort Disks Guest Access = Not allowed. (Recommended)
Select Advanced, and then, select the Port Mapping tab.
Click the plus sign to add a new port mapping.
For Service, select the "Personal File Sharing" option. (Note: This option would only allow Mac clients to access the AirPort Disks. If you want both Macs and PCs to connect, you would need to leave this field at its default value and enter the appropriate SMB ports to the mix of ports to be opened.)
In the Public UDP Port(s) and Public TCP Port(s) boxes, type in a 4-digit port number (e.g., 8888) that you choose. In the Private IP Address box, type the internal IP address of your AEBSn that you wrote down in step 1. In the Private UDP Port(s) and Private TCP Port(s) boxes, type 548. Click Continue.
In the Description box, type a descriptive name like "AirPort Disk File Sharing," and then, click Done.
Click on Update.
To connect to the shared AirPort Disk from a remote location using a Mac:
From the Finder > Go > Connect to Server.
Enter the Pubic (WAN-side) IP address of the AEBSn, followed by a colon and the Public port number that you choose in step 11 of the previous procedure. For example: afp://www.mydyndnsdomain.com:8888 or afp://123.456.789.123:8888
Click Connect.
You should be prompted for your user name and password. The user name can be anything you like; the password should be the Disk password for the AEBSn that you created in step 6 previously.
Click Connect.

Problem with Airport extreme and Time machine

I recently purchased a 320gig external hard drive for Time machine. I connected it to my Airport extreme but it is not being recognized for some unknown reason. If I directly connect it to my iMac it works perfectly. I've updated with the latest firmware and it should work via USB with Airport extreme. Any suggestions why it is not working?

angelop wrote:
I have used the following for about two years.
-MBP, Airport Extreme, External HD (1TB) for my time machine.
You probably know, that's "iffy" and +*not supported by Apple.+* See the Using Time Machine with a USB drive connected to an Airport Extreme *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum.
To get around this issue, I have switched off the Time Machine, and am only turning on once a week or so, to grab any changes or additions I've made. I've been doing this for about 6 months now with no problems.
Now whenever I do this, (It should only be backing up an album or two from iTunes,) it tries to back up my whole system again. EVERY TIME. It did not do this before.
If you go too long between backups, Time Machine will do a new, full backup. And once it decides to do that, it will keep trying until it succeeds. There are some other possibilities as well. See #D2 in the Using Time Machine with a USB drive connected to an Airport Extreme *User Tip,* also at the top of the +Time Machine+ forum.
If none of those seem to explain it, see #A1 there; download the TM Buddy widget, copy and post the messages here.
Why are you only backing-up once a week? Time Machine was designed to back up changes hourly, as long as your Mac is awake and the TC is in range. It will protect you best that way, and unless there's a problem, those backups will usually be very quick.
But if you're only going to back up once a week or so, then Time Machine is not the best app for you. See Kappy's post on Basic Backup, complete with links to the web sites of each product.

How to Set Up Time Capsule With Airport Extreme and Airport Express

Just got a new 1TB Time Capsule. I want it to be the main base station for my network. I already have a network set up with an older Airport Extreme base station and an Airport Express to extend it. I am thinking that rather than setting up the Time Capsule to "join" the old network, the best approach is to disconnect the Airport Extreme and Airport Express and reset them. Then set up the Time Capsule as a brand new network and bring the reset Aiport Extreme and Express onto the new network as if my original network never existed.
Is that the right approach or am I complicating it? Can I just join the Time Capsule to the existing network and still make it the main base station for the network?

evelK wrote:
Just got a new 1TB Time Capsule. I want it to be the main base station for my network. I already have a network set up with an older Airport Extreme base station and an Airport Express to extend it. I am thinking that rather than setting up the Time Capsule to "join" the old network, the best approach is to disconnect the Airport Extreme and Airport Express and reset them. Then set up the Time Capsule as a brand new network and bring the reset Aiport Extreme and Express onto the new network as if my original network never existed.
Is that the right approach or am I complicating it? Can I just join the Time Capsule to the existing network and still make it the main base station for the network?
I'd first use AirPort Utility to "Save a Copy As" of your AirPort Extreme settings. Then disconnect it, connect the Time Capsule in its place, and use AirPort Utility's "Import" function to read those settings. (Both of those functions are under AirPort Utility's "File" menu.) You may have to adjust a few settings. Once you have the Time Capsule working as you want, you can reconfigure your AirPort Extreme unit as you wish.

Using a current Time Capsule with Airport Extreme and Airport Express Older generation

I am looking to achieve a fast local network that allows streaming of music and video. I have bought a Time Capsule to replace the Telstra router (Thomson Router) by linking it using ethernet cable and then set up a network that also uses and older airport extreme and express router (g standard).
It would appear that the local network speed is slow - how can I assess the connection speed in the local network - both wireless and for ethernet? I believe that there is a speed indication on my two older macs running OSX 10.5 but not in OSX 10.6. Is there a tool to assess the local network speed?
The current set up works less well than previously only using the Thomson router, so the initial results are very disappointing. Not even streaming music seems to work and it stutters to halt.
I had expected that the dual band functionality would allow fast local connections where needed. What do I need to change?
Thanks you.
Tom

Hi Bob,
The two old airports (extreme and express) are connected wirelessly to the time capsule base station with the following use:
- round extreme base station supports a printer only - remote WDS indicated in set up
- airport express supports remote speakers - set up does not indicate WDS status
I noticed in another note to provide a second network name to 5GHz network and connect the modern computers, ipad (seems to be able to connect) and apple tv to the 5 GHz network, leaving the other on the separate network. Also the two computers, apart from the laptops are connected via ethernet to use the GB ethernet, but I am not sure whether that speed is achieved or whether a firewire connection between the two would be better. use examples are:
1. Wirelessly I am trying to use three speakers - computer, apple tv and express - to have to listen to the same music in three rooms.
2. Over ethernet, I am using the the powermac as a file server to mac mini, but would like to be bale to access photo libraries (both Iphoto and Aperture) ideally over the network. It works well with starting the powermac in target disk mode but seems slow over what should be a very fast ethernet network.
The connection with the service providers router and time capsule is bridged - seems to be the only way of providing internet access - however, it also seems to allow for shared devices to be visible across the two time capsule and the Thomson network.
Obviously, this will need some more experimentation but any input would be appreciated.
Thank you and regards,
Tom
PS> Timezone wise I am currently living in Australia - must change my profile one day.....

Trouble with Airport Extreme and Time Capsule

Just got a new 2TB time capsule and added it to my network (existing Airport Express and Airport Extreme). All devices are hard-wire back-hauled to Linksys router. Set up was straight forward with no issues and initiated a time capsule back up without a problem. Within hours I noticed that the TC was no longer reachable in Finder.. Opening the AirPort utility, I saw that both the Extreme and the TC were "lost". Still had (green) internet connectivity, but the base stations were showing as off-line in the Airport utility.
Tried rebooting and checking from multiple other devices and no luck. Occasionally will find them both on-line in Airport utility, but seem to lose one (usually TC) after a short period. All are running the most up to date version of firmware (7.7.3). Prior to installing the TC, I had experienced 0 issues with Airport Express and Extreme.
Has anyone else seen similar issues? Are there settings that need to be accounted for in some way to avoid these frustrating "lost devices"?
thanks

Thank you for your quick answer, smorkerz. However, I did it and it doesn't work.
I tried to check separately the time capsule and the airport extreme, switching one off when using the other one. The result is that each one works alone but when I use them both, just time capsule appears, works well, and I can't use the airport to print for instance.
Do you understand anything ?

Cisco router RVS4000 with Airport extrem and Time capsule.

Problem droping connection to internet when is Time capsule in extended wifi mode. When I turn off wifi on time capsule Airport extreme work fine.
Airport extreme and Time capsule is conected via ETH.
Any idea ?
Thaks
B.

If you use ethernet to connect the AE and TC .. you must NOT extend wifi.. you use Create a wireless network. And setup with same name and security. You are using roaming network.. not extended wireless.. if you want to use extended wireless no ethernet
see http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4260

Read/Write speeds with Airport Extreme and USB Hard Drives

Anybody know how fast the read/write speeds are with a USB hard drive and the Airport Extreme Base Station?
My Setup
I have a 17 MBP (2010) and a 13 MBP (2011) - no SSD's
MBP generally connect via 802.11n 5Ghz with a very strong signal
Gigabit connection on a Windows Desktop
I have a variety of external drives (7200, 5400, Drobo) at varying capacity (320GB, 2TB, 5.6TB)
Goals
Backup: Time machine
Backup: File copies of pictures and home videos (greater than 1GB files)
Backup: Crashplan
File sharing: Aperture libraries--not sure if that is possible or practical. That is something that I need to research further...but on the off chance people have experience with it.
Thanks!

ishjen wrote:
Anybody know how fast the read/write speeds are with a USB hard drive and the Airport Extreme Base Station?
Welcome to Apple's discussion groups.
Apple's AirPort base stations aren't known for fast file serving, but for most purposed they're fast enough.
I can't comment specifically on your Aperture plan, but with some software it's important to avoid simultaneous access by more than one user.

How do i set up time capsule to work with airport extreme base to extend wireless network?

i have a airport extreme base, how do i set up a time machine to extend the wireless network i have with airport extreme? i have also 3 airport express's connected to the same network to extend my wifi all over my house. thanks in advance.

Much better graphics, thanks.
You can leave the Time Capsule connected by Ethernet from the Linksys and configure for a "roaming" network as mentioned previously.
To do this, open AirPort Utility - Manual Setup
Click the Wireless tab below the icons
Wireless Mode = Create a wireless network
Wireless Network Name = Same name as the AirPort Extreme
No check mark needed next to Allow this network to be extended
Radio Mode = Same setting as the AirPort Extreme
Channel = Automatic
Wireless Security = Same setting as the AirPort Extreme
Wireless Password = Same password as the AirPort Extreme
Confirm Password
Click the Internet icon, then the Internet Connection tab
Connect Using = Ethernet
Connection Sharing = Off (Bridge Mode)
Update to save settings and allow the Time Capsue to restart
Then power down the entire network
Wait a minute or two
Start the modem first and let it run a full minute
Start the AirPort Extreme the same way
Power up the switch
Power up the Time Capsule for a minute
Keep starting devices one at a time about a minute apart
Now, your computer will automatically pick up a wireless signal from either the AirPort Extreme or Time Capsule, whichever device is closer and providing the stronger signal.

Time Machine from USB to Airport Extreme

I recently bought a airport extreme and would like to move my Time Machine backup to the network so I'm not tied down all the time. However when I moved it to the network it wants to make a full machine backup (like it was starting from new). Is there any way to keep the backups going as they were without having to sacrifice 70GB on my drive or reformatting and losing my 2 years of backup?

Scooter1015 wrote:
I recently bought a airport extreme and would like to move my Time Machine backup to the network so I'm not tied down all the time.
note that TM backups to an USB drive connected to an airport extreme is not supported and may not work. _*Disks that can be used with Time Machine*_.
if you want to try, though, this will help: http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/AEQ2.html
However when I moved it to the network it wants to make a full machine backup (like it was starting from new).
the reason is that TM treats backups to a locally attached drive differently vs. networked drives.
see this: http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/18.html
JGG

Time Machine in combination with Airport Extreme and an external disk

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