Time machine wirelessly with Airport Express

I am curious if I can backup my MBP with Time Machine wirelessly through my Airport Express. I have attached my external HD to my AE via USB cable and it does not appear on the desktop. It would simply make backing up more convenient.

If you mean an Airport Extreme, yes, you may be able to do that, but backing-up that way is unreliable and not supported by Apple. See: Using Time Machine with an Airport Extreme Air Disk.
If you mean an Airport Express, no, it doesn't support connecting a hard drive at all.

Similar Messages

How can I back up with Time Machine using an Airport Express on LaCie D2 NAS

I want to use Time Machine through my Airport Express to back up my computer onto my LaCie D2 NAS. But curently when I "choose a drive" in Time Machine it finds my Airport Express and says there is nothing there.

Disks You Can Use

How to extend wireless with airport express and time capsule

So, I have a time capsule & because of the thick walls in my apartment, I can barely use my ipad and iphone at night in my bedroom! (my macbookPRO stays at 3 bars however!)
I bought an airport express thinking I could plug it closer to or inside my bedroom to boost the signal - but it doesn't seem to work that way - any tips on how to set this up?
TWO ADDITIONAL Qs:
Does connecting directly to my time capsule (which i'm assuming i'd need another ethernet cable) help with the boost? (then negates the other great uses for the airport express it seems)
Isn't there a way to do the boost with the express wirelessly? I'd really love to get wireless speakers, use airplay AND be able to use my devices just two rooms away .... HELP!
thanks so much (when did apple phone support start to be closed on Sundays?)
cheers.

Suggest that you check your setup again to make sure that the settings are correct on both the Time Capsule and AirPort Express.
Open AirPort Utility, select the Time Capsule and click Manual Setup
Click the Wireless tab below the row of icons
Make sure that a check mark is entered next to "Allow this network to be extended".( If the box is not checked, the Time Capsule will not extend to the AirPort Express)
Click Update to save your settings and close AirPort Utility
Next, open AirPort Utility again, select the AirPort Express and click Manual Setup
Click the Wireless tab
Settings should look like this:
Wireless Mode = Extend a wireless network
Wireless Network Name = Same name as the Time Capsule network
Check mark entered next to "Allow wireless clients"
Wireless Security = Same setting as the Time Capsule
Wireless Password = Same password as the Time Capsule network
Confirm Password
Update to save settings and close AirPort Utility
Locate the AirPort Express approximately half way between the Time Capsule and area that needs more wireless coverage. You may need to experiment on placement to find the best compomise.
Post back on your results.

Help: Set up Time Machine Drive with Airport Extreme

I've read a few posts on this topic, none of which addressed my specific issue, but all of which stated that this functionality is not officially supported. I really hope this is not true because I bought my Airport Extreme and Hard Drive based on numerous Apple Store clerks assuring me that this was possible. So any help would be most appreciated. Here's the details/story:
I have a 13" MBP 2.53ghz, running 10.5.8 I've been backing up to a local 1TB HDD over FW800 since July with no problems.
I bought an Airport Extreme and am trying to move the drive to the AE to back up wirelessly. Here's what's happened so far:
1. I connected the drive with USB to the AE. It mounted no problem and I could see all my backups easily, but Time Machine did not recognize it as my back up drive. When I used the "Change Drive" button in the hopes of "finding" the drive, it just tried to start a new Time Machine back up set, wirelessly. So I think the broad concept is working, it just a matter of getting TM to recognize the back up set.
2. I plugged the drive in locally with USB (rather than FW800) and did a back up, no problem. After doing this, and plugging the drive back into the AE, TM no recognizes my backup set as mine, and tries to start the next backup, but I got an error message about not being able to write to the drive.
3. I did some reading online to get some ideas, I used Disk Utility to verify and repair the drive (over USB locally) Disk utility did find some errors, but it didn't seem like anything major.
4. Now, TM really starts to get going doing a backup, but when it actually comes time to transfer/write the new data over, I get an new error, that my drive is not formatted as a Mac OS Extended (Journaled). I use disk utitilty again, which confirms that the drive IS Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and is partitioned GUID (which I read is also a requirement)
And this is where I am. Any one have any ideas?
Thanks in advance for your help.

TSomers wrote:
I'd hate to think it's just to sell their $500 2TB Timecapsule (which is more than 2x the cost of competing 2Tb drives). Maybe Apple should share their secret sauce with the other drive makers so that they all can work.
Though you seem to hate it, you have indeed hit the nail... I also had issues with USB attached drives on my AEBS (Airport Extreme Base Station). This problem occurred before Apple had the policy statement in place and they ended up exchanging my AEBS, since it was crashing the AEBS when the USB drive did not become accessible (it was a WD brand that didn't play nice with any USB connection, as it later turned out). I suspect there was nothing wrong then with my original AEBS' USB connection, but the replacement was more reliable overall however, so it proved a boon. Perhaps Apple learned something from my previous problems.
Anyway, Apple is not without its reasons for this policy. That's the long story.
Short story? Use supported configurations only if you want a reliable backup. In my case, can easily move my drive to a Mini and have it run in a supported configuration whether by sparse bundle format or otherwise.
Network connections do indeed format the way described. You can check this very thorough article...Suggest you read the unofficially sanctioned discussion list article by Pondini (kudos for your thoroughness, sir/madam!) first. Many great suggestions and nifty storage ideas to maximize your use of available media in your particular situation will come from a careful reading.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1964018

Time Machine wireless with Lion?

I've been using an AirPort Extreme with an external 1TB hard drive plugged in to the USB port for Time Machine with Snow Leopard. When I upgraded to Lion, it started failing - about once a month Time Machine would decide it had to do a whole new backup from scratch. Apple support tole me that this configuration is "not supported".
I don't like having to shell out $299 for what amounts to a new AirPort with a hard drive included. Is there any other alternative to wireless Time Machine under Lion?
Walt

HACKINT0SH wrote:
We had a couple firmware versions out a while back to support this.
No. There was an update early in Leopard that made it possible, and many blogs, etc., claimed that meant Apple supported it, but it has never been supported by Apple.
A little history: Time Machine was introduced with Leopard. Some of the pre-release info did say it would work, and it was tested (with mixed results) during the beta period, but when Leopard was publicly released, it did not work and was not supported. Some folks discovered that they could use that configuration anyway by employing a Terminal command that allowed "unsupported" destinations. A few months later (about 10.5.4, I think), that command was no longer necessary -- apparently to allow backing-up to USB disks connected to Time Capsules and/or 3rd-party NAS drives that meet Apple's requirements. That's what some incorrectly assumed was Apple support.
Bottom line: It's usuallly unreliable. If you value your data, use a more reliable destination. See Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #2.

Will time machine work with airport extreme?

Hi all, is there a way to create a time machine back up on a USB disk that is attached to an airport extreme? I've tried it a couple of different ways and it's not seeming that it works very well. Any help would be appreciated.

I've tried several configurations all of which started with formatting the drive with a single partition Mac OS Extended (Journaled) GUID.
The first configuration was where I did a 100GB Time Machine Backup to the drive while it was connected (so I wouldn't have to deal with a slow first backup over wireless, because my MacBook Pro is of the older 802.11G wireless versus N). Then moved the drive over to my Airport Extreme, mounted the drive and started the backup. It failed with the following error message "The backup volume is not in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format, which is required."
The second configuration was where, after reformatting to single partition to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) GUID, I connected the drive directly to the Airport Extreme without having done a Time Machine Backup. After mounting the drive, I started Time Machine and it began to run. I left it over nite to back-up and, while it got started, it did not make it past about 9GB after over 6 hours and it stopped.
Trying the second configuration again...and it is running but 7 hours later 25 of 101GB done.
Thanks for any insight!
Happy New Year

THe Disk of the Time Capsule cannot be written by Time Machine when an Airport Express is bridged to it by Ethernet

Whenever I add an Airport Express in Bridging Mode to the existing WiFi network of the Time Capsule (both connecting to the same GigaBit Ethernet ADSL modem router, Time Machine (and Finder) cannot backup to the Time Capsule Disk.
(Why do I need to add another Airport Express to the same WiFi network? Because I want to use the AirPlay jack on the Airport Express to output audio signals.)
If I unplug the power of the Airport Express, everything back to normal.
What's the problem?

Hello Ivan H
Try using the setup process in the Connecting to an existing Wi-Fi network, exclusively for iTunes music section of the article below and set it up wirelessly as opposed to a wired connection between the two base stations.
Wi-Fi base stations: How to set up and configure AirPort Express for AirPlay and iTunes
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4587
Regards,
-Norm G.

Can two macs use same disk for Time Machine backup with Airport Extreme?

Hi
I use a Western Digital disk as a wireless Time Machine backup connected to the USB port on my Airport Extreme and it works great. My question is: can my girlfriend use that same disk for Time Machine backup from HER computer too? (I don't mind formatting the disk if needed.)
If she can't, is it then possible to connect a USB hub and have two disks hooked up to the Airport Extreme?
Thanks for helping. I am constantly in awe of all the help people like you give people like me. Thanks!!!
Jakob

I've gone through the manual setup and the assisted setup and can't seem to get my MacBook to use the Time Machine. Any thoughts or help would be greatly appreciated.
Well, as the Jolly Giant points out....+this type of configuration is not supported by Apple+, so it's difficult, if not impossible, to provide a fix for something that Apple says that you cannot do. Reference these Apple Support documents regarding this topic:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2038
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/15139.html
Your situation is not unlike other users who try this and find that one computer may backup...(usually for a limited time before corruption issues start to creep in)...but another computer cannot backup. Count me as one of those users who thought that because things seemed to work that I had somehow "beat the system".
I started getting the corruption error messages after 4-5 weeks of successful backups, so I figured that it did not make sense to continue to try to get a second computer to backup (yes, I too could not setup a second Mac to backup).
Sorry, I could not get a second machine to backup, so can't tell you how to accomplish that goal. If you want to continue to try backing up this way, you might want to also think about a second backup strategy...just in case backups become corrupted on the WD drive.
Maybe if Apple says you cannot do this, they just may be right?
Message was edited by: Bob Timmons

HT5304 what is the best way to connect my imac wireless with airport express or directly plugged into airport unit

what is the best way to connect my imac to internet via airport express. wireless or ethernet plug to airport? thanks

Hello quinstar,
It sounds like you would like to use either your Personal HotSpot to AirPrint from your MacBook Pro or use an Airport to do so without internet access to the home. According to the following Featured Discussion you very well may be able to use AirPrint with Personal HotSpot:
HT4356 Can I use personal hotspot as wifi to connect printer?
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4007254
Also, the Airport products to not need an active internet connection to set up a home Wi-Fi connection so that is another option as well.
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
Take care,
Sterling

What else do I need to configure my wireless with AirPort Express?

This is what I have. iMac PowerPC G4 (2.1) without Airport Card, AirPort Express and a couple of laptops with Airport capability. Is there any way to configure wireless for all computers with what I have?

Would that be an AirPort card?
If the clock speed of your iMac G4 is 700 or 800 MHz, it is ONLY compatible with the original 802.11b AirPort card. It is NOT compatible with the AirPort Extreme card.
If the clock speed of your iMac G4 is 1 GHz or&greater, it is ONLY compatible with the AirPort Extreme card. It is NOT compatible with the original AirPort card.
If you need the AirPort Extreme card, it is still made and sold by Apple.
If you need the original AirPort card, Macsolutions.com seems to have some.

Printing wirelessly with Airport Express to HP psc1350 suddenly stopped

I have an imac G5 running OS X 10.3.9. I am wirelessly connected to a router (D-Link 624) to run the internet and am also wirelessly connected to an airport express to print to my HP psc 1350. I set all this up myself and it was running without any problems. However, I decided that it was probably best to add some level of security to my internet connection so added WPA security into the mix. I had to reset the airport express and connect it back up to the network (which took me a little time to work out, but I managed to do it!) and then I tested the printer and it worked perfectly. A couple of days later I needed to print something so turned the printer on again and nothing. I kept getting an error about printer connection failing. So I thought, I'll unistall the HP software and reinstall it from the CD. Nope - the CD refused to install. So, I went to the hp page and found what I thought was the right software, and installed it and that seemed to install but not help the matter. I can see the printer under Rendezvous, but it says "driver not installed". Plugging the printer directly into the imac works fine so the driver must be installed. What I can't understand is that it all worked fine before, and even after I changed the security settings so surely that can't be the problem. But how do I get it back?

I had no choice but to run through the HP installer from the CD - there was no option to install the driver separately. I uninstalled the downloaded software that I had installed thinking it would fix it! The CD is old (well, at least 2 years old) so I don't think there is any chance the software on the installer could be too new. I had previously set up the printer to print wirelessly and it worked like a dream. I am positive that I did not go to that much trouble when I originally installed it - I would have given up! So it seems strange when I go through what I presume I did before that it won't work now. I thought macs were supposed to be easy - I guess it is if it is plug & play, but once something goes wrong it is hard to find what the problem is - especially for non-technical people like me!
Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Making regular USB computer speakers wireless with Airport Express

I have a pair of computer speakers that have a USB port. I own an Airport Extreme. If I buy an Airport Express, can I plug the speakers USB into the Airport Express and play those speakers wirelessly?
Thanks

Hey, I'm very new to apple (had my macbook 2 days and
loving it!) and not very technically minded when it
comes to networks but, is it possible to connect a
hard drive to the airport express unit?
No
I know its
intended for a printer, but I cant find out if a hard
drive would work, and if it will, could I connect 2
items using a usb hub?
No
AirPort Express: Uses for the USB port
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107857
Though with the new 802.11n Airport Extreme it is possible with that device to add multiple hard drives
http://www.apple.com/airportextreme/sharing.html
Last question... is it
possible to connect a mac to a shared printer on a
windows pc
Yes
Printing to a printer on a XP PC from a Mac running 10.4.x
http://tech.ifelix.net/3015.html
iFelix

Time Machine Work With Airport?

I am looking to buy a MacBook Pro and so am considering getting an Airport router so that I can plug in my printers via a USB powered hub that I already have.
Is it feasible to also use USB to plug in an external hard drive and expect the MBP to recognize it for use with TimeMachine?
If I were to do the initial backup using firewire 800 and then switch to the USB for incremental backups does that work?
And by the way are Time Machine backups bootable as SuperDooper ones are?

Thank you,
I am pretty much resigned to going with Firewire 800 and plugging/unplugging the cable as necessary.
However I wonder why it is such a bad idea? If it works I would be able to do backups where ever I am working in my studio instead of the odd times I would be working at the desk where the external drive is located. It is also my experience that if you have to plug in something that is non-essential (anything other than power, mouse and keyboard) that the plug ins will be forgotten when in a hurry or distracted.
Is it the speed of the airport connection that makes it a bad idea? Or something else?
My understanding is that Apple originally intended Airport Extreme to work with Time Machine, but that they dropped support for it subsequently. If true then Apple appears to have thought it a good idea at one time.

Set up wireless with Airport Express and PC

i have ditched my cable/internet provider and use a service that brings the internet right to my apartment . I can access it with an ethernet cord. Airport Express was recommended even after I said I had a PC. I downloaded the airport utility. This where I am confused. I used one cord to plug the airport device to the wall where th internet comes in from. I used another ethernet cord between the AE device and my computer. i then went through the set up without a problem. When I unplug the cord between my computer and AE device my computer does not connect wirelessly. It does see other networks. When everything was plugged in i walked through the set up without any problems. Did I do something wrong with the cord set up?
Previously the computer had no problem with wireless access.

Typically when you get Internet from a wall socket there is either a modem or modem/router combination upstream of it that is providing the Internet service. In this case you will want to configure your AirPort Express as a bridge. Is this what you did?

Continue Time Machine Backup with AirPort Extreme

Hi,
if've done my backup via usb, now i am owning an AirPort Extreme and would continue my backup; but Time Machine had start a new backup, how can i continue my old backup.

yes, I'm aware of such procedures but it's not worth the trouble in this case as the OP has only done one backup. also, it would require a separate hard drive to put the sparse bundle on temporarily before cloning the current backup drive to the sparse bundle. lastly, no need to rsync in this situation. you can simply erase the external drive and copy the sparse bundle by hand back to the external once the cloning is finished. but all in all entirely not worth the trouble in this case.

Time machine wirelessly with Airport Express

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for