Using external drive via Time Capsule to back up Media

I installed a 500 GB Time capsule and connected an Iomega USB 2.0 1TB drive. My goal is to use the ITB drive as my media drive for my MB Pro. I want to use the drive as my library for iTunes and iPhoto. I want to use time machine to backup my MB Pro but since my photos and music are on the attached drive it is not backing up those items. I tried to put an alias of the iphoto library and itunes library but it is only making a back up of the alias's. Is there a better way to set this up so I can back up those items on my 1TB drive as well as the MB Pro? I set this up this way because the Media was taking up 80% of the 160 GB hard drive space and was causing a drastic slow down in performance.

I want to use time machine to backup my MB Pro but since my photos and music are on the attached drive it is not backing up those items.
Sorry ... Time Machine will only backup your Macs internal hard disk or any external hard disks physically attached to the Mac. Time Machine can not backup one remote device (Time Capsule) to another remote device (AirPort Disk) or vice versa.

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Use external drive for Time Capsule backups AND file storage?

I have an external drive formatted by my MBP. I'm using it to store my iTunes music library and iPhoto pics. Can I use the drive for Time Capsule backups as well?

Yes, but that is not recommended. Storage and backup should be kept separate to reduce the chances of a disk failure. This is especially important because you cannot even partition a Time Capsule drive. Go get a separate drive for your storage needs. Get another drive for a second backup and use a different method of backup than Time Machine

Can I back up to rotating external drives via Time Capsule

Hello,
     Right now, I've got a great system for backup using Time Machine, rotating two USB external drives. Every couple of weeks when one of my family members comes to visit, he brings one drive and we swap it for the one that's been doing the backup. That way we always have one backup off site, and we are likely to never lose more than a couple weeks of content if something happens to the local backup.
     Now, we're starting to need to back up at least two other computers in the house, preferably wirelessly. Time Capsule sounds like a great option, but I need to know: can I continue to use my rotating drive scheme with a time capsule, attaching alternating USB drives every couple of weeks? I think I've read elsewhere that you can tell Time Capsule to not use the internal drive (which would probably be best for our system).
     Please let me know, thanks!
     Tiger

You do not need the Time Capsule.. the new airport extreme would work just as well. (or should do so if Apple are keeping up with things).
You simply will exchange the USB drive.. TM can choose which drive you backup to on the network.. if you do use a Time Capsule you do not choose backup on the TC.. it is still done in TM.
BUT there is no need to use AE at all.. you can backup using Time Machine to shared USB drive on the network.. that is effectively the same thing.
See http://code.stephenmorley.org/articles/time-machine-on-a-network-drive/

So you CAN or CANNOT use external drive with Time Capsule...

I was posting earlier and was told you CAN'T plug an external HDD into a Time Capsule and have it be recognized (some said you had to plug it into a USB hug first.)
Then I find this - http://www.brighthub.com/computing/mac-platform/articles/48709.aspx
Then before posting this I find others that say you CAN. So what's the deal? Can I or can I not plug in a USB external HDD and have access to it?

The link that you posted is a bit out of date, but the information in the article is correct.
You can connect an external USB drive to a Time Capsule (or AirPort Extreme) if the following conditions are met:
The drive is formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Most store bought drives are pre-formatted for Windows in a format called NTFS which will not work the Time Capsule. You have to use Disk Utility on your Mac to re-format the drive to work correctly with the Time Capsule.
Use a powered USB hub as the USB port on the Time Capsule is a bit under powered and it will not supply enough current for some drives. As a general rule....use a powered USB hub....even if the hard drive has its own power supply.
At times, I have had 3 drives from differerent manufactures all hooked up simultaneously into a powered USB hub which in turns connects to the USB port on the Time Capsule. No problems at all.
There are never any guarantees, but if you follow the guidelines, chances are good that your drive will work just fine.

How to retrieve files on external HDD via Time Capsule?

I have external HDDs connected to Time Capsule but when I access those HDDs, they don't show the files that were stored in them. However, when I check the "Get Info" on those HDDs, it shows how much capacity is used and how much is available. How can I retrieve my files on those external HDDs via Time Capsule? Many thanks for your help!!

How is the drive formatted?
Does it show up in the airport utility?
TC has very restricted ability to read HFS+ (ie standard Mac format) or Fat32.

I have used Airport Time Capsule with my iMac for several years. I recently purchased a MacBook Air and when it tried to backup to Time Capsule it couldn't because Time Capsule is full. How can I now use the 3TB Airport Time Capsule to back up both?

I have used Airport Time Capsule with my iMac for a couple years. I recently purchased a MacBook Air and when it tried to backup to Time Capsule it couldn't because Time Capsule is full. How can I now use the 3TB Airport Time Capsule to back up both the iMac and MacBook Air? I don't mind losing earlier backups. I have excluded some items from backing up, but since the Airport Time Capsule is full, I can't even begin to back up the MacBook Air.

On your Mac.......
Open Finder > Applications > Utilities > AirPort Utility
Click on the Time Capsule icon, then click Edit in the smaller window that appears
Click on the Disks tab at the top of the window
Click Erase Disk
On the next window that appears, select the Quick Erase option, then click Erase
The operation will only take a few minutes.
Now you are ready to start new backups of both Macs. Back up one Mac first, then back up the other. Do not try to back up both Macs as the same time.

I recently purchased a brand new Airport Time Capsule 2TB. I already am using the previous generation time capsule to back up all my computers data. May I ask how can I complement the usage with my new time capsule?

I recently purchased a brand new Airport Time Capsule 2TB. I already am using the previous generation time capsule to back up all my computers data. May I ask how can I complement the usage with my new time capsule?

By default your new Time Capsule will broadcast an unsecured wireless network with a network name of something like: Apple Network NNNNNN
Most likely your iMacs will be connected to the wireless network created by the Virgin Media router. However, both should see the Apple Network under the AirPort icon's drop-down menu as another wireless network that they can connect to. Is this not the case?

Time Machine won't back up external drive to Time Capsule

I recently got a Time Capsule, and successfully set it up to back up my iMac's primary drive, but for some reason Time Machine won't back up my external drive to the Time Capsule.
I removed the external drive from the exclusion list in System Preferences > Time Machine > Options, and from what I've read this should be sufficient to make Time Machine back up the drive.
The external drive is connected to my iMac via Thunderbolt > Thunderbolt-to-Firewire adaptor > Firewire 800 input, and the Time Capsule is connected via Ethernet to my LAN.
Since I'm using Ethernet, I've disabled Wi-Fi on the Time Capusule by going to AirPort Utility > My Time Capsule > Edit > Wireless > Network Mode > Off.
The reason I believe the external drive is not being backed up is because when I click the Time Machine icon in the upper-right status bar and choose "Enter Time Machine", none of the folders on external drive show any older versions.
Furthermore, when I click Finder > Time Machine Backups > Backups.backupdb, I can see only one sub-folder which has the name of my iMac's primary drive. I can't see any equivalent folder for my external drive.
Any idea what I'm doing wrong?

I don't see anything you have done wrong.. perhaps it does backup in a different way.
Load the widget.. A1 here... http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
That will allow you to track the log of TM to see what it is doing.
I would also try rebooting the computer.. exclude the drive again.. reboot.. and remove the exclusion.
You should be able to check the actual settings of TM in plist file.
And you can do a full reset of TM as well.. See A4. Check what is in the file. Pondini lists the location for you.
Nothing surprises me with Mountain Lion ...!!

Backing up an external drive to Time Capsule

I have an external 1 TB Toshiba drive filled with my iTunes library. I'd like to have it back up to my Time Capsule like my previous, smaller external drive. Every time I go to Time Machine Preferences and remove it from the "Exclude these items from backups" list it seems like it will back up like I want it to. Then, when the backup gets going, I notice it isn't being included. When I go back to the "Exclude these items from backups" list again the external drive has reappeared like I never removed it. The drive didn't come formatted for Mac. Would that have something to do with it? It works fine with the iTunes library. Thank you.

The drive didn't come formatted for Mac. Would that have something to do with it? It works fine with the iTunes library.
That likely has everything to do with it. Time Machine insists on a drive that is formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Your Mac will work with other drive formats. Time Machine will not.
Temporarily, connect the drive directly to the USB port on your Mac.
Open Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility
Click on the drive in the left panel to highlight it
Look at the information in the bottom of the window to see the drive format
What is it?

ITunes Library on External Hard Drive via Time Capsule and plugged in directly to laptop when away from home

To save space on my macbook pro I would like to export my iTunes library onto an external usb hard drive. So that I don't have to have the hard drive plugged in to my laptop all the time when I am at home I would like to plug it into a Time Capsule and access it over my wireless network. This is the simple part that I am confident about setting up.
The tricky part is as follows. When I take my laptop out of the house when I am traveling I would like to still be able to access my iTunes library by plugging the external usb hard drive directly into my laptop as I will not be able to access my home network anymore.
I know this will potentially break all of the tracks in my iTunes library as the file paths will change as it will be plugged directly into my laptop rathern than via the Time Capsule. Does anybody know of a way to quickly fix all of the broken tracks in the library or a way I could achieve the above?
I hope someone can help me

I have nothing wireless in the house and no experience with Time Capsules. However, as long as the drive appears on the desktop in both scenarios there should be no problem. If there is, hold down the option key while starting iTunes and guide it to the library.itl file on the external drive.
Do not confuse moving your library with moving your media, as many people do. Your library is your whole iTunes folder. You move it by copying the whole folder to the other drive and starting iTunes with the option key as above. If you want to move only media you do so through preferences settings in iTunes,making sure you organize (consolidate) your media so it actually copies it to the other drive. There are advantages and disadvantages to either situation, but generally unless you are going to have media on one several drives, or you plan on sharing media but not library listings with other users, you are best off moving teh whole library. Moving the whole library also has less potential for resulting in broken links since your library is all in one package and not split across drives.

Using iPod as external drive on Time Capsule

I have searched the web for more than an hour without really finding anything on the topic. Is it possible?
When I connect the iPod to the TC, I can't find it in Finder. iPod screen does light up, but battery meter doesn't change to "charging".
I have checked with some old usb stick, and everything seems ok.

Unfortunately, as you have discovered, an iPod won't work with the USB port on the Time Capsule. The controller inside will only recognize certain devices. See this KB articel for the uses of the USB ports on various Airport devices:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2421
Cheers!

Recognizing Time machine files after moving external drive to time capsule

I have a LaCie external hard drive that contains my time machine backups, and would like to attach it to my time capsule (in the basement) to free up desk and usb space. When I attach it to the capsule the drive is recognized, but it does not recognize the backup files. As it stands if I select the drive from time machine it will start to back up all over again using only the remaining space on the drive.
My options are to reformat the drive and start over, losing my previous backups, or I can find a way for time machine to recognize the existing files on that drive. Does anybody know a way to do this?
Any advice would be appreciated:)

Network backups are in a different format than local backups. The network backups are contained in a disk image. Although it's theoretically possible to copy the existing backup folder to that image, I wouldn't give much for your chances of success.
A much better plan would be to keep the drive as it is, continuing to use it for local backups at least intermittently, and start a new backup on another drive. You need more than one backup to be safe anyway.

Restore External Drive From Time Capsule

For reasons that I won't bore you with, I needed to perform a complete restore of of my MacBook Pro. My Time Capsule has been backing up the 'Pro's HD and a single external HD. Folowwing the instructions (boot from Snow Leopard install disk, run updates and select migrate from Time Machine, everything worked out perfectly, plus I have a clean system. However, the external drive was not restored. It's where my music and photos are stored (although I do have off DVD back-ups as a fall back plan). I cannot enter Time Machine. I get the message that "Your Time Machine backup disk can't be found. I can see it in the finder sidebar Shared>"name" Time Machine>Frank MacBook Pro 00264....sparsebundle.
Is there a method to get my Time Machine Back ups back. I'm guessing the problem is related to the newly installed OS. Thanks in advance for any help.

Start with a "full reset" of Time Machine, per #A4 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.
If that doesn't work, try the +*Browse ...+* option, per #E2 there.
The full system restore, starting with your Install disc, only restores volumes with OSX mounted.
To restore a data-only volume, use the normal "Star Wars" display. See #15 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions, especially the notes below the second screen sample.
If the original drive is no longer connected, you'll need the procedure in #E3 of Troubleshooting to locate the backups, and restore to an alternate location (the replacement drive -- even if it has the same name as the original, OSX knows it's a different one).

External drive and time capsule/time machine

Just purchased external hard drive and moved iPhoto library and iMovie clips to external hard drive. Have been using time capsule/time machine to back up computer. Added new external hard drive to time machine backup, but backups seem to hang up when preparing files for external drive. What is going on? Still running Snow Leopard, on iMac.

Hello, vascocaco.
If I understand correctly, you're wondering if you can use your Time Capsule's internal hard disk both for Time Machine backups and as an ordinary drive. Is this your question?
You can, but Time Machine backups may take longer.
To do it, you should partition your Time Capsule's hard disk to create one volume for the backups and one for other files.

How to clone external drive to time capsule drive

My previous set up was TM running on the TC drive with a USB drive that has my iTunes library. Because my TC ran out of space for two computers doing backup I had to buy a larger USB drive and swap their purposes. So I got the TM backups archived to the new USB pretty easily. But I am at a loss for how to transfer the old USB with my iTunes library to the TC disk. It doesn't show up in Disk Utility or Carbon Copy Cloner as an available drive. I'm worried that it won't accurately transfer the data if I just do a drag and drop in Finder, screwing up my library. So:
1) Is there a way to clone a USB drive to the TC drive?
2) If not, will I be facing a huge iTunes mess if I just copy the files using Finder?

Just drag and drop the iTunes library from the USB drive to the Time Capsule.

Using external drive via Time Capsule to back up Media

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