Using the Time Capsule as an external HD

I am a DJ that has a lot of music and videos. Now that I have started mixing music videos for our shows, I am worried that my brand new mac is going to get too full of music and videos and start performing poorly.
I recently bought a TC to see if I could leave all my music and videos there.
Ideally, I would like to have multiple folders on my TC with music and videos. Depending on what type of gig we are performing, I would like to beable to drag and drop music videos from my TC to my PC before the performance begins.
Can I do this with the TC?

do you know if there are wireless external storage devices out there?
Wireless is going to be S----L----O-----W, like pouring thick syrup.
Suggest that you think about doing this the right way. Connect a FireWire hard drive directly to your Mac. Move all your media files there.
Then, use a Time Capsule to back up all the data on both your Mac and the FireWire drive.
This will provide top speed performance, and you will have backups of all your important data.

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Is there a way to use the time capsule as an external hard drive only and disable the wi-fi function ?

Is there a way to use the time capsule as an external hard drive only and disable the wi-fi function ?

Yes.
1) Connect an Ethernet cable from one of the LAN <--> ports on your existing wireless router to the WAN "O" port on the Time Capsule
2) Go through the standard configuration suggested by the setup "wizard"
3) Then manually turn off the wireless function using AirPort Utility

How can I use my Time Capsule as an external Hard Drive for my PC? My PC can't find it.

Hi, I just bought this Time Capsule for my home. I've got the internet access for all my devices (Mac, iPad, PC, iPhone) and I've got the Mac backup working through Time Machine. I'm supposed to be able to use the Time Capsule as an external drive for my PC, but I can't figure it out. My PC doesn't recognize the Time Capsule as a Network Place. I called AppleCare, but they don't have all the answers for "PC issues." They tried to get me to Map a Network Drive, but my PC popped up a window asking for a Username and Password. It looks like something similar to when I VPN into my company network from home.
I'm using Windows XP Professional, Version 2002, Service Pack 3.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!

Download and install the airport utility for windows.. it isn't strictly necessary but the bonjour service makes life easier.
The request for username and password is correct. Username is whatever you like.. but windows needs it.. so admin.. being the common router one.. password by default is public unless you changed it.
Now to get the TC to work properly..
1. The names should be SMB compliant.. by default they are wrong.. use short names, no spaces no special characters.. pure alphanumeric. That is for TC name and wireless names.
2. Wireless passwords should also be same use WPA2 private.
3. In the disk sharing page.. manual setup.. put in the windows workgroup name.. ie WORKGROUP.. this helps the discovery process.
4. In the same area, turn on the guest account to read and write.. not necessary but helps with later versions of windows particularly.
5. Access the drive by using the direct IP address. ie in Windows Explorer address bar, \\10.0.1.1 (or whatever IP the TC is at).

I want to set up the Time Machine and I would love to use the Time Capsule but since I already have a wireless router I need suggestions on what other external disks Apple could recommend to use with the Time Machine and how to configure that disk

I want to set up the Time Machine and I would love to use the Time
Capsule but since I already have a wireless router I need suggestions on
what other
external disks Apple could recommend to use with the Time Machine and
how to configure that disk.
A complication that I need to resolve is the fact that I am using Vmware
Fusion to be able to use Windows on my Mac. Now it seems that Time
Machine is not backing up my files
on that virtual Windows without additional configuration and my question
is whether you can advise me here or whether this is only a matter for
the Fusion virtual machine.

If you want to use Time Capsule you can.. you simply bridge it and plug it into the existing router.. wireless can be either turned off or used to reinforce the existing wireless.. eg use 5ghz in the TC which is much faster than your 2.4ghz.
You can also use a NAS.. many brands available but the top brands are synology, qnap and netgear readynas series. These will all do Time Machine backups although how well always depends on Apple sticking to a standard. There are cheaper ones.. I bought a single disk zyxel which was rebadged and sold through my local supermarket. It actually works very well for TM at least on Snow Leopard. Major changes were made in Lion and again ML so do not instantly think it will work on later versions. I haven't tried it yet with those versions.
Any external drive can be plugged into the mac. Use the one with the fastest connection or cheapest price according to your budget. USB2 drives are cheap and plentiful. But no where near as fast as USB3 or FW800. So just pick whichever suits the ports on your Mac. Interesting Apple finally moved to USB3 on their latest computers.
TM should exclude the VM partition file.. it is useless backing it up from Mac OS side.. and will slow TM as it needs to backup that partition everyday for no purpose.. TM cannot see the files inside it to backup just the changes.
You need to backup windows from windows. Use MSbackup to external drive.. if you have pro or ultimate versions you can backup to network drive. But MSbackup is a dog.. at least until the latest version it cannot restore the partition without first loading windows. There are about a zillion backup software versions for windows.. look up reviews and buy one which works for you. I use a free one Macrium Reflect which does full disk backups and is easy to restore.. to do incremental backups though you have to pay for it.

Can i use the time capsule as just an external hard drive for music or does it have to be used soley as a backe up?? im thinking for music and photos

Can I use the time capsule as just an external hard drive for music or does it have to be used soley as a back up? I'm thinking for music and photos

Nickles96 wrote:
Hello friends.. I have a similar question, in that I would like to purchase the 2TB TC for use as a NAS device, in addition to taking advantage of the Air Port extreme.. Then I could dump my Linksys router.
I was originally looking at a Synology NAS solution, but the TC seems like it can meet my needs.
I have a Synology NAS as well as the Time Capsule. If you look at the 3.2 beta program, the Synology actually attempts to replicate TC functionality in that you can use it with Time Machine on your Mac.
I must say, Airport on the TC is definitely a nice feature!
Nickles96 wrote:
In addition to the obvious feature of the backup, can I indeed also use the TC as a NAS drive to access from remote locations (example from the office)?
I'm surprised more people aren't using the TC as a dedicated NAS deviced.. I've searched high and low on forums around the web, and don't seem to see many people trying to use it as I've outlined.
I can't see why this wouldn't fufill my needs, and take the place of a separate NAS solution (like the Synology, or iOmega, Seagate, etc....)
Has anyone used this TC as such?
Yes, you can do this and it's something I've been trying to do, but I'm currently having issues. I have another thread stating I consistently get "connection failed" messages. I'm basically storing my music/photo/video files on the TC and keeping my Mac hard drive fairly lean. In terms of NAS functionality, the TC is very basic. Synology/QNAP and others have a lot more features so don't rule them out.

HT201250 How to backup the Time Capsule to an external drive using Time Machine?

Most of my data is on my Time Capsule since the hard drive on my iMac is too small for my music/movies/pictures and also so multiple devices can wirelessly access the data. I want to back up the files from my iMac and the Time Capsule on an external hard drive using the Time Machine. However, it seems that the Time Machine ignores the Time Capsule as a data source. How can I get this to work?

No, I don't believe this solves your problem.
TIme Machine can be used with a Time Capsule as a backup solution from connected macs and their drives but not from network drives, NAS or Time Capsules.
Thus, if you store files for LAN access on a TC internal drive, and want to back them to the USB/external drive attached to that TC, you cannot use Time Machine to do so.
Time Machine has not way of backing up ANY Time Capsule or NAS or WInPC or other networked drive, as far as I can tell. You will have to use some other backup software.
This is exactly what I bought the TC for myself (tried to use the internal drive on the TC as a NAS for my LAN, storing my music and photos and documents and bought a LaCie 2TB USB3 extneral drive to connect to the TC and hoped to be able to use Time Machine to backup the internal drive to the LaCie drive....but this does not work, as TM cannot backup from a network drive or TC device.

TS1550 What about when using the "Time Capsule" HD as the external disk, especially when it is connected by ethernet cable? I'm having trouble getting it to work at all. Don't need it to work as anything else, other than a ethernet connected Time Machine

What about when using the "Time Capsule" HD as the external disk, especially when it is connected by ethernet cable? I'm having trouble getting it to work at all. Don't need it to work as anything else, other than a ethernet connected Time Machine backup. Already have a wireless network that works fine so no need to mess with it. We get the internet via cable company and their modem is upstairs and the Time Capsule is downstairs in the basement. The latest error message was about it could not backup as it was already in use (should have written it down before clicking OK and moving on.

See if this helps...
http://pondini.org/TM/C12.html

How do I use my time capsule as an external hard drive?

I am trying to use my time capsule as an external hard drive but can't figure it out... can anyone help me out?

1. Run AirPort Utility
2. Click on your Time Capsule
3. Click Edit
4. Click on the Disks Tab
5. Click on Enable file sharing
6. Choose the way you want to control file sharing access, whether it is by the Time Capsule password, an independent disk password, or accounts for different users.
7. You should then be able to access your Time Capusle drive from Finder.

Can you use the Time Capsule as a wireless drive to share music on multiple computers

Does anyone know whether you can use the time capsule almost as a nextwork drive of sorts (i.e. to share Music etc amongst a few computers)?

The TC is a dumb hard drive inside an apple extreme router.. with a couple of knobs on.
It has no media servers.. and very little flexibility.. indeed it serves files.. AFP or SMB.. and that my friend is that.
So if you want a media server in the network..then a mini is a better proposition. At some point, with sales of ssd laptops soaring and space on these devices at a premium, Apple is long overdue on a revamp of the TC.. it is really either time to drop it or to create something a lot more powerful.. the mini might be a cheap computer but it is not really a file server.. having so little internal disk space and lacking external connectors unless you are rich enough to buy thunderbolt.

I use My Time Capsule as a external hard drive, can I transfer files other than wirelessly?

I use My Time Capsule as a external hard drive, can I transfer files other than wirelessly?

will TC appear on My desk top?
It will, if you do the following:
Open Macintosh HD and locate the Time Capsule icon under the SHARED heading on the left side of he window.
Click on the Time Capsule icon and a folder representing the drive will appear to the right
Double click the folder and the drive icon will appear on the desktop

Can I use my time capsule as a external hard drive as well

I want to use my time capsule as a external hard drive as well as a back up disk. Is that possible?

You Can!! But Should you??
Can and Should are different.
Here are the issues.
Store files on the TC.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/24380694#24380694
This is asked several times a day.. obviously people are struggling with their latest SSD being too small.
The TC is not suitable for network file server.. but many people having no choice press it into service as such.
It cannot be partitioned. It was and is and ever shall be a backup device for Time Machine.
Major issues.
1. No backup.. no way Time Machine can backup a network drive. No place to backup to.. So all your files will be at risk. And you will need to buy a third party like CCC to do backup.
2. The TC cannot be partitioned and mixing TM backups and data is not great.
3. The drive is slow to spin up and quick to spin down.. there is no controls.
4. iPhoto in particular can easily corrupt its entire library with wireless networking causing a disconnection to one photo. Even if you do this;;; do not move your photo library... you have been warned!!
5. iTunes will constantly lose connection to the library. The disk is too slow to respond.. itunes on the computer will constantly spit out errors. Even in the midst of streaming the TC can spin down the disk due to caching.
6. Do not use any live files on the TC no matter what else you do.. if you edit files in whatever program the file must be on the local hard disk.
7. The only suitable location for most libraries is a computer. You can plug in an external hard disk.
Read pondini for some work arounds.
Q3 here. http://pondini.org/TM/Time_Capsule.html

I have a Time Capsule with 2tb of storage, and an I-Mac with 500Gb. (which is at capacity) Can I use the Time Capsule to store data in addition to backing up the hard drive?

I have a Time Capsule with 2tb of storage, and an I-Mac with 500Gb. (which is at capacity) Can I use the Time Capsule to store data from my hard drive that I want to access later in addition to backing up the hard drive?

Can I use the Time Capsule to store data from my hard drive that I want to access later in addition to backing up the hard drive?
Yes, but if you move the "original" data on your iMac to the Time Capsule....then the "original" data is now on the Time Capsule disk.
When...not if...the Time Capsule disk has a problem, you have no backups for this data.
Perhaps a much safer plan might be to add an external hard drive attached directly to your iMac. Then, move the data to that drive from the iMac.
Now, Time Machine will back up both your iMac and the external hard drive so you have "originals" on one drive and backups on another. Would that plan work for you?

Can I use the Time Capsule strictly for system backup and continue to use my Airport Extreme for all my wireless needs

I want to use the Apple Time Capsule as an external drive and continue to use my Airport Extreme for all my wireless needs. Can I do that? The reason I ask is that my Time Machine utility cannot find the TIme Capsule - it only shows me the Airport Extreme, even when I "Rescan". SO I am unable to use the Time Capsule.

You will need to connect an Ethernet cable from one of the LAN <-> ports on the AirPort Extreme to the WAN "O" port on the Time Capsule.
Perform a "hard reset" on the Time Capsule by holding in the reset button for 9-10 seconds, then give it another minute to restart to a slow, blinking amber light.
Open AirPort Utility, select the Time Capsule, and click Manual Setup
Click the Time Capsule tab located below the row of icons to assign a name to the Time Capsule, a device password, and adjust Time Zone settings.
Next, click the Wireless tab located to the right of the Time Capsule tab
Change the setting for Wireless Mode to Off
Click the Internet icon, then click the Internet Connection tab
Connect Using = Ethernet
Connection Sharing = Off (Bridge Mode)
Click Update at the lower right to save the settings and allow 30 seconds for the Time Capsule to restart to a green light.
You are all set

Windows not recognizing my time capsle - I just purchased a new computer that runs windows 8 and it doesn't want to recognize the time capsule as an external hard drive (ie doesn't show up under my compter). I've downloaded airport utility...

I just purchased a new computer that runs windows 8 and it doesn't want to recognize the time capsule as an external hard drive (ie doesn't show up under my compter). I've downloaded and run airport utility, but it seems to have a hard time finding the time capsule...maybe one out of 10 times it will find it.
What's more, when I look under network infrastructure under the control panel, it shows my Broadcom ADSL centurylink Router...so I'm wondering if my modem/router combo is overriding the router function on my timecapsule and the time capsule is not being used as a router...
Any help much appreciated!

In this case the TC should be in bridge mode.
Win8 is still problematic. Try using ethernet instead of wireless. I think the drivers are poor still and it is well worth having a try via ethernet if you haven't already.
Otherwise you will need to wait for apple to release bonjour for windows 8 and airport utility.. which is not out yet.
Also make sure the windows is set to home, not work or public.. even turn off the firewall.
Open windows explorer and type the TC ip address into the address bar.. (none of which is perhaps the same.. I gave away windows at vista.. shudder)
\\TCIPadderss.

Can I use the Time Capsule as a media server

As many, I have hundreds of CDs. I was hoping I could store all of my music on the time capsule as well as movies I have purchased and pictures, and use it as a media server. I've heard yes and no in other forums. Any ideas?

The Time Capsule is a dumb hard drive with no brains. It is not a media server and will not ever be one.
If you want to put your music and movies on the Time Capsule, you can do so, just like you could place them on any external hard drive.
But, you will need to have a DLNA server running somewhere else on your network to be able to do anything with the data on the Time Capsule.
Best to use the Time Capsule as it was designed and intended.....for backups....not any active or everyday files.
Speaking of backups, if you place your music and movie files on the Time Capsule.....how will you then back up those files to another hard drive?

Using the Time Capsule as an external HD

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