Apple Time Capsule dead

[Damien]

I have a 1TB time capsule that has died recently.

I used it to back up 2 MacBooks, and when it was working it was great- wifi, printer server and wifi back up.

Is there something cheaper I can use to do automatic wifi back up? I am too lazy to plug the laptops into a separate external hard drive every now and then.

Many thanks.

 

[Tim Cullis]

Basically the Time Capsule is an Apple Airport Extreme wireless/Gigabit ethernet hub with a built-in disk drive.

So replace it with an ordinary hub with an attached storage device which Time Machine will automatically backup to. Unfortunately many hubs only support Ethernet interface or USB 2.0.

 

[JediJase]

The Hdd might still be ok, take it out and connect it to a dock or another computer. Sometimes its the hardware that fails and not the hdd. I've had a few external hdd fail over the years and when i plugged the into a pc they were fine. Its worth a try.

 

[Rushy]

Recently bought a 2TB Buffalo Linkstation NAS to back up my 1TB iMac. After some slight difficulty setting up due to me being a cretin it now works a treat with Time Machine. Its plugged into my netgear router and will back up multiple PCs on the network

/www.kikatek.com/P205785/LS-X2-0TL-EU-Linkstation-Live-LS-XL-2TB-NAS-SATA/REF

 

[MickyBlueyes]

I have a 1TB time capsule that has died recently.

I used it to back up 2 MacBooks, and when it was working it was great- wifi, printer server and wifi back up.

Is there something cheaper I can use to do automatic wifi back up? I am too lazy to plug the laptops into a separate external hard drive every now and then.

Many thanks.

As stated any NAS connected to your Wifi router will achieve this with Time Machine compatability (apart from acting as a print server, as not all will do this.)

My Netgear ReadyNas Duo will do all this, and has more than one drive bay to allow RAID if necc (I use this as don't personally see the point in not having it in a NAS) for 2 Macs and a PC.

Any NAS other than the Timecapsule will require more input from you in setting up, but in the long run will most likely be more reliable and flexible.

Cheaper in the short term is not necessarily the way to go in network storage terms in the medium to long term, as no ability to hot swap HDD's, increase capacity, or add drives as and when you wish to, or update firmware when new protocols for newer OS's appear.

I would buy a decent multi bay nas (probably a 2 bay) and put one decent HDD in then add others as necc. Many out there, google for current reviews.

Just my 2p

P.S. power supplies appear to be the weak link in Apple time capsules so its HDD is probably fine as stated.

 

[cookie]

P.S. power supplies appear to be the weak link in Apple time capsules so its HDD is probably fine as stated.

i seem to remember a mod to bypass the internal power supply on early time capsules that enabled the use of an outboard power brick.

might save your time capsule

 

[Myke Rocks]

Apparently they all do that sir!

i seem to remember a mod to bypass the internal power supply on early time capsules that enabled the use of an outboard power brick.

might save your time capsule

The 1tb ones all fail in identical fashion almost to the hour after being powered up.
Apple were repairing/replacing well outside warranty, because the problem was so extreme.
Contact them first and see what they say.
It is the power supply, and there are lots of threads on the problem. Easily bypassed apparently.
Myke

 

[Damien]

Thanks for all the replies.

I had a tech guy look at it and he diagnosed a power supply failure, I will contact apple to see will they do anything out of warranty but its nearly 3 1/2 years old, so I am not very confident.

I am not at a loss as all the data is still on the 2 MacBooks, but as they are at least 7 years old I would like to have a backup.

I will look into all the other options suggested.

Damien

 

[tuftywhite]

I have been accused of being a 'Mac Fanboy'.

However, I would like to say that the Time Capsule has been the one Apple product I have been most disappointed with.

I had two that failed on me and during that 3 month period I advised a friend to get one, which also has never worked properly.

The advice above to get a NAS Drive and connect it to your network router is the best advice. Make sure that it is Time Machine compatible. I have had to install one where I had to write some code (copied from a website) to trick the drive into working with Time Machine.

I now use a LaCie drive for my back ups.

 

[andysdad]

Backup

I've always used External HDD, then upgraded to a RAID NAS.

BUT - I'm just migrating to online cloud backup - like a remote Time Capsule. Auto backup as often as you like. Also if thieves break into your house, they will take ALL your data - computers/Time Capsule/NAS and all. (Apart from my cunningly well-hidden extra HDD but that is not backed-up often!)

I've signed up for CrashPlan. Also gives you access online to your files from anywhere (although you can set up FTP from your own NAS but I never have). c.£8/month for up to 5 computers; will take years to cost as much as one Time Capsule?

My 2p.

A

 

[MickyBlueyes]

I've always used External HDD, then upgraded to a RAID NAS.

BUT - I'm just migrating to online cloud backup - like a remote Time Capsule. Auto backup as often as you like. Also if thieves break into your house, they will take ALL your data - computers/Time Capsule/NAS and all. (Apart from my cunningly well-hidden extra HDD but that is not backed-up often!)

I've signed up for CrashPlan. Also gives you access online to your files from anywhere (although you can set up FTP from your own NAS but I never have). c.£8/month for up to 5 computers; will take years to cost as much as one Time Capsule?

My 2p.

A

Only any good if you have a decent broadband connection speed (especially upload) IMHO.

I tried several but for a reasonable ammount of data, on a poor connection it can be days to do a first backup before you can do incrementals