Q: I can't use Time Machine with a USB drive plugged into an Airport Extreme.
I connected an external drive to the USB port of an Airport Extreme, intending to use it with Time Machine and one of the laptops in the Wi-Fi network (call it Laptop). The drive is visible from the Disks tab of each computer’s Airport Utility but from nowhere else, in particular not to Laptop’s Time Machine preference.
Laptop is relatively new and arrived with Mavericks. Time Machine used to work on Laptop before I upgraded the rest of the network (a desktop Mac Pro and another laptop) from OS X 10.6 to Mavericks.
The drive is formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled). I have tried other external hard drives, with the same behavior. The desktop correctly use Time Machine to back up its internal drive to another internal drive. Another possibly relevant factor is that our DSL connection has recently been upgraded, and now uses a 2Wire modem that provides its own router, so Airport Utility’s Network Router Mode is set to “Off (Bridge Mode)”.
I would be grateful for suggestions of what to try next.
MacBook Pro (17-inch Early 2008), OS X Mavericks (10.9.4), My Airport Extreme is rectangular.
Posted on Sep 9, 2014 7:09 PM
Time Machine backups to a drive at the USB port of the AirPort Extreme were never officially supported in the past.
Only the new "tower" AirPort Extreme officially supports Time Machine backups to a drive at the USB port of the device.
I can find the Apple document that confirms this tomorrow....if you need it....since I am traveling at this time. Please advise.
Posted on Sep 9, 2014 7:19 PM