shanec26
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: Time Machine can't see my wifi'd network drive

I am trying to setup Time Machine for the first time.

 

I have a Linksys E3200 wifi router connected to a WD "My Passport for Mac" USB drive.

 

My iMac has no problems seeing this drive. I can manually copy files to and from the drive.

 

But when I run Time Machine, it doesn't see this networked drive at all. I click "Select Backup Disk..." and get a popup which lists no drives and gives me a choice for setting up "other time capsule". If I try that, I get another window that searches for Time Capsules and finds none (because there are none).

 

Why isn't Time Machine seeing the same network drive that Finder has no problem seeing?

 

I've read there might be AFP problems with some routers, but I'm also reading that Time Machine should at least see my drive before determining whether or not it can back something up there due to AFP issues.

iMac, OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Dec 28, 2013 10:54 PM

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shanec26

Q: Time Machine can't see my wifi'd network drive

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  • by shanec26,

    shanec26 shanec26 Dec 29, 2013 9:10 AM in response to shanec26
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 29, 2013 9:10 AM in response to shanec26

    Feedback form Apple Care is that Time Machine will only Time Capsules for backups over wifi. They say Time Machine won't work with a 3rd party USB drive unless it is directly connected to the Mac.

     

    That sounds quite sketchy.

     

    I'm going to try some 3rd party backup software. Maybe Carbon Copy.

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Dec 29, 2013 9:24 AM in response to shanec26
    Level 9 (50,307 points)
    Desktops
    Dec 29, 2013 9:24 AM in response to shanec26

    Time Machine supports the following methods ONLY

     

    • AirPort Time Capsule's built-in hard disk (any model)
    • External USB hard disk drive connected to a Time Capsule (any model)
    • External USB hard disk drive connected to an AirPort Extreme (current model only)
    • A hard disk drive directly connected to your Mac

  • by foster204,

    foster204 foster204 Apr 6, 2016 1:42 AM in response to Csound1
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apr 6, 2016 1:42 AM in response to Csound1

    Thank you. I've bought an external hard drive, plugged it into my wifi router and haven't been able to get Time Machine to recognize it as a wireless LAN hard drive. I wish I had known that Time Machine wouldn't work through my wireless router and non-apple hard drive before I bought it, but never thought it would be an issue. Only now, trying to trouble-shoot the issue did I learn this. Thanks for posting.