Johnny_V1954

Q: Airport Time Capsule and WD MyBook

I am a newbie Macbook Pro owner, about 1 week now, running El Capitan.

 

I just hooked up my Airport Time Capsule (3T) and it seems to be working, as Time Machine reports the Backup Complete.  I am also connected to the Airport WiFi.

 

The Setup Guide says I can hook up a hard disk through the USB port.  I've connected a WD MyBook to the USB; it is formatted as exFAT and contains data from my old Windows 7 computer.

 

What do I need to do to make this accessible to the Macbook Pro?  I don't see it anywhere in finder.

Airport Time Capsule 802.11ac, iOS 10, El Capitan

Posted on Sep 15, 2016 9:32 AM

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Q: Airport Time Capsule and WD MyBook

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  • by Niel,Helpful

    Niel Niel Sep 15, 2016 9:54 AM in response to Johnny_V1954
    Level 10 (312,890 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 15, 2016 9:54 AM in response to Johnny_V1954

    The Time Capsule can't read USB drives formatted as exFAT or NTFS. Connect it directly to the Mac.

     

    (144647)

  • by Tesserax,Solvedanswer

    Tesserax Tesserax Sep 15, 2016 11:38 AM in response to Johnny_V1954
    Level 9 (54,427 points)
    Wireless
    Sep 15, 2016 11:38 AM in response to Johnny_V1954

    Drives attached to the AirPort base stations' USB port work best if formatted in HFS+. Unfortunately, exFAT or NTFS formatted drives will not work.

     

    However, your MacBook Pro (MBP) should be able to read/write to your exFAT-formatted WD MyBook if directly connected to it by USB.

     

    What I would suggest is that you first attach this drive to your MBP; copy or archive any files off the drive, and then, reformat the drive for HFS+. You can then detach the drive from the MBP and re-attach it to the Time Capsule's USB port.

  • by Johnny_V1954,

    Johnny_V1954 Johnny_V1954 Sep 15, 2016 10:08 AM in response to Tesserax
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 15, 2016 10:08 AM in response to Tesserax

    Thank you very much. The drive was originally formatted as NTFS.  I tried to format it from the MBP, but couldn't figure out how.  If you have a quick answer for how, I'll take it, but I will also research on my OS X Bible.

     

    because it wasn't evident, I reformatted it as exFAT because I could read and write from the MBP.  Set learning curve on?

  • by Tesserax,

    Tesserax Tesserax Sep 15, 2016 10:30 AM in response to Johnny_V1954
    Level 9 (54,427 points)
    Wireless
    Sep 15, 2016 10:30 AM in response to Johnny_V1954

    To reformat the drive, you will want to use OS X's Disk Utility that you will find it the Utilities folder.

     

    • Connect the drive to your MBP. It should show up as an external drive in the utility.
    • Select the drive, and then, click on the Erase button.
    • Provide a volume name of your choosing.
    • For Format, select: OS X External (Journaled). That is the same as HFS+.
    • Click on Erase.
  • by Johnny_V1954,

    Johnny_V1954 Johnny_V1954 Sep 15, 2016 11:41 AM in response to Tesserax
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 15, 2016 11:41 AM in response to Tesserax

    Thank you once again.  I am copying the data now and will try to reconnect when completed.