I want TC disk to stay mounted in Finder, but it won't

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Level 3

913 points

I want TC disk to stay mounted in Finder, but it won't

As well as using my 1 TB Time Capsule as a Time Machine backup drive, I also have my iTunes Music folder on there and play my music and videos wirelessly through iTunes (saves about 85 GB on my MacBook Pro's hard drive) as well as using it for a file server.

My Time Capsule is providing the wired and wireless networking for our household of 1 iMac, 1 MacBook and 1 MacBook Pro.

My annoyance is this: while the shared iMac's drive will stay mounted in my Finder for days on end (despite my putting the MacBook Pro to sleep several times a day), the Time Capsule's disk will not stay mounted. Often when I wake the MacBook Pro from sleep I get a message saying that the Time Capsule disk could not be found, and then a "Disconnect" button. So I have to go and remount the drive in the Finder before I can do any file sharing or launch iTunes.

Does anyone know why the drive won't stay connected (or should I say mounted) in the Finder?

MacBook Pro 17" 3GB RAM, Mac OS X (10.5.2), White MacBook, iMac G5, iPod Classic, Time Capsule

Posted on Apr 25, 2008 5:00 PM

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Answer 1

Leos98

Level 1

0 points

Apr 27, 2008 5:06 AM in response to Alan Cook2

Try this:

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20070202190047133

Leos98

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Answer 2

Alan Cook2 Author

Level 3

913 points

Apr 28, 2008 1:30 PM in response to Leos98

Thanks for the link. However, I'm not so concerned about re-connecting after a restart or shutdown. What I'm concerned about is staying connected through sleep/wakeups. I don't restart my computer but maybe once or twice a week.

The problem is that when I wake the computer up, having put it to sleep with iTunes launched and the Time Capsule mounted, if the Time Capsule has become unmounted, it messes up my iTunes Library settings....to the extent that I have to go grab a backup of my library file and restore it. This is because iTunes can't find my iTunes Music folder (because it's on the now-unmounted Time Capsule drive).

Anyone else know how to keep the Time Capsule drive mounted through sleep/wake? If the iMac's drive can stay mounted, why can't the TC?

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Answer 3

Apr 28, 2008 3:18 PM in response to Alan Cook2

On my MacBook, when I open the hard drive, along the left side I see devices and shared. Devices is where the hard drive shows up, plus iDisk (I have dot.Mac). Then under Shared I see my TC (which is always there after awake up or restart). Do you see Shared? Under my System Preferences I do have file sharing on, since I have another Mac, but I'm not sure that makes the TC show up under Shared?

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Answer 4

Apr 28, 2008 3:27 PM in response to Alan Cook2

I also just noticed that under "disks" then "file sharing" in the Airport Utility, that I have "file sharing" selected. Also see if that will work for you.

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Answer 5

Alan Cook2 Author

Level 3

913 points

Apr 28, 2008 5:03 PM in response to Aaron Meyer3

Yes, TC shows up under shared, but it is not "mounted" unless you actually click on it (to where you can see files and folders listed). Sharing is turned on in Airport Utility.

Just because it shows up under "Shared" in the Finder doesn't mean that the disk is mounted. If I launch iTunes without TC being mounted (i.e. it has the little eject button beside its name), iTunes decides that my iTunes Music folder isn't available (which it isn't, because it's not mounted) and reverts to the default location and sometimes corrupts the "iTunes Library" file. As I mentioned above, this seemingly can also happen if my computer wakes from sleep with iTunes launched but the TC has dismounted during sleep.

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Answer 6

Apr 28, 2008 8:03 PM in response to Alan Cook2

I'm not sure why its losing its connection. My TC is staying mounted after sleep, re-starts, etc.
Go back to the begining re-set it to default settings, reconfigure it and use it with just one Mac and no shared music etc. Get it to do it alone and then start adding stuff etc.

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Answer 7

crocm

Level 1

0 points

Apr 29, 2008 1:09 PM in response to Alan Cook2

I have been having a similar problem with my 1TB Time capsule. I have it configured as a data drive with a USB connected 500MB partitioned drive for Time Machine and Data/Apps. I use it wirelessly on my MacBook and ethernet to a PC. In my case the Time Capsule will randomly unmount. It appears to happen more often than not when the system has been inactive or off for a period of time, but not exclusively. It happens both on the wired and wireless connections. My only recourse is to hard boot the Time Capsule to get the drives to remount. I have been discussing this issue with a variety of Apple service Reps and Experts(5) for the past six weeks. We have collectively changed every physical configuration and any setup parameters that may apply with no success. Apple is currently still reviewing the problem and I am anxiously waiting for the latest response. I understand your frustration, it's a real pain when you try to open a file or app and have the thing hang because the Time Capsule has decided to unmount. BTW through out this ordeal the AirPort portion has been flawless.

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Answer 8

Alan Cook2 Author

Level 3

913 points

Apr 30, 2008 1:10 PM in response to crocm

Thanks for sharing that. At least I'm not totally alone on this one!

Please let me know if you find out more.

Yesterday I changed my DHCP lease time from 4 hours to 7 days. I don't know whether this has really changed anything or not, but I will say that my TC has remained mounted through four or five sleep/wakes.

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Answer 9

Nov 2, 2008 3:41 PM in response to Alan Cook2

I too, am having that problem.
I use my TC for installing games and sometimes file-sharing and have had it for a month or so but I can't access any files or games because as you said it becomes unmounted. So in order to do any of that I have to tell it to back up my computer and then it becomes mounted. But that means I still haven't been able move my iTunes over to the TC because it won't stay mounted. I also can't install anything on to it which is a great distress.
It does show up in the "Shared" area on the left of the finder.

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Answer 10

Nov 2, 2008 3:47 PM in response to Evi Samson

Kate,

Next time start a new thread, you're more likely to get helpful responses that way.

The key to the first part of this is "Remember password in my keychain".

*How Do I Mount the Time Capsule on the Desktop?*
Open a Finder window
Select the Time Capsule in the Sidebar on the left.
Click "Connect As..." in the upper right of the window.
Enter the Name of your Time Capsule & its' password (Note: NOT your own Username & password).
Check "Remember password in my Keychain."
You should now see a blue share folder with the name of your Time Capsule.
Double-clicking the blue folder will open the Time Capsules’ hard disk. It should now be mounted on the desktop as well.

*Automatically Mount Servers on Desktop At Startup*
Mount the servers/volumes on your desktop.
Open System Preference.
Select "Accounts".
Choose your account on the left.
Click "Login Items"
Now drag each drive icon you want to automatically mount at startup into this window.
Close prefs

Bear in mind that unless you checked “Remember password in my Keychain” the system will ask you for the password for these volumes each time you startup.

Let us know if this was helpful

Cheers!

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