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User profile for user: ilamprinos
ilamprinos Author
User level: Level 1
10 points

Reformatting Time Capsule

Hi everyone,

Out of the blue, Time Capsule gave me an issue when trying to back up. It freezes at 'preparing' and after a few minutes tells me that the disk could not be accessed. Then it says it failed repairing the disk. When I am trying to enter Time Machine, again, it staying on 'trying to connect' or something.

My question is: How do I reformat Time Capsule? I am talking deleting everything and formatting the disk if possible too, erasing all data.

Thanks

Posted on Nov 1, 2008 5:53 PM

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User profile for user: Glenn Carter
Glenn Carter
User level: Level 4
3,363 points

Posted on Nov 1, 2008 6:25 PM

*Reformat the TC Hard Disk*
You can reformat the hard disk in the Time Capsule.

Go to Airport Utility --> Manual Setup --> Disks --> Highlight "Time Capsule Disk" on the left --> Click "Erase" on the right.

Rename the disk and select the level secure erasure. You're done and ready to begin backing up again.

I would suggest connecting the TC directly to your Mac via ethernet. Your initial full backup will go much faster and doesn't fail nearly as often as trying to do it wirelessly. “If you have an Ethernet cable, you can perform your first backup to your Time Capsule via Ethernet; this will allow for the fastest initial backup especially with client computers that use 802.11b or 802.11g.” [http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1176]

Hope this is helpful. Cheers!
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User profile for user: Glenn Carter
Glenn Carter
User level: Level 4
3,363 points

Nov 1, 2008 6:25 PM in response to ilamprinos

*Reformat the TC Hard Disk*
You can reformat the hard disk in the Time Capsule.

Go to Airport Utility --> Manual Setup --> Disks --> Highlight "Time Capsule Disk" on the left --> Click "Erase" on the right.

Rename the disk and select the level secure erasure. You're done and ready to begin backing up again.

I would suggest connecting the TC directly to your Mac via ethernet. Your initial full backup will go much faster and doesn't fail nearly as often as trying to do it wirelessly. “If you have an Ethernet cable, you can perform your first backup to your Time Capsule via Ethernet; this will allow for the fastest initial backup especially with client computers that use 802.11b or 802.11g.” [http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1176]

Hope this is helpful. Cheers!
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User profile for user: Chris P
Chris P
User level: Level 1
5 points

Dec 12, 2008 8:41 AM in response to Glenn Carter

Is Erasing the TC hard disk really the same as Reformatting the hard disk?

I've been having some issues with TM and have decided it's time to start over, but I'd like to be sure the file structure on the disk is repaired as well as getting rid of the old data. Thanks.

If erase is not the same as reformat, how does one reformat the TM disk in Time Capsule?

Thanks very much.
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Reformatting Time Capsule

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