Time Capsule Powered Off, Won't Power Back On

rdalem wrote:
Ray H. has a good solution here: http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modems /apple-time-capsule-repair/apple-time-capsule-fan-mod

I think you can just remove the rubber boot, cut a hole under the fan and snip the proper wires (adding a resistor as indicated), put the little beast up on some readily available rubber feet for air flow and voila, you're in business! Put a piece of duct tape on TOP of the fan so it only ***** in cool air from underneath. Do NOT replace the rubber boot, save it for future use.

I ditto the above. Ray's web site was very helpful. I did the repower and fan mod, but went a slightly neater route, putting a small PC fan grille to cover the fan intake and replacing the rubber boot. You can see a picture of the result at Ray's site on this page.
http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modems /apple-time-capsule-repair

Without making it look too obvious, the case can be opened and the Hard Drive removed to an external case. Make a copy of important files somewhere else. Put drive back in TC, replace rubber boot and just like new. You could even wipe HD before giving back.

Check here for very easy instructions: http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/

Use a low power heat gun or hair dryer to heat up rubber pad/boot and CAREFULLY pull off. Remove small phillips screws. Don't worry about 4 rubber isolated screws, they are attached to hard drive to keep it in place.

You can buy an external case (mine was a Monsoon from OWC, $30) from a lot of vendors. SATA only - not PATA or IDE or SCSI.


Any advice here is strictly at your own risk.

I had the same problem. Went to the Genius Bar 2 months ago and got the familiar story about Apple Care, etc... Since I didn't have Apple Care, they said it wasn't under warranty and that was that. I kept reading the posts here and recently noticed others' successes.

I tried calling them again directly. They indeed agreed to send me a replacement. Another element of interest is that they agreed to allow me to hang onto the defective unit because I had taken it apart and removed the hard drive from the unit. I'm thrilled about this!

My TC died at the end of October and I was initially referred to my local Apple store. When I recently took it in, the store refused to touch it and referred me back to Apple's web site. Eventually, I had to call because the site refused to identify the serial number.

I called Apple yesterday, and they initially stated that the unit (1 TB purchased April 2008) was not under warranty. After they asked for the serial number, they then stated that the unit WAS under warranty.

They will send me a new TC, but I needed to give them a credit card for a hold on the initial purchase price. The hold will be released when I send the old unit back.

BTW, the store did offer to help me retrieve the data from the TC. Didn't really need that service, though, since I use the TC mostly for home networking and backup is secondary.

Thought I would post to help anyone resolve their problems with this product. I just hope the replacement has a shelf life longer than 18 months!

Chris

I just got off the phone with Apple Care. They offered to send me a new Time Capsule for free (it's 20 months old). They also told me it would be okay for me to dismantle the TC so I could erase the data off the HD, so that's a reasonable policy.

I'm supposed to get it by Tuesday, so I guess I just sweat a bit until then (not a big deal as I'm not going to be doing anything mission critical in the meantime...most of my work is done on an external HD with a separate backup scheme.

James Manos wrote:

One interesting note. When I noticed it this morning I attempted to reset the TC with no luck - no power was registered. I then proceeded to test the TC in two different wall outlets and still no-go. When I arrived at the Apple store they plugged it in and it powered up. However, the hard drive was not recognized and it was making a very loud, high-pitch noise.

Typical of this issue, the power supply once cooled down will at least partly work for a few seconds. The high pitched noise is also typical of the overload caused by the dead capacitors forcing the switch frequency into the audible range. If they had left it on, eventually it warms up and will stop working completely. When I get them for repair I do occasionally plug them in, and some will even attempt to spin up the hdd, although usually that draws too much power and the supply shuts down.

If Apple won't fix/replace TC, keep escalating up the line. If they send you a replacement, bear in mind that it still has the same design problems and IMHO will fail at some point down the line.

These can be fixed! I think the best solution is converting to an external supply, thereby removing the problem heat buildup inside case.

Check here for TC repairers: http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modems /apple-time-capsule-repairers

DShadow99 wrote:
Add mine to the list. Bought in March 2008, died December 11, 2009. Called the local shop and they told me not to believe everything you read on the internet! I guess thousands of people all over the world are somehow conspiring against Apple.

Since I have placed pictures of the dead capacitors on my repair site, that really they are not dead just sleeping!! And if you need meter readings on them well I can manage that as well. I can even show you that the capacitor next to the transformer is generally far worse... esr is 1.7ohm against the second capacitor which is .3ohm as it sits one capacitor away. (They are supposed to be 0.05ohm) Or the last cap in the chain takes readings all over the place.. but the last one was 5.7ohm... which is very bad.

I have already demonstrated the fan is installed upside down and is ineffectual because it doesn't draw in cold air or even turn on. All those things are the result of now pulling a dozen of them apart... as a few other people have done. Now of course the Apple support people will say the issue has been fixed in the newest ones... well it might have been improved... but we already have one example of a dead Delta power supply which is the replacement for the flextronics. Plus we are simply too early in the product cycle to tell. Some of the original are lasting longer... not surprising due to different environments.. but so many are dead all around the world that it is more than bad luck.

Yours lasted somewhat longer than most but still died, probably of heat stroke.

Here's Apple support # http://www.apple.com/support/contact/ 800-275-2273

Also register your dead unit here: http://timecapsuledead.org/ very surprising statistics!

If you get no satisfaction from Apple and decide to repair, go here for experienced TC repairers around the world: http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modems /apple-time-capsule-repairers check with them for rates and types of repairs.

quick update:

I called Apple customer support and after 10 minutes (which included taking my address for shipping) a free of charge replacement is on its way. No messing around, no arguments just a "sorry it's stopped working, we'll do a free replacement for you".

Apple may not be admitting there is an issue, which there clearly is, but they sure are sorting out the problem if you just give them a call and explain the situation.

A success story: I have a 20-month old 500gb 1st gen TC, died last week. I called Apple Support a few minutes ago and was told, yes, that even though I don't have Apple Care, they would replace the TC for free.

Josh, the Senior Advisor who fielded my call, recognized that a lot of people are having "power failure" problem with these TCs.

Cheers,

Yes I have done about 10 external PS replacements with zero complaints (so far!)

See Ray's links here for TC repairers around the globe: http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modems /apple-time-capsule-repairers

My Time Capsule Died this morning.... no lights no power. Called Apple and they know about the problem and they will send me a replacement (I assume a Refurbished 500TC since they don't make those anymore) by UPS tomorrow. I must return the old one otherwise I am charged $299.
Only problem I have is that I want my data wiped before it gets to Apple. Any suggestions how to do this? A site I found that is worth viewing is
http://timecapsuledead.org/register?id=72B982#72B982
Also, does anyone know if I have a password protected Disk Image that Time Machine has backed up, could it be opened without the password?
Thank you in advance for any info on this.
Henry

*To all those who wish to recover their hard disk and data:*

The Time Capsule CAN be opened with no discernible evidence of "tampering"

Hard drives can be removed or replaced easily with a used model same size/make

Bare HD docks are available: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/NewerTech/Voyager/HardDriveDock

Power supplies can be replaced or repaired

If you do not feel up to doing the procedure yourself, go here for list of repairers: http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modems /apple-time-capsule-repairers

All of these suggestions are at your own risk and are not approved by Apple

Another dead TC joins the ranks. Similar story to everyone else here regarding symptoms just before death...no green light. unplugged, replugged in, 10 seconds of amber light, then nothing.

I bought it in Mar 2008, ran just fine in a well ventilated office until yesterday. Had to "leech" off neighbor's Wifi to find out that it just wasn't just my bad luck.

Mine is out of warranty, no Applecare on associated laptop. Found this and the other TC page in discussions. Registered my dead TC at timecapsuledead.org, bought a new airport extreme, buying an external case to transfer the data. Wrote "negative feedback" to Apple ( http://www.apple.com/feedback/timecapsule.html).

I'm not sure what I'll do with it if I'm lucky enough to be offered a replacement. I've lost confidence completely in this product!