Time Capsule Powered Off, Won't Power Back On

migs mclee wrote:
Mine died as well yesterday - it happened suddenly without the high pitch noise that some experienced.

I am pretty sure my Applecare for my desktop covers its replacement.

My question: is there a way to save the data in my dead Time Capsule AND not void the Applecare warranty so I still qualify for the replacement? The data is not only back up but other files as well.

Leave it cold for a day and try to start it up again. If it starts up grab the data off it. Otherwise no, other than hacking it and losing your warranty there is no way to recover your data. Ask the apple store why they made it with a hard disk that could not be removed?? Ask them why it is called time capsule... time bubble might be closer to the truth.
Sorry I have shown how to fix it... I guess if you did it very very carefully they wouldn't know you had done it. you could exchange the hard drive for some dead unit you have around. I suspect with the truck loads of these things that are going to start arriving in the store they won't check that carefully... but you have to take the risk... if you need the data.

I am experiencing the same issue with my TC. I bought it on March 28th, 2008 and it died Sunday morning just short of 18 months. I took it to the Apple Store and it was covered under my AppleCare. They ordered a replacement but said there is nothing they can do about the data on the drive. That is not an acceptable answer.

I think it is terrible that Apple sells a device for backing up your Mac but offers no data recovery when their product fails. Everyone experiencing this issue should call Apple about data backup being part of the service they offer on TCs.

fountaingoats wrote:
Should I be backing up now in preparation for a power supply failure? I'd hate to buy another external hard drive just for this purpose - backing up the backup - especially knowing that the TC will be replaced if it dies. Does anyone know how easy it is to get data off TC when it does die? Would the Genius Bar be able to transfer the data to a replacement TC? Does Apple collect the old one if they send you a replacement?

You should plan from the 12month point that you have 6months left... the timing of the failure is pretty exact... 16-18months... if you have it running 24/7. I would suggest if you don't need it on overnight, then shut it down... they may double its life. (or not.. hard to tell with electronics running really hot, the temperature cycling may cause worse stress).

The data cannot be recovered from a dead TC... there is no way in... no access. The Genius Bar will not be able to transfer data and will not even attempt to help you... You are expected to backup your backups... connect using a usb drive to the TC.

And Apple owns the old one when they replace it under warranty. They will not return it to you... it will go to a cheap labour factory probably to be refurbished as sold again. The hdd will be formatted but any dill should be able to recover the data from a quick format. So no your data is not secure... unless you encrypt it.

You can of course recover the data and get it working again if you follow my hacking instructions...!! But that will void the warranty... fun stuff eh!!

Mine did the same. Sudden power death without any warnings.
Seems to me like the power supply just died after 10 month of perfect operation.
Its now being looked at by apple to see if they will fix it or give me a new one.
I will let you know what they say.

Russellcalkins wrote:
Also, on my way out, i picked up a usb bus powered laptop fan that i plan on running under the TC. Hopefully this will drop the operating temperature 10-20 Degrees so i can get 2-3 times more life out of the power supply. any thoughts?

I hope you are running the fan from a powered hub plugged into something and not from the TC itself. And yes it can help... to really help though you need to force the air into the vents. The big insulating rubber foot makes cooling the bottom next to useless. I would almost suggest use a heat gun or hair dryer and remove it straight away. If you do it neatly... don't tear the rubber you can glue it back if you need to return it dead in the future.

The other thing is to seal the base so air has to go through the TC. Once you have the rubber foot off the vents around the sides are clear... (rubber foot half covers them... great help that). Make sure the air has only one place to go, through the TC. The gap around the top-side is the exhaust vent. It doesn't look it but that gap is not for aesthetics. It is open to the interior. But again is a path natural ventilation will not easily use. Once you force air through you should feel the air coming out.

See the fan mod as an internal solution.
http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modems /apple-time-capsule-repair/apple-time-capsule-fan-mod

Add my Time Capsule 1TB to the growing list of dead TCs. Mine gave up this morning after no early warnings of impending failure. Totally dead power. I bought mine on 18th March 2008 so I have had just over 18 months of continued use. I'm thinking about buying one of these leads - http://www.newertech.com/products/usb2_adaptv2.php - as an easy way to get my data off the internal TC drive, then deleting my data and await a recall.

I was in the middle of reading a web report about this problem when poof right before my eyes my 1TB Time Capsule powered off. I don't get so much as a power light when plugging it in anymore. Again, it's at the 18-month mark. Definitely seems like a bad batch of power supplies.

Just talked to AppleCare 2nd level specialist and was able to get a free out-of-warranty replacement (same as Carey Gear). The replacement would be the same 1st generation 500GB model (either new or refurbished) with 90 day warranty.

I was assured that if the drive was operable, it would be wiped using some DoD standard procedure of 32 repetitive writes of random 0/1 patterns.

I finished making the modifications on my dead Time Capsule. My thanks to LaPastenague for having created a web site documenting the different modifications that can be made.

In my case, I used a used Cisco router I bought on eBay to supply power externally and the fan modifications to have the fan running all the time at low speed and ducted to suck in outside air. A 50Ω resistor in series with the fan was about right to have it run quietly.

The Capsule's case temperature is a lot cooler now.

huntyhunt wrote:
Yeah - thanks for this.

I'm a little worried about messing with power stuff so may take it to a 'pro'.

I couldn't take the rubber foot off in a single go but then the agent on the phone told me that this was 'my only option for getting my data' back ;/

You use a heatgun or just a hair dryer on highest heat setting... once it is hot carefully lift the rubber. Keep heat on the section you are lifting. It will come off pretty neatly with most of the glue on the rubber, albeit burn your fingers. You need some leather work gloves or something. It will handle a fair bit of pressure hot but rubber, once it tears, it will go very suddenly. If you get it off in one piece you can open the TC and remove the hdd. Backup the files and then put it back and put the rubber back on... nobody the wiser...!!

This is for benefit of others... the tip is in about 15 websites including my own. Any site that talks about upgrading the harddisk will tell you how to get the rubber boot off. You will find the glue is **** hard to get off now that the rubber is broken up.

Mine died on me yesterday. I took it apart this morning, pulled the hard drive and connected it to my Mac Pro using a Newer Technology USB 2.0 Universal Drive Adapter. After several tries I was able to get it mounted on my desktop. I tried using Disk First-aid to no avail, all I got were errors. I opened and ran DiskWarrior 4.2 and got an entire page of directory errors, fixed them and Drive Genius2 to defrag it. I put it all back together and it's up and running

Called Apple support today and the TC is going to be replaced FOC as an exception through an Apple Retail Store!

Somehow I can't think it is going to be that simple to get it swapped but got to take what the man said at face value!

Will follow up to this post when I get it swapped.

Stu

This is the exact reason I couldn't just 'get an exchange'.

We're not just dealing with a broken device here, we're dealing with a device that has been marketed as a backup and storage device... If the solution from Apple for this was 'we'll replace your machine and transfer your data' then this would be fine.

But it isn't.

It's 'if you want to keep your perfectly fine data - the issue isn't with the hard drive at all - then tough!'

That's why I bought a £20 external SATA enclosure and ripped my TC apart.

And this was taken upon advice from the Apple advisor on the phone. It was literally my only option.

I removed the bottom rubber pad and metal cover. Inside I found that the fan was installed with the exhaust side facing the side of the hard drive rendering it useless. The fan has one rounded corner that has to clear a standoff that is attached to a circuit board. That requirement means that the fan can only be installed in two positions. Now get this -- the other position places the fan's exhaust inline with the end of the power supply! The power supply itself has side covers to form a tunnel that could direct the fan's air flow down the length of the power supply. The fan has three rubber attachments (in each of the non-rounded corners) that fasten it to matching holes in the metal bottom cover. Installing the fan in this alternate, more useful position would invert the three rubber attachments and render them useless. Perhaps the fan could be reinstalled in a useful position and held in place with appropriate springy (foam or rubber?) shims.

merovinqian wrote:
Thats nice, I just bought 1TB Time Capsule 😟

Is it possible this has been solved with 2nd generation of Time Capsules?

At least in Czech republic we have 2yrs warranty for everything.

No, the problem is one of insufficient cooling for the amount of power dissipated
inside the TC. The 2nd generation, if anything, added slightly more power dissipation
by the simultaneous dual band radio channels.