Time Capsule Powered Off, Won't Power Back On

Here's one more for the list. My 1T TC died this morning. Bought it in Feb 2008 (just about 19 months ago). Exact same scenario as everyone else here.

Mine died- purchased Jan/08- received March 08

Apple are the best company in the world!

I had my out of warranty, non-apple care covered dead time capsule replaced within 15 mins this morning. Even better they gave me a 1Tb capsule to replace my 500GB one as it was the only one in stock. They even let me keep my dead time capsule so I could extract the data.

I did have to quote the Sale of Good Act and threaten to invite them to a small claims court but the staff in the shop were very understanding.

Great job apple! (although next time use an external power source)

IT'S ALIVE!

Umplugged it for a day and it powered back on just now. Trying to retrieve data as I don't trust this sucker reliability and expect it to die any time.

Just thought you all should know and perhaps try the same thing to save your data.

Rik@Bluewater wrote:
Apple are the best company in the world!


I did have to quote the Sale of Good Act and threaten to invite them to a small claims court but the staff in the shop were very understanding.

Great job apple! (although next time use an external power source)

I notice they do no such thing in countries where the law doesn't actually force them to... nor should they have allowed you to keep the dead one... it is actually Apple's property when they replaced it...
I wonder what will happen to the shop assistant when the manager finds out???

migs mclee wrote:
IT'S ALIVE!

Umplugged it for a day and it powered back on just now. Trying to retrieve data as I don't trust this sucker reliability and expect it to die any time.

Just thought you all should know and perhaps try the same thing to save your data.

Thanks, I thought from other posts that might work... but don't expect more than a day out of it... instantly recover what you need as soon as you turn it on.

The caps have given out,,, but that is under high temperature. They don't self heal... but the characteristics change with the temperature reduced again. It will finally not start at all, but for a few days you have a chance to recover data...

To anybody listening... If you have a time capsule (bubble now seems a better term), that is approaching 18months of age... or really any beyond 12months... your bubble is going to burst. Do not rely on it for data storage or backups. Remember if it is dead and apple replace it under Applecare etc. your info that is not encrypted in a backup will be available to whoever gets them to refurbish. They

I wrote to the Store Manager so I'm guessing he/she made the final decision.

The old TC is technically my property as it was out of warranty and Apple gave me the new one.

Just wanted to let everyone know that the Capacitor replacement has resurrected my Time Capsule power supply... this will be the backup to my external power supply mod using a Cicso power supply. Here is a link to LaPastenague's directions:

http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modems /apple-time-capsule-repair/apple-time-capsule-repair-type2

I am happy with the External Cisco Power Supply for now since it keeps a majority of the heat out of the box, but I will soon do the FAN MOD as suggest on the above site to keep the TC cooler!!!

Ooops!!
Today morning, my Time Capsule is gone.
I bought this at Feb. 2008.
I use this during about 18 month 18 days. v_v
I think it is very short period.

Same issue here, time capsule was working fine when my daughter woke me up at 3 am, when I got back up at 7 am it was dead. I bought it on March 26, 2008, just shy of 18 months ago. This doesn't seem what one should expect from a "server-grade" device.

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.

Same thing happened here. Showed up to the office and it is dead. Covered under AppleCare though. But who would have thought that an Apple product would only survive for 18 months. That's not a quality product.

Add me to the list... **** it. 1Tb TimeCapsule died 3 days ago and I just found out now when my wife said that the TIVO upstairs hasn't seen the downstairs one for 3 days and now I remember hearing a high pitched noise 3 days ago and wondering what the heck it was.

This ***** beyond all suckness.

Luckily, if you have an AppleCare Protection Plan for a Mac that you use with TC, it covers the TC as well. I have a TC purchased on May 10, 2008 and am wondering if it's just a matter of time until mine dies too. It's good to know that it will be replaced if/when that happens (I have an APP for my MacBook Pro), but I'm worried about my data. 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?

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!!