Time Capsule Powered Off, Won't Power Back On

Basmar wrote:
Well you can add me to the list of ever growing users that are having the PS problems with their TC!!! I'm going to hit up Apple and see what they will do for me... Replacement would be great, but I'm not holding my breath

Unfortunately in Australia, Apple doesn't have the enlightened policies they do in Euro and USA.. here they just put their fingers in their ears and sing ting-a-ling-a loo!! But if you have AppleCare on any current product then they should replace it.. otherwise talk to a repairer.. see the list.

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

I have done about 50 all up now.. !!

Hi,

Looks like as of today I've joined the ranks of the disgruntled March 2008 Time Capsule users with dead power supplies.

I have been on the phone with Apple support in Australia for quite a bit of time today regarding this issue. Currently they are unaware that it is an issue but I have since had some pretty strong words with various people and I think they have gotten the idea that it's going to become an issue very soon.

Some tips for people with this issue,
1) If you have Applecare (extended warranty support thingy) on any of your Apple computers - USE IT. Let Apple know that you use your Time Capsule with that machine and they should replace it.
2) For those of you with important data to get off the Time Capsule (I had the joy of having 10 years worth of medical data on mine), make sure you get it OUT of the Time Capsule before handing it in to the service department. The service department reckon's they are just going to format the drive and refurbish it.

Now tips one and two don't really work well together as they only way to get data out of the Time Capsule is via opening it. Opening it voids the warranty. The various service departments I have called today (Macsales and Next Byte) say they don't open the Time Capsule and thus don't recover data of it. So basically you are screwed.

Anyway if you are like me and REALLY need to get your data off the Time Capsule, the follow guide should help.

1) First you need to crack it open - http://www.applefritter.com/node/23907 - this is a decent guide.
2) Get some sort of SATA drive docking solution. I used this one via the firewire interface
http://www.newertech.com/products/voyagerq.php
3) Mount your drive in the drive dock and you'll notice that you still can't access your data due to lack of privileges.
4) Enable root user access on your Mac. The process is different between Leopard and Snow Leopard. In Leopard, all you need to do is go into Directory Utility which is located in the Utilities Folder. In Snow Leopard, you have to enable it via, System Preferences/Accounts/Login Options/Network Account Server:Join then you can Open Directory Utility.
Make sure you unlock Directory Utility and click Edit to Enable Root User.
5) Log out and log back in as root (with whatever password you nominated). You should now have access to your Time Capsule's data.
6) It's probably not a bad idea to disable your root user access once all this is done too.

Now if you opened the Time Capsule properly (using a heat gun/hairdryer and not tearing the rubber base), you should be able to put it back together with no one being the wiser and still get it replace via the Applecare warranty.

One more thing I found out today...Apple actually has a direct feedback line for issues like this. They don't send you individual replies but if enough people spam their lines, they supposedly sit up and take notice.

http://www.apple.com/feedback
Specifically for us,
http://www.apple.com/feedback/timecapsule.html

I never knew about this part of their website till I got off the phone with some Apple Product Specialist in India who I think was sick of me telling him that the lack of ventilation for the power supply was causing the caps to melt. The design of internal power supply of this Time Capsule really does leave something to be desired. There is a small 3cm or so fan cooling the psu that has no intake or exhaust ports. I think they are relying mainly on the aluminium base to cool the unit but have forgotten that the rubber covering acts as an insulator.

Anyway hope this helps guys,

Cheers,

G

Message was edited by: Gior

GOOD NEWS - I called Apple this morning after my TC died last night and they said this +IS A KNOWN ISSUE+ for TC within a serial number range, including mine. They are sending a new replacement at no charge.
They didn't provide me the serial number range, and they may extend it as time goes on if this truly is a design issue, so don't give up.
My serial number was 6F8104FJYZV, ordered Feb 29th, 2008 (18 months to the day)

Note, when I called Apple, I explained to the friendly tech support person that this was a recently discovered known issue reported here in the discussions, and she promptly escalated it up to a supervisor level - he was not yet aware of the issue, but researched it while I was on the line and confirmed that it had been recognized by Apple within the last week or two.

Good luck, and good on ya Apple - just watch that form or function factor.

Hello awhite6000,

You may have had your TC for between 1 and 2 years, possibly slightly longer? Is it a 500GB or 1TB unit, that used to run 'hot' to the touch?

If yes, to these two questions, it is highly likely (>95%) that the power supply unit (PSU) has cooked itself to death. The PSU stops supplying power and the whole TC dies. Again, it is highly likely that the data stored away on the internal hard drive, is perfectly OK. It is merely physically isolated and sealed away in a dead box. This happens to lots and lots and LOTS of people - almost everyone who visits this thread and one other on these Apple forums.

Options open to you are:

1. Sweet talk Apple into swapping this unit for a 'new' refurbished unit.
2. Loudly harangue Apple for producing a 'server grade' back-up device that has singularly failed to do what it was designed to do. It is not 'fit for purpose' and should be exchanged forthwith for a 'new' refurbished unit.
3. Do not approach Apple. Extract the hard drive and put it into something like a DROBO case and use it that way. Find some other way of wifi linking your computers though.
4. Get the unit 'repaired' by one of the people on this list, kindly compiled by Ray Haverfield (Melbourne, Oz. All round good guy).

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

5. Do it yourself, using Ray's help, etc.
6. Don't give up!

NOTE: Points 1 and 2 above have the same outcome but one might involve raised voices and unpleasantness. 😉

You are following the path that so many before you have trodden. Welcome to the club! 🙂

Regards,
Chris Fackrell
YORK,
UK.

The issue isn't so much bad caps as bad thermal design.. the cap next to the yellow tape wrapped transformer dies first.. followed by the second one down the line due to high ripple plus temp after the first one goes. I have repaired about 50 of them but very few now since Apple did the extended warranty. Please note.. apple at least in US and probably UK do offer file restore as part of this replacement.. not in Australia.. I did just repair one because Apple refused to do any data recovery even though the extended warranty promises they will.. but hey, this is Australia.. we always get treated this way.

See my pictures of the dead caps.. and how to fix it.
https://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modem s

Freddietheone also has excellent pictures on his website.. so if anyone wants to do this repair please check beforehand as there are some important points.. like the primary caps are charged and dangerous. And the secondary caps have to be 8x20mm max to fit.

http://www.fackrell.me.uk/

It will also die again in less than 6 months without fan mod to improve the cooling. The new caps being packed in even tighter and actually touching the transformer will lead to massive overheat.

Hi all,

For those of your having problems with Time Capsule not powering on you might want to check your eligibility based on this article released yesterday - http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3351

My gen. 1 1TB TC purchased 3/2008 lost its power supply Sunday night. 18 months old, purchased from Apple online here in Sweden along with some software, but no computer so no possibility of including Applecare at time of purchase.

I called Apple support and explained the situation, emphasizing that I purchase Applecare whenever possible but that it was not possible in this case. They offered two options: 1) To retroactively include the TC on an existing Applecare contract, thus enabling my local service center to order a replacement unit, or 2) to invoke the Swedish Consumer Purchase Protection Law which specifies that products must be free from defects for at least 2 years from date of purchase.

Apple support preferred to go the AppleCare route, so we tracked down the S/N of the computer that has the most recent Applecare contract and tied the TC and connected the two devices. I did this while on the premises with my service center, so the service manager ordered the replacement TC as soon as I finished the call with Apple support. It should arrive from Holland tomorrow, Friday at the latest.

We only had backup files on the TC, so we didn't need to remove the HD to retrieve anything critical, but I will think twice about using it as anything other than a backup. Hopefully the gen. 2 replacement unit will be a bit more reliable.

Similar thing happened to me last night. The TC was working fine and then it just stopped working - the power supply was dead. Just got off the phone with applecare and luckily it was covered under my imac applecare plan. They were very nice about the whole thing and are sending me a refurb gratis.

I did see a thread about this that described a way to replace the power supply:
V http://forums.mactalk.com.au/28/71270-time-capsule-dead-power-supply.html>

Whilst you have it in pieces, repairing it isn't that hard.

The board uses 5v at about 2A. And the hdd is powered directly off the supply with a standard sata power connector. The power supply is rated at 1.2A for 12v line and 3A on the 5v line.

I have done some work describing how to repair it.
See http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modems /apple-time-capsule-repair

There is a pdf outlining the process here.
http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modems

It is relatively trivial repair in the sense that the internal supply is completely replaced with an external power supply. Should have always been externally powered just like mac mini or the AEBS. A small in line power supply is no biggie really. That keeps the total watt dissipation in the box minimised. High temperature is evil for both the hard disk and the power supply electrolytic capacitors.

There are a number of different ways to do it other than what I have suggested. I am about to repair another one, and have a different method which should be neater. Will add that to the site probably next week. It will use a regulated 12v 3A power supply externally with a simple 2.5mm dc connector and then a 12v-5v dc converter internally which are readily available from hobby stores or ebay. About US$8.

The hdd could even be used externally in an esata enclosure. Simply cut a hole in TC for esata connector. Then you have easily replaceable parts.
But at least the external power supply is going to get it running again.

I have also studied the design of the cooling system and it is wrong... just plain wrong. In the notes I gave some indication of how to do it, but i will take some photos on the next repair. The fan should draw in air from underneath instead of just sitting there swirling hot air around inside.

Hope some of you will give it a go and report back.
In Australia I am thinking of offering repairs so do contact me.

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

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!!!

migs mclee wrote:
Died again - couldn't recover anything - which means you cannot order a replacement power supply if you want to DIY or get your repair guy to fix it so you can save your data.

If what you have on the TC is important, take it to an old fashioned TV/Electronics repairer.
You can print out or give them URL to repair instructions. Replacement of 3 caps is no biggie, if you have important data.
http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modems /apple-time-capsule-repair/apple-time-capsule-repair-type2

Also the HDD can be removed and simply connected to a computer.

IMHO it should be called Time Bubble... and the non-removable hdd makes it a dead duck.

philippeannet wrote:
The PSU is a cheap peace of chinese crap, that didn't withstand the temp inside... some caps are dead, but almost impossible to replace because components are sunk in some sort of rubber.

I also thought that but the issue was not the power supply quality... actually the caps that died are good quality. It is simply poor thermal design... caps are not designed to last that long at high temperature. In fact the caps well exceeded their rated life to last 18months running 24/7.

You have a couple of ways around it... In Europe your consumer laws are stronger and the retailer is responsible and should replace it.

And it is infact possible to repair.
See http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modems /apple-time-capsule-repair/apple-time-capsule-repair-type2
A number of people have successfully done it.

Cheers