Level 1

20 points

Setting up 2TB Time Capsule for backups only.

I have used my 2TB Time Capsule for years but since relocating, I have not had it connected for some time. The reason being that mu Sky Router is downstairs, in the hallway and my Hive Heating modem plugged into it. My iMac and Time Capsule are upstairs in my study. Is there any way to use the TC for automatic backups, without being connected to the Sky router, and are there any issues with the old backups that should be sitting on the TC?

Mass-Storage Management Software

Posted on Feb 14, 2020 12:16 AM

31 replies

Feb 15, 2020 8:52 PM in response to billbir

This is a rather embarrassing missive,

Not at all.. it means congrats.. you succeeded.

If you have issues post the screenshots as per what I did and if there is any fine tuning needed we can give you that info. You can find this setup does get lost at times.. and depending on the OS you run you could be well advised to start using another backup which is more reliable like Carbon Copy Cloner once or twice a day while Time Machine is left at defaults.

billbir Author

Level 1

20 points

Feb 15, 2020 11:59 PM in response to LaPastenague

Hi,

Thanks for your very considerable help. Just checked, having left the iMac on all night, and it says latest backup was 7.11am and next one scheduled for 8.07am. The earliest backup was February 2014. My iMac is a 27" 5K Retina late 2014 and I am running MacOS Catalina version 10.15.3.

Bill

billbir Author

Level 1

20 points

Feb 21, 2020 7:15 AM in response to LaPastenague

Sorry to raise my Apple Time Capsule issue again, but I have some questions.

1) Should the light on my TC be green all of the time, because when I switch off it goes to flashing amber?

2)Airport Utility does not pick up the TC until I switch from wifi to Ethernet. It does not seem to stay on Ethernet, when I switch off, but reverts to wifi Does .this means that I need to remember this every time I switch on the iMac, otherwise I will not be backing up?

3{ I will try to send some screenshots of my set up, as they do not seem to match yours.

Bill

Feb 21, 2020 1:10 PM in response to LaPastenague

I think the OP has set up the TC in a somewhat normal fashion.......not the way that you have detailed. So, backups work OK when the Mac is using Ethernet.

But......when the Mac is connected to WiFi, the Mac can connect to the Internet, but backups are not occurring at all as long as WiFi is active on the Mac.

I may be wrong, but this is what I suspect is really happening.

billbir Author

Level 1

20 points

Feb 21, 2020 2:12 PM in response to LaPastenague

So you do have backup and internet at the same time? Yes

Don't forget the alternative setup I mentioned using Powerline adapters. These are very popular in UK with a lot of old brick houses being difficult to wire for ethernet.

I have recently moved to a new build, and my broadband speed is pretty good, so I have done away with Powerlines as my wife does not want the clutter. I have also been told that the use of Powerlines, reduces the overall speed. Not anxious to do that. Finally, there is a cost associated with this, which I do not have to incur if I can make the TC work.

Bill

billbir Author

Level 1

20 points

Feb 24, 2020 4:19 AM in response to LaPastenague

Hi,

sorry to be a pain, but I would like to pick your brains. You said “Buy a USB external drive. (You could also buy thunderbolt or if your iMac is old Firewire but any iMac since 2012 or 2013 will be USB3 and that is the cheapest by far).

You can buy them already formatted for Mac .. I suggest drives of around 2TB for 2.5" portable type and 4TB for 3.5" desktop type (come with power supply). I use HGST Touro. Others use WD or Seagate or LaCie.. makes little difference. You can see the hgst drive in the Finder screenshot above.. I use a 3.5" 4TB one which is partitioned into two parts and I run Time Machine to one partition and Carbon Copy Cloner to the other due to Time Machine really being unreliable now. “

1) Can you tell me why They are easier to operate than the TC?

2) Do they use Time Machine in the same way as the TC?

3) How do I ensure that the USB drive is already formatted for my late 2014 iMac running OS Catalina

4) Could you send me, say an Amazon UK link that matches your criteria? I have looked myself but nothing leaps out that meets your spec. This link would also enable me to see what the USB looks like.

if I am abusing your good nature, just tell me.

Bill

billbir Author

Level 1

20 points

Feb 24, 2020 2:05 PM in response to LaPastenague

Thanks for your very comprehensive and helpful response. If I have understood correctly, there appears to be two issues:-

1) if the USB solution does not use Time Machine, does it still back up incrementally and is it easy to recover data from it? On Time Machine you can recover an individual file. Can you with USB?

2) is it easy to format the USB using Disk Utility?

Bill

billbir Author

Level 1

20 points

Feb 24, 2020 3:06 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Thanks Bob, that does not seem too onerous, but how do you tell the computer to backup to the USB, if you do not use Time Machine, and how can you restore. Time machine ( when it works ) allows you to recover a specific file from a specific day. I suspect that the USB methodology, does not allow this, but I live in hope that you say it does.

Bill

Feb 24, 2020 3:38 PM in response to billbir

You are misunderstanding.

The USB drive is a target for Time Machine.

Just like the Time Capsule is a target for Time Machine.

The Time Capsule is not involved in the backup process.. that is purely Time Machine which is backup software on your compuer. It copies all the files on your computer to the target drive.

Same for USB drive.. it does nothing itself.. it is merely a disk. The software you use for backup is or can still be Time Machine. ie it will behave identically to using TC only be faster and more reliable. You can restore files exactly as you do now.

Here is my list of disks (targets) in Time Machine.

hgst1 is a USB drive plugged directly to the computer. (HGST is a brand of external drives bought out by WD)

J1900NAS is a Synology NAS on the network.

tc5e is a 2TB Time Capsule.

All targets are selected in rotation. The fastest and most reliable is HGST1

It is also used in two partitions with Carbon Copy Cloner which is actually my trustworth backup.

Feb 24, 2020 3:40 PM in response to billbir

Your Mac can back up using Time Machine (software on your Mac) to a Time Capsule (hardware) or to a USB drive (hardware), or both.

Anything that you can do with Time Machine backing up to a Time Capsule you can do with Time Machine backing up to a USB drive. The USB drive will be faster and more reliable than a Time Capsule, though.

billbir Author

Level 1

20 points

Feb 15, 2020 6:55 AM in response to LaPastenague

Screenshot of Airport Utility missing. How do I attach. Image insertion does not work and the paperclip says wrong URL.

billbir Author

Level 1

20 points

Feb 21, 2020 1:42 PM in response to LaPastenague

LaPastenague/Bob,

Thanks for your very helpful replies. I will work through your suggested changes tomorrow. It seems that I may have ‘fluked’ it!

Bill

Feb 21, 2020 5:50 PM in response to billbir

If you are getting better speed from wireless than Powerline adapters then great.

As Rumpole used to say.. She Who Must Be Obeyed! SWMBO for short can dictate terms.

billbir Author

Level 1

20 points

Feb 24, 2020 3:48 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Hi Guys, thanks for your helpful input. I believe that you have given me enough information to make a decision.

Bill

Feb 14, 2020 3:10 PM in response to LaPastenague

Can I ask why you need this?

Because we are going to use TC on a separate network without a gateway. But saying that is fairly obscure I suspect.

Here is a previous post I did with the instructions.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7726868?answerId=30888441022#30888441022

Let me try and simplify that somewhat.

You need to configure the TC and the computer.

To do this it is easiest to do all the major settings.. First Pass.

Then tidy up any issues on a second pass.

Step 1. Configure the TC.

Plug the TC Lan port to Lan port on the iMac. Open your airport utility.

Reset the TC to factory and set it up again. (Reset will not delete the existing backup).

Use short names <8 characters, no spaces and pure alphanumerics. NOT APPLE RECOMMENDED NAMES.

Passwords same but 8-20 characters.

I have setup to match your configuration.

My main network is using 192.168.20.x instead of 192.168.0.x but the principle is the same.

One important thing.

You need to know to swap control of the airport utility from wireless to ethernet.. here.

Here is the shot of the TC. I reset it and gave it a new name.. You should end up with something very close.

Please note you will have lots of errors showing in the airport utility.. just ignore them for now. We can fix that on second pass.

Now in the computer make sure you have wireless at the top of the list of network connections and ethernet below it.. if your order is different fix it with gear symbol on the bottom and set order.

Now I have both Internet working over wireless.. and backup can work over ethernet at the same time. You can check in Finder that you can mount the TC disk first. With the disk mounted setup Time Machine to use this disk for backup and run it.

So first pass gets you to a working configuration.

Do not worry about anything else until you get to this point. If you have issues give me a screenshot of where you are up to and what is going wrong.

I will put second pass, cleanup and error fixes in a second post.. as it is more important that you get to a working setup.

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Setting up 2TB Time Capsule for backups only.