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Unable to archive Time Capsule using Airport Utility, "No AirPort disks available"

Hello again,

I have a 2TB Time Capsule (Model A1409) that is full of backups and I am in the process of archiving everything using Airport Utility. I open Airport Utility, select the Time Capsule > Disks and select "Archive Disk" but the available options are greyed out and displays "No AirPort disks available";


I have formatted my 2TB external drive (Samsung T7 ) as "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" as seen below;



and no matter how I format the external HD it is not recognized by AirPort Utility. The Time Capsule says 34.39GB available of 2TB and the external TB only has 852.5 MB used of the 2TB so space should not be the issue.


The only possible issue I suspect is I'm using my work computer with a work profile since I don't have an ethernet port available on my personal MacBook Pro so maybe permissions are an issue? I would expect it to explicitly state that to be an issue if that is the case.


Thanks

Ray

Posted on Mar 28, 2021 12:31 PM

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Posted on Mar 28, 2021 7:59 PM

You must have missed the instructions that I provided in your other earlier post.....linked below.....to connect the USB drive to the USB port on the Time Capsule. That is the whole purpose of the Archive process.


https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252574554


Glad the process did not require extra equipment.

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Mar 28, 2021 7:59 PM in response to rayraysayshi

You must have missed the instructions that I provided in your other earlier post.....linked below.....to connect the USB drive to the USB port on the Time Capsule. That is the whole purpose of the Archive process.


https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252574554


Glad the process did not require extra equipment.

Mar 28, 2021 1:23 PM in response to rayraysayshi

The hard drive connected to the USB port on the Time Capsule needs to be formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled), so you have that covered. FAT 32 should work as well, but the Mac format is preferred.


If your Mac can "see" the Time Capsule disk......named "Data" by default......then it should be able to "see" a drive connected to the USB port as well if the planets are also in nice alignment.


We will assume that the USB 2 port on the Time Capsule is working correctly.


The USB drive cannot use any type of encryption or "protection", so that would be one thing to check


The USB port on the Time Capsule is underpowered, so it is often necessary to use a powered USB hub with the hard drive.....even if the hard drive has its own power supply.


For example, I cannot connect my Lacie USB drive......which has an external power supply.....to the USB port on the Time Capsule and have it recognized..... unless.....I also use a powered USB hub.


If your USB hard drive is USB 3, that is supposed to be backwards compatible to the USB 2 port on the Time Capsule, but Apple has not changed the hardware on the Time Capsule in many years. A powered USB hub might allow things to interface when they otherwise will not.


Not sure if you are aware that the USB port on the Time Capsule will run at about half the normal speed of slow USB 2, so things are going to be S.....L.....O.....W when they are working.

Mar 28, 2021 1:19 PM in response to rayraysayshi

Samsung T7 is SSD and at 2TB is very big (and expensive) but it is likely too new for the old A1409 USB which has limited speed USB2 and limited current. Older USB is limited to 500ma.. do check the T7 rating for current.. I could not readily find the spec but my guess is it will need 5v at 1-2A. No way a TC can supply that much.


You might be more successful with a powered USB hub between the TC and the Samsung T7 .. but beware as not all hubs will work either and especially since the Samsung has USB-C chip in it..


Speed of archive to disk is woefully slow.. I recommend a rather ordinary plain old WD passport or the like. They are better drives for mundane purposes where the speed advantage of SSD is not significant.. and especially for backups where lots of sectors are rewritten at a rate that SSD are not so good for.

Unable to archive Time Capsule using Airport Utility, "No AirPort disks available"

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