Lion prevents Airport disk Time Machine back up

WhozCraig - Ugh, but I guess it's better to face reality than just keep wishing....so, thanks for the info.

I just want backing up to be easy and files to be available to all the ipods, ipads, and apple portables in my family!!!! Will this work through a server? That's probably and different list. I don't have a server though, so I have been reading and following this list, hoping to figure out how to work around the Time Machine over airport inconsistencies........

I guess I am still unclear on whether the backing up over wifi using Time Machine works if the hard drive is connected to a Macbook Pro on the network. Or, does this configuration also fall under the AFP issues and lead to inconsistencies and possible failed backups? thanks......

Vicky Q wrote:

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I guess I am still unclear on whether the backing up over wifi using Time Machine works if the hard drive is connected to a Macbook Pro on the network.

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This is a supported configuration.

We have 3 Macs in our home, two of which back up to the third over wifi using Time Machine. The wifi is provided by an Airport Extreme. It works fine.

When I first got the Airport Extreme, I was unaware that backups to a hard drive attached to the Airport Extreme was not supported. It worked for a while and then failed.

What I did to get it working was to unplug the external Hd from the MAC and the reconnect it once it is reconnected time machine reconizes the HD. I tested this several times ran a backup and so far so good.

Dquinn13 wrote:

I had the same issue; I could see my drive in the Airport Utility, and on the sidebar in finder but Time Machine could not see the drive. After 3 or 4 hours combing fourms I tried this very complex solution...

Open Finder.

Drag your Airport drive from finder to the right side of the dock.

Click on the @ spring icon that you just created and allow it to connect.

Open Time Machine and select the drive...

this is what worked for me as well -- use Finder's "Connect to server" and browse your network for the APE, then into the USB volume. next right-click the USB drive's name at the bottom of the window and select "Open enclosing folder" -- this shows you the drive as an icon, along w/ any other physical drives you drive. drag the drive on the left-hand dock, where it will register under "Devices".

now when you visit the TM prefs it will show up as an available drive to use.

enjoy.

The reason backing-up to a USB drive connected to an Airport Extreme is not supported is, it's generally unreliable. Yes, it may work for some number of days, weeks, or even months, but in most cases the backups will turn up corrupted, sooner or later, often beyond repair.

As long as you either have other, more reliable backups, or don't mind risking the loss of your data, the convenience may outweigh the risks.

But it's not a good idea to recommend it without clearly specifying the very real possibility that the backups may turn out to be useless just when they're needed the most.

correct its not supported. perhaps for good reason. that being said, ive been using it in this fashion for years and its been good for single-file retrieval. have not tried a full system restore from it so wouldnt rely on that.

Yes, as posted, it does work in some circumstances, for some period of time.

There are also many, many posts in these forums by folks who backed-up that way for a time, sometimes quite a long time; then there was a problem with their Macs and they needed to do a full restore, but the backups were corrupted beyond repair, and they lost everything.

My point is, it's irresponsible to provide a workaround without including some mention of the risks.

yet i noted myself in my original post that i dont rely on this for full system restores. ive had zero problems for simple retrieval tasks for many years over multiple macs, and i dont expect i will.

to suggest posting the work-around, even w/ a qualifier, is "irresponsible" is absurd. this is a free country, not a nanny state. we're big boys and can make our own decisions. dont worry about what i do.

As you say, it's a free country.

I think it's irresponsible to entice folks who may not know better to do something dangerous, without mentioning the actual risks.

I don't worry about what you do; I worry about those who may follow your advice without adequate knowledge.

I've seen far too many posts here by folks who've lost their only backups that way.

i dont think its responsible. the risks have been well documented and cited in the very threads we're particpating in.

when i say dont worry about what "i do" im not referring to me singularly -- im referring to what others do. those who are all not you. but you do worry. because you have a hero complex and believe it is up to you to save others from their own ignorance & decisions. which is really kind of arrogant, if you think about it. its a problem not only in this forum but in this country itself.

its okay, really. we dont need saving.

mdelvecchio wrote:

i dont think its responsible. the risks have been well documented and cited in the very threads we're particpating in.

Unfortunately, many folks don't read all the posts in a long thread here; they often go to the last post and if it seems to have an answer, that's about as far as they read. Sometimes that gets them into trouble.

you do worry. because you have a hero complex

There's no need to try long-distance psychoanalysis. I do not have a hero complex; I've just seen far too many posts over the years by folks who've lost their only backups this way. Let's keep this about the facts, not speculation about motives or politics.

Backups are different from other areas; if you make a mistake, or take bad advice, or even do something silly, in most areas it's not a catastrophe especially if you have backups.

But if your only backups are lost, it can be awful. Again, backups done this way are damaged or lost with disturbing frequency.

All I'm saying is, if you're going to recommend something, include the risks. Then people can make informed decisions.

We've both had plenty of opportunity to be clear. Let's give it a rest.

if you really believe its only about keeping to the facts, you wouldnt include your own (personal) judgement that my post was irresponsible because people dont know how to read; despite my very post mentioning the exact risks you chose to re-iterate. so please, lay off the Good of the Nation (tm) stuff.

In your second post in this thread, your only caveat was that you "have not tried doing a full restore off it."

That's a neutral statement; not positive, not negative. No mention of risk at all.

Now, please, let's drop this.

I'm amazed that anyone would even be looking for a workaround to bypass this restriction in Lion.

It's not supported, and for good reason. Before I knew better, I was backing up to an Airport Extreme's hard drive, eventually it failed, and I lost months of backups. There is no "perhaps" about Apple having good reason to not support TimeMachine on Airport disks. It doesn't work reliably.

The reason I even tried it was because it seemed like a good idea at the time, and I had not unearthed the Apple support statement. I'd have been much happier if the Airport Extreme product description included the TimeMachine usage restriction. TimeMachine was the main reason I bought the Airport, which I saw as a more expandable Time Capsule.

The casual reader of this thread could conclude that bypassing the restrictions which Apple instituted in Lion is actually a good idea, and the facts are plain. It is not.

the risks have already been stated in these very threads, as ive mentioned. i dont think anyone has contested or suggested otherwise. if you felt it was risk-free to try it anyway, more fool you.

if someone has a desire to use APE-powered time machine file backups, knowning that that it may not be useful for full system restores, then i fully support their personal decision to embark or not. it's not my business.

but it is possible. have been doing it for years w/o problems.