Can i use the time capsule for storage or just backup?

It is far from ideal. But it does depend on what you are doing. Are you going to store you iphoto library on the TC then it is not recommended.

Store files on the TC.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5748414?answerId=24380694022#24380694022

This is asked several times a day.. obviously people are struggling with their latest SSD being too small.

The TC is not suitable for network file server.. but many people having no choice press it into service as such.

It cannot be partitioned. It was and is and ever shall be a backup device for Time Machine.

Major issues.

1. No backup.. no way Time Machine can backup a network drive. No place to backup to.. So all your files will be at risk. And you will need to buy a third party like CCC to do backup.

2. The TC cannot be partitioned and mixing TM backups and data is not great.

3. The drive is slow to spin up and quick to spin down.. there is no controls.

4. iPhoto in particular can easily corrupt its entire library with wireless networking causing a disconnection to one photo. Even if you do this;;; do not move your photo library... you have been warned!!

5. iTunes will constantly lose connection to the library. The disk is too slow to respond.. itunes on the computer will constantly spit out errors. Even in the midst of streaming the TC can spin down the disk due to caching.

6. Do not use any live files on the TC no matter what else you do.. if you edit files in whatever program the file must be on the local hard disk.

7. The only suitable location for most libraries is a computer. You can plug in an external hard disk.

Read pondini for some work arounds.

Q3 here. http://pondini.org/TM/Time_Capsule.html

Um so is that a yes or a no?? Sorry I am not a techie person and cant make heads or tails from what you said.

Um so is that a yes or a no?? Sorry I am not a techie person and cant make heads or tails from what you said.

It is Yes you can. The original question is

Can i use the time capsule for storage

And NO, you should not. At least not without taking into account the list of issues.

Not everything you CAN do you SHOULD do.

At the very least if you store files on the TC.. be aware of what I mentioned as potential problems. Maybe you won't lose all your files.. because you now have no backup. But do you want to find that out the hard way??

If I merely say yes, you can.. then I am concerned that people take that advice as saying the TC is actually suitable for this task.. without caring about the nature of the device and its shortcomings.

If I say NO.. people go ahead and do it anyway.. well I hope they do it with their eyes open.

If you want a simple answer then I would say NO!!!!

But this is a user forum.. and the next person comes along and says YES!!! Take your pick.

Read this post for one example of why moving files to a TC is not a great idea.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5984756?answerId=25147910022#25147910022

So is there a external storage device thats Mac compatable and connects to the network? Meaning I can drop a file into it while on the Imac and open it later on the Macbook?

If you want to store files which are not stored on your Mac buy a proper NAS from Synology or QNAP. The WD MyCloud might also be ok.. if you want a cheaper option. But it doesn't rank with the genuine NAS. They are all compatible with both Mac and PC.

They have many models to choose from.. set up a mirrored raid and something suitable for your price range. And use its automatic backup to a USB or esata drive.

You can also use a Mac Server, which doesn't necessarily mean Mac Server OS.. but a Mac that is used as a central store.. this is very useful for libraries which can then be shared with the network.

See http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3819

If you are happy for the iMac to fill that role, then great.. Use the TC as backup.. and get a large USB or fastest drive you can afford eg firewire 800>USB2. And share that to the network.. it must be formatted HFS+ so it can be backed up by Time Machine. There is no need to buy a device to share from.. you can share any drive from a computer to the network.

Always plan to have files in two places (if not 3 for valuable info) not one. So you have files in the Mac and on the TC / backup drive and possibly an offsite backup.

To simply share a few files there is nothing wrong with dropping them onto a TC. As long as you do not delete the files from primary store. You should however do something to prevent TM interferring with data files assuming TM is being used, such as fixing the size of the sparsebundle.

See A8 here. http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html