Macbook can't find Time Capsule anymore

Hi All.

I came looking for some solutions to find this thread. I'm having the same issues on two Macs on what could be seen as a very simple network.

2TB Time Capsule (purchased recently), iMac and MBP, both with fresh installs of Yosemite.

Getting "The backup disk could not be found. Make sure the backup disk is connected or select a different backup disk." when I try to backup sometimes. Only solution is to turn my wifi on and off. It's not that bad, just annoying as automated backups aren't happening.

Hopefully Apple can patch this one up!

~ A

Hi, add Airport Utility in Utilities to your Login In Items, Users & Groups, System Preferences. Reboot and your hourly TMs should start to fire back up again, regularly.

Let us know how you get on.

There is a major issue with dns.. people are now hacking back the mdns responder from 10.9 in frustration.

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2015/01/why-dns-in-os-x-10-10-is-broken-and-what-yo u-can-do-to-fix-it/

Yes, I read about this, this morning.

Sadly, I don't have an old 10.9 installation to copy the mDNS file... And, I don't fancy setting up Mavs in order to rip the file and then patch away.

Ideally, now that the issue has been identified Apple will get it fixed. We shouldn't be having to patch our own systems with previous OS files for it to 'just work'.

A very interesting read though.

(Edit) Additionally, my workaround seems a lot less intrusive, albeit annoying, and it seems to result in the stability I would expect but was not there without it).

Apple have been in touch and I am currently running with a fault free TC/TM back up, which is working as it was supposed to do in the first instance. They have yet to explain to me what the issue was/is... But they did supply a Terminal command and that seems to have done the trick.

Before applying the command I removed AU from Login Items, Users & Groups, System Preferences, which was part of my workaround. I would suggest you do the same if you have tried that workaround.

Reboot your machine and open Terminal.

((Before you apply this command, I will stress that I cannot and will not accept any responsibility if this does not work for you))

Apply this command: sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.backupd-auto.plist

Terminal will ask for your admin password. Enter it as per...

Terminal will either accept the command or it will report that the process is already in use.

Either/or, reboot your machine and everything permitting you should have a working TC/TM and Airport Utility should be stable again.

It is early stages testing for me. But I have rebooted a few times, and messed around as I normally would do and thus far there have been no concerning issues with TC/TM or AU.

It might be worth a shot. But do back up your system, prior to proceeding, if you are unsure of Terminal and the sudo commands.

Good luck.

ARGH!!!!

My setup is repeating the same problems again... I have no idea why it started to work and did so for about 48 hours, but now it is back to it's old ways.

AU keeps forgetting the TC, and therefore my TM's delay...

I've gone back to my Login Items workaround and have reported this back to Apple...

Well, having Airport Utility as a Login Item worked for quite awhile but sometimes yesterday I got the same message-backup couldn't be done, Time Capsule couldn't be found. Ugh.

Are you by any chance running McAffee AV on your mac? I was and then upon uninstalling it, everything (time machine, printer, etc.) began working again.

I have about given up on TC as well. Have started using Yosemite Server on one of my machines as a Time Capsule and so far that is working extremely well. My hardware TC is a 4th gen.

I uninstalled my McAfee AV and my Airport TimeCapsule and printer worked again! Thank you so much! I was about to go crazy trying to figure out what was going on.

I have been reading that there are many bugs and one of the more stable firmwares is 7.6.1. Try downgrading the firmware to that and see how it goes. To downgrade open AirPort Utility, select the device and option-click the version number. You’ll see a pull menu with previous firmware versions to choose from. Pick 7.6.1.

If you don’t have a Mac, use the AirPort Utility on iOS (get it from the AppStore). Tap the router, tap the version and choose from the "“Older Versions” in the list.

I had the same problem. Got help from Apple Tech Support. It was an issue with how the MacBook connects to TC. The router connection was via "Bridge" Mode, we changed to "DHCP and NAT" mode. It is working fine now (has been 3 days, no problems). Here are the steps for this fix:

1. Reset your TC. (Unplug, wait a few seconds, plug)

2. Wait till TC restarts (i.e. solid green light)

3. Open Airport Utility (click on search, magnifying glass, upper right corner, type Airport Utility)

4. Click on the TC icon

5. Under status (6th item down), should see at least two items, if you see "Off (Bridge Mode)", click on it, and click "Edit"

6. You should be in "Airport Utility" "Network" tab

7. Click on the "Router Mode" and select "DHCP and NAT". This will provide TC with a private IP address on its ethernet WAN port

8. Click on "Update"

9. Check to see if you have access to your TC hard drive...

You might have to reconnect your devices (printer, roku, playstation, etc.) to your wireless.

I also had a third message (step 5) which stated that my TC hard drive might have problems, clicked on it, have Airport Utility check it, it was able recycle/repair it. I had to do the TC hard drive repair before continuing with step 6. Everything is fine now.

Good Luck...

Hello,

I am having similar issues, however as I am using WakeOnLan I can see what is connected on my network, and I discovered the TM share at some point got a weird IP of its own. My home network uses a regular range, e.g. 192.168.1.xxx, after reseting the TM due to issues, it acquired an IP within that range, however over time it decided to go to 192.254.52.69.

Although backups continue uninterrupted, unlike before the reset when they would regularly be unable to complete, the drive share was unavailable.

If, like me, you experience similar issues, I recommend getting WakeOnLan so see where your TM is on the network, as it might be given an IP outside your Mac range.

Neat fix, helped me out of the same problem.

Hurray! This worked. Thanks for the work around - appreciated.