I want to set up a basic home network

They advised that I could "split" the storage on the ATC using it to backup whats on the laptop and use it as an external hard drive for all the photos etc. I did ask if this left me exposed by now only having this data on the ATC but it was implied that this is pretty safe given the fail rate of ATC being very low.

So, If I am understanding this correctly, the photos, media, etc., would only be on the Time Capsule drive? So, you have no backups of this data?

Hard to believe that "they" would have offered this type of advice.

Honestly, only the most foolhardy of users would ever consider doing something like this. If you decide to do this, we can guarantee that you will lose your photos and media......we just can't say when this will occur.

To be safe....you always need at least two copies of your important data....on two different hard drives. All hard drives will fail. When....not if...one fails, you have a copy of your important data on the other drive.

Connect a USB hard drive to the MacBook Air and put all your photos and media on that drive. Then, Time Machine will back up both your MacBook Air and the attached hard drive to the Time Capsule. So, you have "originals" on one drive and "backups" on another drive.

darlaur wrote:

They advised that I could "split" the storage on the ATC using it to backup whats on the laptop and use it as an external hard drive for all the photos etc.

I'll give the Apple Store great benefit of doubt and assume what they really meant to say was that you can elect to use an external USB hard disk connected to the TC for that "external hard drive". Using a TC's internal hard disk – or any hard disk for that matter – for both Time Machine backups and additional storage is not a good idea for at least these two reasons:

• TC cannot back up its own contents
• all hard disks will eventually fail.

If you are using nearly all your existing computer's 500 GB storage, I strongly recommend configuring a MacBook Air with 512 GB storage. Even if you offload most of your pictures and seldom used files to an external hard disk drive, you are likely to find 128 GB insufficient.

Bear in mind OS X and its included applications will leave you with less than 128 GB. Consider 20 GB or so will be required for OS X and a few applications, leaving you only 100 GB or so left for everything else. That's going to seem pretty small.

An external USB hard disk of adequate capacity for your photos and other seldom used files can be purchased for considerably less than $100.

I just spent nearly all your remaining $500 budget, but you'll thank me later.

So if I have the external hard drive connected to the ATC can I wirelessly access it easily any time I am in wifi range?

I think you may have missed the part where I said above......

Connect a USB hard drive to the MacBook Air and put all your photos and media on that drive.

I did not suggest that you connect the drive to the Time Capsule......since access to the media would be very very slow this way...and even more importantly...Time Machine would not be able to back up the hard drive to the Time Capsule. Time Machine can only back up the external hard drive if it is connected directly to the MacBook Air.

What about for Apple TV? Can it access the drive or for that to work do the files have to be on a mac of some sorts?

Basically, you will be moving the iTunes Media Folder that contains all of your media from the Mac to the external hard drive that is connected to the MacBook Air....and probably the iPhoto Library (or your image library) as well.

Then, you will have to "point" iTunes at the new location of the library so that it will know where to find the files. More details on how to do that in the link below. The title talks about changing the location of the media folder on your Mac, but you would use the same into to change the location to the external hard drive.

iTunes for Mac: Moving your iTunes Media folder - Apple Support

If you move the iPhoto Library over to the external drive, you will have to "point" iPhoto at the new location of the library so that it will know where to find it in the future. To do that, you would hold down the option key on the Mac while you open iPhoto and use the Finder interface to navigate to the new location of the iPhoto Library.

You can add any external USB hard disk drive to either a Time Capsule or AirPort Extreme's USB port, or two or more hard disk drives if you were to purchase a powered USB hub ($20 - $30 or so).

That external HDD can be used for Time Machine backups, or generic networked storage.

Bear in mind any networked storage will be speed-constrained by the network connection method. Gigabit Ethernet will be fastest and consistent, whereas wireless will be unpredictable due to the vagaries of wireless communication.

In my opinion the Time Capsule is a fine solution for those who want a single-device all-purpose router and Time Machine backup device, but an AirPort Extreme plus an inexpensive (hence, disposable) HDD is an overall better value. Other than the internal hard disk, there is no difference between a TC and an Extreme.

darlaur wrote:

... This will allow me to save data on MyCloud as the primary storage device and it will work with Time Machine to backup my MacBook.

It will not.

I understand that WD will swear up and down that their NAS device is compatible with Time Machine. I also understand that it might actually work, perhaps for a month or so before Apple releases their next incremental OS X update. Perhaps it will even work until whatever supersedes Yosemite.

What you need to know is that Time Machine supports only the configurations explicitly described in their Apple's Support documentation, here: Mac Basics: Time Machine backs up your Mac - Apple Support.

I know this is not what you might like to hear, but if you want more justification for these comments, research this site for an overwhelming outpouring of misery from numerous hapless souls who eventually found out their unsupported Time Machine configurations resulted in backups that could not be used in the dire circumstances in which they were eventually required. That's not a backup strategy; it's the illusion of one.

You can use any USB connected hard disk drive as a Time Machine backup. It can be connected to an Extreme and it will be reliable. Do not use a third party NAS and expect it to work with Time Machine.

For all intents and purposes, an inexpensive USB hard disk connected to the Extreme (or a TC) will adequately address that need. The combination of those two will effectively serve as a NAS device to be used for any purpose, including Time Machine.

The reason a standalone third party NAS won't be reliable is that it is absolutely required for it to implement Apple's AFP protocol perfectly – an OS X component Apple is free to change at any time, without warning to its users or device manufacturers.

At some time in the recent past, Apple's Time Machine support documentation implied that third party NAS devices would work, as long as a lot of caveats were observed. As of December 2014 even that slender filament of hope for third party NAS support was silently removed. I don't think that's a coincidence.

Is a TC overpriced? Perhaps, but if you consider the cost of a 2 or 3 TB external USB HD plus the cost of an Extreme, the difference is pretty insignificant. Bear in mind Apple likes to design for simplicity. For an unsophisticated user who doesn't want to be burdened with the tedium of connecting a backup drive from time to time, or the inconvenience of having to format an external HD and plug it in to an Extreme (how hard is that anyway), the TC is an easy solution. Plug it in, follow the prompts, and forget about it.

Unfortunately, that is a Time Machine limitation. Time Machine cannot back up a networked drive, including one connected to an Extreme or TC.

It can back up any hard disk directly connected to any Mac.

There are other solutions for your needs, but Time Machine isn't one of them. For that, you will need commercial software such as Carbon Copy Cloner. It can back up to a non-Apple NAS device, though I do not have one and cannot personally verify it for you.