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Q: Backup on Time Capsule and external harddisk

Dear all,

 

For several years I use the Time Capsule as a router and as a backup device. Recently I found information about to combine an extra external hard disk for extra backup. For me it's an extra backup just to be sure when my Time Capsule would fail.

 

I found some information on the internet that it was easy to switch between the two devices. I have connected the external hard disk in the Time Capsule.

But after installing the external hard disk my Time Capsule is not able to make any back up anymore!

Please, could you help me to find a solution. This would be great for me.

 

Many thanks in advance,

Diana

MacBook Air (13-inch Mid 2012), Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Dec 18, 2015 9:36 AM

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Q: Backup on Time Capsule and external harddisk

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  • by Bob Timmons,

    Bob Timmons Bob Timmons Dec 18, 2015 10:11 AM in response to diboonen
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    Dec 18, 2015 10:11 AM in response to diboonen

    I suggest that you first get back ups going again on the Time Capsule, then we can discuss adding the USB drive as a second back up source.

     

    For now, please power off and disconnect the USB drive from the Time Capsule.

     

    On your Mac......open System Preferences (gear icon on the dock), then open Time Machine

    Make sure that Time Machine is ON

    Click Add or Remove Disks

    Under Backup Disks, make sure that the Time Capsule disk (named "Data", unless you have changed the name) appears

    If it does not, then click on Data under Available Disks

    Then, click Use Disk

     

    Close the window and now click on the Time Machine "clock" icon at the top of the screen

    Click Backup Now, and that should get backups going on the Time Capsule again

    Post back when you have confirmed that this is the case

  • by diboonen,

    diboonen diboonen Dec 18, 2015 11:23 AM in response to Bob Timmons
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    Dec 18, 2015 11:23 AM in response to Bob Timmons

    Hello Bob,

    Thanks for your help! I have followed your advise and turned off the external disk.
    After that I followed the steps above. Unfortunately the back up didn't work. I receive this command The backup disk image “/Volumes/AirPort Disk-1/MyComputer.sparsebundle” is already in use

     

    This is the same command I have received since I put on the external hard disk.

     

    Hopefully this command will explain something

     

    Regard,

    Diana

  • by Bob Timmons,

    Bob Timmons Bob Timmons Dec 18, 2015 11:32 AM in response to diboonen
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    Dec 18, 2015 11:32 AM in response to diboonen

    Power off the Time Capsule by pulling the power cord from the back of the Time Capsule

    Count to ten

    Plug the power cord back into the back of the Time Capsule

     

    Wait a few minutes, then try another backup

  • by diboonen,

    diboonen diboonen Dec 18, 2015 1:30 PM in response to Bob Timmons
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    Dec 18, 2015 1:30 PM in response to Bob Timmons

    time capsule is making a back up now. It seems to be a big one.

    I will be back to you tomorrow morning (AMS time) after finishing the back up.

     

    regard

    Diana

  • by Bob Timmons,

    Bob Timmons Bob Timmons Dec 18, 2015 1:50 PM in response to diboonen
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    Dec 18, 2015 1:50 PM in response to diboonen

    If the backup to the Time Capsule completes correctly, now you are ready to set up Time Machine backups to the external drive that is connected to the USB port on the Time Capsule.

     

    Start again as we did above by opening System Preferences and then opening Time Machine

    Click Select Disk

    Select the name of the external drive from the list of Available Disks

    Click Use Disk

    When you are asked if you want to replace the Time Capsule (Data) with the external disk, choose the option to Use Both Disks

     

    Now Time Machine will automatically alternate backups between the Time Capsule and the external drive, so you will have backups on both the Time Capsule and the external drive

  • by diboonen,

    diboonen diboonen Dec 19, 2015 1:32 AM in response to Bob Timmons
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    Dec 19, 2015 1:32 AM in response to Bob Timmons

    Hello Bob,

     

    I have followed your steps. It was easy to do till the last step 'When you are asked if you want to replace the Time Capsule (data) with the external disk, choose the option to Use Both Disks'.  I never get this question.

     

    After Clicking Use Disk TC ask me to make connection. No more options to choose. After making connection Time Capsule starts to preparing the back up on the External Hard Disk.

     

     

    Do I miss something?

  • by Bob Timmons,

    Bob Timmons Bob Timmons Dec 19, 2015 6:17 AM in response to diboonen
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    Dec 19, 2015 6:17 AM in response to diboonen

    If you  have the Time Capsule now backing up,and you add the external drive to also back up, then you should see a message that looks like this example:

     

    Screen Shot 2015-12-19 at 8.12.12 AM.png

     

    In the example above, my Time Capsule disk is named "Backups" and I am adding another external drive called "500GB Drive", so that Time Machine will take turns backing up to the Time Capsule and then the other drive.

     

    Please try the following:

     

    Power off the Time Capsule and the external drive

    Wait a minute

    Power up the Time Capsule for a minute, then power up the external drive and try the setup again.

  • by diboonen,

    diboonen diboonen Dec 19, 2015 8:19 AM in response to Bob Timmons
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    Dec 19, 2015 8:19 AM in response to Bob Timmons

    I have followed the steps but unfortunately this message does't appear.

    Manually I need to make a new connection to the external hard disk.

    Still it's one drive for backup.

     

    Do you have another suggestion?

  • by diboonen,

    diboonen diboonen Dec 19, 2015 8:24 AM in response to diboonen
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    Dec 19, 2015 8:24 AM in response to diboonen

    now I receive the following message: Elements (external hard disk) can not be used and will be removed.

  • by Bob Timmons,

    Bob Timmons Bob Timmons Dec 19, 2015 8:34 AM in response to diboonen
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    Dec 19, 2015 8:34 AM in response to diboonen

    The external drive that will be used for Time Machine backups must be formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled), which is also known as HFS+.

     

    Do you know if your external drive meets this requirement?

     

    Most hard drives that are sold at stores are for use on Windows and PCs.  This type of drive cannot be used for Time Machine backups unless it is first formatted correctly for Mac.

  • by diboonen,

    diboonen diboonen Dec 19, 2015 8:40 AM in response to Bob Timmons
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    Dec 19, 2015 8:40 AM in response to Bob Timmons

    yes I did the Mac OS Extended ( Journaled) formatting

  • by Bob Timmons,

    Bob Timmons Bob Timmons Dec 19, 2015 8:45 AM in response to diboonen
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    Dec 19, 2015 8:45 AM in response to diboonen

    As a test......what happens if you connect the external hard drive directly to your Mac.....not to the Time Capsule.....and try to set up Time Machine backups that way?

     

    If the backup does begin......you can cancel and stop the backup unless you want to go ahead and back up your Mac to have another copy of your Mac.

  • by diboonen,

    diboonen diboonen Dec 19, 2015 8:51 AM in response to Bob Timmons
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    Dec 19, 2015 8:51 AM in response to Bob Timmons

    that works easily

  • by Bob Timmons,

    Bob Timmons Bob Timmons Dec 19, 2015 9:01 AM in response to diboonen
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    Dec 19, 2015 9:01 AM in response to diboonen

    Then, there are several possibilities:

     

    1) The USB port on the Time Capsule is not working correctly

     

    2) Your external drive might be a USB 3.0.....and the USB port on the Time Capsule is USB 2.0.  USB 2.0 is supposed to be compatible with USB 3.0, but I have found that this is not true on my network, and a number of other users have compatibility issues with this as well.

     

    3) The USB 2.0 port on the Time Capsule is underpowered, so it is often necessary to use a powered USB hub with the Time Capsule.....even if the hard drive has its own power supply.

     

    I do not know what the exact answer to your problem might be, but it is probably one of the possibilities listed above, or a combination of the possibilities above.

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