Setting Up Time Capsule 3Tb

Question

Level 1

8 points

Setting Up Time Capsule 3Tb

Advice please, I am a little confused as to how to set up my Airport Time Capsule to do what I would like it to do.

I have at present:

- A recently installed 'Superhub' providing the house with fast internet access via fibre-optic cable from the provider.

- I bought an Apple Time Capsule before hand and want to set it up to do the following:

- Connect two external Hard drives as storage accessible from my Mac Mini and MacBook (USB connection).

- Connect a USB printer accessible to the two above computers, (plus iPads and an IPhone).

(The above connected to the ATC via a USB hub)

- Use the 3Tb storage in the ATC as Time Machine Backup for the Mac Mini and MacBook.

I understand that the ATC has to be connected to the Superb via and Ethernet cable from the WAN socket to a network socket on the hub.

I would be grateful if someone could please explain/point me to an explanation which describes, clearly and in simple terms how I go about configuring the ATC from my Mac Mini in order to achieve the above requirement.

Many Thanks

Airport Time Capsule 3Tb-OTHER

Posted on Sep 9, 2016 4:57 AM

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Answer 1

Bob Timmons

Level 10

192,076 points

Sep 9, 2016 7:38 AM in response to NeilHob

Before we begin, do you understand that by connecting a printer to the USB port on the Time Capsule, that iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad will NOT be able to print to the printer?

That being said, a third party application like Printopia might be able to allow this, but there are no guarantees, and our ability to help on things like this is limited at best.

The reason for this is that iOS devices required an AirPrint compatible printer that connects to a network using wireless. In other words, Apple takes the "Air" in AirPrint very seriously. Please take a look at this Apple support document for more information on AirPrint compatible printers.

About AirPrint - Apple Support

Next item. Depending on the make and model of your printer, your Macs may or may not be able to print to a printer connected to the USB port on the Time Capsule. Unfortunately, Apple does not provide a list of compatible devices in this regard.

So, while we can provide a few tips on "how" to try to set this up, we cannot tell you whether it will work or not. You won't know how well....or if.....this will work until you try it out on your own network.

We'll try to help, but normally, you would obtain information about how to set up your printer from the support folks for your printer, not from Apple.

As far as connecting two hard drives and a printer to the Time Capsule USB port, this will require the use of a powered USB hub that will handle 4 or more USB devices. The rub......some USB powered hubs will only allow one USB to operate at a time, so you would not be able to print, for example, while you were backing up data to a hard drive connected to the powered hub.

So, you will need to check with the support folks for your powered hub to make sure that it will allow simultaneous operation for USB devices.

If you want to proceed, we can help with getting the Time Capsule set up and working with your Superhub, but our ability to help on printers and hard drives may be limited.

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Answer 2

NeilHob Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 9, 2016 7:35 AM in response to Bob Timmons

Hi Bob,

Thank you for your reply which was very clear and helpful. I did suspect I was asking too much of the device but nevertheless I though I would ask anyway!

To be honest the printer is old and unlikely to be sophisticated enough to work as I hoped, I am now considering getting a new one that has AirPrint. In the mean time I'll plug the old one back into the Mini and print things the old-fashioned way! Printing from the iPad and iPhone was just a wish and is by no means essential.

I can get away with one external hard-drive attached to the ATC which now means there is only one device to access via the device. This is a G drive I bought last year so it should work.

So in essence I require access to the attached external hard drive for file archive and access to the ATC drive via Time Capsule for both the Mini and the MacBook. I am not sure, on reading the 'manual' provided, or reading the on-screen instructions exactly which options to select when setting up the ATC to work as I require.

Your further help would be very much appreciated.

Many Thanks

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Answer 3

Bob Timmons

Level 10

192,076 points

Sep 10, 2016 4:16 AM in response to NeilHob

I assume that the Time Capsule is new, and still in its factory default condition. We will follow the instructions in the Setup Guide that came with your Time Capsule. Apple's set up "wizard" will literally walk you through the setup.

Verify that the Ethernet cable is connected from one of the LAN <--> ports on the Superhub to the WAN "O" port on the Time Capsule.
Power up the Time Capsule and let it run a few minutes.
Click the WiFi menu icon at the top your Mac's screen and look for a listing of New AirPort Base Station. Just under that listing, you will see Time Capsule.

The example below shows an AirPort Extreme as the New AirPort Base Station, but you will see Time Capsule on your screen.

When you click on Time Capsule, that will start up Apple's setup "wizard". It will take a few seconds to analyze the network and then automatically suggest the correct set up with a screen that looks similar to the example below. You will see a picture of the Time Capsule on your screen.

Network Name......Type in a short, simple name that you want to call your wireless network
Base Station Name.....Type in a short, simple device name that you want to call the Time Capsule
Password......Type in a password that will be used for both the wireless network and base station
Verify.....Type in the password again to confirm
Click Next

The "wizard" will apply the correct settings automatically. When you see the message of Setup Complete, click Done and you are done.

You can now close the setup window and click the WiFi icon at the top of the Mac's screen to select the network that you named and connect.

Post back on your progress.

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Answer 4

NeilHob Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 10, 2016 4:15 AM in response to Bob Timmons

Hi Bob,

Perfect, thank you so much for your time. I know my question might have seemed silly but I was confused by all the option and nowhere seemed to explain adequately which option I needed to follow.

Thank you once again!

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Answer 5

Bob Timmons

Level 10

192,076 points

Sep 10, 2016 5:47 AM in response to NeilHob

Nice work! Is the USB hard drive that you wanted to attach to the Time Capsule set up and working now.....or, is that still a "project"?

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Answer 6

NeilHob Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 10, 2016 12:25 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Everything works, the hard drive is accessible from the Mini and I've set my Time Machine to Back up after midnight using the TM editor. I have yet to set up the Macbook but that can wait for now.

Thanks again

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