TimeCapsule - replacing internal drive?

I did a reply and it seems to have disappeared.

This is the short version.

Details here on how to do it.

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Replace+AirPort+Time+Capsule+A1409+HDD/91818

A Gen3 is now so old it is questionable the power supply will cope with a new large drive. Earlier ones don't bother.

A lot goes wrong but a slow "Green" drive should work ok.

I run a 5TB WD Green (no longer available btw) in a Gen4 TC.. but replaced the power supply and improved the cooling.

Ask if you need more details.

Is the drive spinning down.. ?? You can feel or hear the slight vibration/noise of a running drive.

Drive not spinning down can account for increased heat load and hence warmer operation.. it is good idea to improve the cooling even if all you do is remove the rubber mat on the bottom and use feet of say 5mm (1/4").

One observation: Re-start after conversion took quite long. The led was flashing yellow for almost 30 minutes. The airport utility program came up with a notification that TC runs initialization process.

Not one I recall.. and might augur problems ahead. Time will tell.

I generally replace both disk and power supply.. which tends to make it boot much faster. i.e. my disk spins up immediately on power up ... whereas the normal TC power supply will only spin up the drive several seconds after power on. How it manages to do that without a control line is yet another one of those mysteries.

Last question, what power supply did you use? Something special?

Yes, this is DIY.

The one shown in the picture is very old design but I have a heap of designs on my website.

https://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modem s/apple-time-capsule-repair/repair-type3

There is no longer any demand so I stopped making them.

You can easily build your own if you have soldering iron and some experience with it.

From ebay you can buy very cheap DC to DC modules.. I used to use a very well made 5v 5A unit but they have ceased production.. but I would just search for DC buck 5v 5a and see what shows up.

DC-DC Step Down Buck Converter Power Module 24/12/9V to 5V 5A Replace LM2596 | eBay

They cost just a few dollars. You need a DC socket.. 2.1 or 2.5mm (suits the power supply you buy) plus a power supply of 12v and at least 3A but up to 5A is fine.. Don't buy super cheap ones.. look for decent brands like Delta.

12V 5.5mm*2.5mm 5A Laptop AC Power Supply Adapter Charger For Delta Computer | eBay

The actual design is simple.. remove the existing power supply.. desolder the two power plugs.. one for the board and one for the hard disk. The voltages are single wire is 12v, 4 wires is 5v and 5 wires are all gnd returns. Wire the socket into the original AC mains point.. they fit exactly.. and wire it to the converter module.. and connect up the wire set from the original supply to match the outputs..

The efficiency of the DC to DC supplies is now between 90-95% so it produces very little heat.. you can just insulate it from the board..

**It will work fine.. but long term the capacitors will die. I would replace the capacitors on the module as Chinese use terrible quality caps. The input one should be 25v and about 470uF.. the output cap should be >1000uF and 10v low esr. Buy Rubycon or Panasonic.. you can also use solid caps of somewhat lower capacity.. I was using a pair of 220uF tantalum which worked very well.