I have a Fantom external hard drive with all my DATA files on it connected to my computer via FireWire 800. I want to backup the drive using an Apple 1Tb Time Capsule. I have read and re-read the documentation that came with the Time Capsule and there is no info concerning what I desire to do. I have also checked out YouTube and there are several setup tutorials but none cover connecting to an external hard drive to backup it’s files. Please direct me to a good tutorial or a location with good instructions to obtain the results that I desire.
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Don Swearingin
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How Do I Backup an External USB Hard Drive To a Time Capsule?
Comments: 3 Responses to “How Do I Backup an External USB Hard Drive To a Time Capsule?”
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So, basically, you just connect the drive to your Mac. Then run Time Machine. It should backup your internal drive and the external one. There is nothing to set up. It just does it.
Except when it doesn't. Check in your Time Machine preferences, with the drive connected, to make sure it isn't in the list of exclusions. If it is, remove it.
If, after your backup is complete, you determine that it is not backing up that drive for some reason, then a troubleshooting technique is to add the drive as an exclusion, and then remove it again. This has been known to "trigger" TM to back up the drive.
Gary,
I installed the Time Capsule Software and neither my MacBook Pro or my Mac Mini recognize it on the WiFi. It just isn't there in the listing of networks. I connected it via ethernet and turned off the AirPort WiFi and I can connect to the Internet just fine but I can't figure out how to connect to the Time Capsule HDD. It isn't listed in the Finder. I suspected that the HDD was bad so I pulled it out and connected it via USB and my computer recognized it immediately so it's not the HDD. It has 3 partitions (1 that is 900Gb+ and 2 that are just over 1Gb). Since I'm connected via ethernet do I have to look for the Time Capsule HDD some place other than the Finder or should it show up just like the external HDDs that I have connected via USB? OR do I have to purchase a special USB cable with 2 Female?? connectors and connect it via USB? I'm completely new to Time Capsule use.
I can't really understand what you are trying to do. A Time Capsule is a networked drive. So you wouldn't see the drive as you would one connected directly to your computer, like USB. You need to use the Airport Utility (or Time Capsule equivalent) to configure the TC as a wi-fi router first, and then you can also configure the drive over the network.
There are a lot of things to consider, so you might want to start at square one and follow the instructions carefully. Or visit the Genius Bar for help. I'm not a TC user myself (I use TM directly to an internal drive), so I can't make many suggestions.