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Apple Time Capsule Network Hard Drive

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to the computer (endlessly flashing amber light). Once we finally got a green light (not really sure how), the computer refused to connect to it (incorrect password). This problem was ultimately traced to passwords which had somehow magically changed entirely on their own. Once we figured out what the changed passwords (hidden in a preference file) were, we were finally able to connect to the Time Capsule. However, Apple's Time Machine software still refused to backup to the device. Not sure how that was resolved since it really just started working on it's own (don't remember doing anything different than the many previous attempts). Once it was finally working, we didn't dare touch it again. Sadly, that nightmare was repeated once again after a recent move to a new house. First, could do nothing until the internet was turned on in the new house. Luckily, the computer didn't crash (requiring recovery from the backup) during that period. Afterwards, the thing first refused again to connect to the computer, followed by the software on the computer refusing to connect to it. After several hours of tweaking with the various settings, we finally had everything working again. All of this obviously doesn't bode well for using the Time Capsule as a backup device. If this thing is so difficult to get working with a fully functioning computer and operating system, I'd hate to imagine how difficult it might be with a marginal hardware and software setup following a serious problem. Even worse, I suspect a virus attack could very easily take out (corrupt or infect) the Time Capsule right along with the primary hard drive. At this point, I really have to compare the Time Capsule to the backup solution on my PC computer. On that computer, Norton Ghost maintains both full and incremental backups on a separate internal hard drive and a second periodic full backup on an external hard drive disconnected most of the time for greater security. Even if the computer fails completely (no functioning operating system), one simply inserts the Norton Ghost CD and restores fully from the most likely reliable backup. Since the external drive is isolated (not connected) during an unlikely virus attack (and Ghost erases the primary drive before installing that backup), this method would even allow relatively easy recovery from a serious virus infection. Furthermore, both Norton Ghost and a backup external hard drive are actually far cheaper than the Time Capsule. By the way, the Time Capsule flatly refused to work with that PC computer. Don't know why and, at this point, don't care. My wife is now researching alternative backup solutions for the Mac (something similar to Norton Ghost) and will be selling Apple's Time Capsule.

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Apple Time Capsule Network Hard Drive

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to the computer (endlessly flashing amber light). Once we finally got a green light (not really sure how), the computer refused to connect to it (incorrect password). This problem was ultimately traced to passwords which had somehow magically changed entirely on their own. Once we figured out what the changed passwords (hidden in a preference file) were, we were finally able to connect to the Time Capsule. However, Apple's Time Machine software still refused to backup to the device. Not sure how that was resolved since it really just started working on it's own (don't remember doing anything different than the many previous attempts). Once it was finally working, we didn't dare touch it again. Sadly, that nightmare was repeated once again after a recent move to a new house. First, could do nothing until the internet was turned on in the new house. Luckily, the computer didn't crash (requiring recovery from the backup) during that period. Afterwards, the thing first refused again to connect to the computer, followed by the software on the computer refusing to connect to it. After several hours of tweaking with the various settings, we finally had everything working again. All of this obviously doesn't bode well for using the Time Capsule as a backup device. If this thing is so difficult to get working with a fully functioning computer and operating system, I'd hate to imagine how difficult it might be with a marginal hardware and software setup following a serious problem. Even worse, I suspect a virus attack could very easily take out (corrupt or infect) the Time Capsule right along with the primary hard drive. At this point, I really have to compare the Time Capsule to the backup solution on my PC computer. On that computer, Norton Ghost maintains both full and incremental backups on a separate internal hard drive and a second periodic full backup on an external hard drive disconnected most of the time for greater security. Even if the computer fails completely (no functioning operating system), one simply inserts the Norton Ghost CD and restores fully from the most likely reliable backup. Since the external drive is isolated (not connected) during an unlikely virus attack (and Ghost erases the primary drive before installing that backup), this method would even allow relatively easy recovery from a serious virus infection. Furthermore, both Norton Ghost and a backup external hard drive are actually far cheaper than the Time Capsule. By the way, the Time Capsule flatly refused to work with that PC computer. Don't know why and, at this point, don't care. My wife is now researching alternative backup solutions for the Mac (something similar to Norton Ghost) and will be selling Apple's Time Capsule.

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Apple Time Capsule Network Hard Drive

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back-ups will have much smaller data churn and can be quickly performed over the air. When an external hard disk is connected to the Time Capsule, the drive appears as possible target for Time Machine in the System Preferences > Time Machine control panel. Sadly, however, I was not able to cleanly merge an existing Time Machine disk with the Time Capsule--plugging in an existing Time Machine disk into the Time Capsule and running a back-up created a new back-up folder on the disk. With some web searching, I found some complex procedures on how to pull off the conversion but it didn't seem worth the trouble to me so I ignored it. The construction is what you'd expect from Apple--solid, sturdy, clean. The power cord is a 2 prong cable, but no Ethernet cable is included--you'll have to bring your own. The 3 LAN ports are gigabit but I haven't done any performance tests with either the switching speed nor the disk I/O speed. My biggest concern in terms of longevity is heat--heat kills disks, and the Time Capsule is a small, fanless system. On the other hand, it's completely silent, even when the disk is actively reading or writing. Although I am not using it, the wireless and router features are the same as any other AirPort product and configured with the same tool. I have a number of AirPort Expresses around the house for iTunes streaming and it is convenient to see all these devices with a single tool. I took off a star because the price for the 500 GB capacity is a bit weak--and adding $200 to get the 1 TB seems very overpriced. If this were $100 less, it would be a 5 star value. However, it was worth it to me as I have some very critical data on my laptop and it wasn't always getting protected when I needed to plug in the external portable drive. For data integrity, it's worth the price, even if the capacity is a bit low.

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Apple Time Capsule Network Hard Drive

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back-ups will have much smaller data churn and can be quickly performed over the air. When an external hard disk is connected to the Time Capsule, the drive appears as possible target for Time Machine in the System Preferences > Time Machine control panel. Sadly, however, I was not able to cleanly merge an existing Time Machine disk with the Time Capsule--plugging in an existing Time Machine disk into the Time Capsule and running a back-up created a new back-up folder on the disk. With some web searching, I found some complex procedures on how to pull off the conversion but it didn't seem worth the trouble to me so I ignored it. The construction is what you'd expect from Apple--solid, sturdy, clean. The power cord is a 2 prong cable, but no Ethernet cable is included--you'll have to bring your own. The 3 LAN ports are gigabit but I haven't done any performance tests with either the switching speed nor the disk I/O speed. My biggest concern in terms of longevity is heat--heat kills disks, and the Time Capsule is a small, fanless system. On the other hand, it's completely silent, even when the disk is actively reading or writing. Although I am not using it, the wireless and router features are the same as any other AirPort product and configured with the same tool. I have a number of AirPort Expresses around the house for iTunes streaming and it is convenient to see all these devices with a single tool. I took off a star because the price for the 500 GB capacity is a bit weak--and adding $200 to get the 1 TB seems very overpriced. If this were $100 less, it would be a 5 star value. However, it was worth it to me as I have some very critical data on my laptop and it wasn't always getting protected when I needed to plug in the external portable drive. For data integrity, it's worth the price, even if the capacity is a bit low.

+ 0 likes

Apple Time Capsule Network Hard Drive

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back-ups will have much smaller data churn and can be quickly performed over the air. When an external hard disk is connected to the Time Capsule, the drive appears as possible target for Time Machine in the System Preferences > Time Machine control panel. Sadly, however, I was not able to cleanly merge an existing Time Machine disk with the Time Capsule--plugging in an existing Time Machine disk into the Time Capsule and running a back-up created a new back-up folder on the disk. With some web searching, I found some complex procedures on how to pull off the conversion but it didn't seem worth the trouble to me so I ignored it. The construction is what you'd expect from Apple--solid, sturdy, clean. The power cord is a 2 prong cable, but no Ethernet cable is included--you'll have to bring your own. The 3 LAN ports are gigabit but I haven't done any performance tests with either the switching speed nor the disk I/O speed. My biggest concern in terms of longevity is heat--heat kills disks, and the Time Capsule is a small, fanless system. On the other hand, it's completely silent, even when the disk is actively reading or writing. Although I am not using it, the wireless and router features are the same as any other AirPort product and configured with the same tool. I have a number of AirPort Expresses around the house for iTunes streaming and it is convenient to see all these devices with a single tool. I took off a star because the price for the 500 GB capacity is a bit weak--and adding $200 to get the 1 TB seems very overpriced. If this were $100 less, it would be a 5 star value. However, it was worth it to me as I have some very critical data on my laptop and it wasn't always getting protected when I needed to plug in the external portable drive. For data integrity, it's worth the price, even if the capacity is a bit low.

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Apple Time Capsule Network Hard Drive

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Airport Extreme.

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Apple Time Capsule Network Hard Drive

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802.11n network for my laptops and 802.11b/g for anything else. This is nice becouse if you do a single network that is 802.11b/g/n - your network throttles down to the lowest connection for everyone on the network (it is a bit more complex, but that is the basic idea).

If you do use this as a router, there are somethings to keep in mind. It doesn't appear to support DynDNS (or similar dynamicDNS services). Also, setting some features up (for example - port forwarding) is very different then on other web-configured routers.

If you aren't using an Apple computer, you obviously can't use Time Machine to back up to this device. But you can use this as an NAS. You can also backup to it from a PC if the backup software you use supports a shared network drive.

Regardless of if you are into Macs or PCs, this is a very nice router. If you can past the sticker shock, this is a very powerful device that can do quite a bit and is very reliable.

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Apple Time Capsule Network Hard Drive

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configuration admin pages but its enough for most people.

After setting up the router to match my prior wireless network all my wireless devices, including Vista laptop, Wii, PS3, Iphone, Apple TV, came up fine. I have a number of wired devices as well running over Powerline Ethernet Netgear devices and no issues with those either and yes it fixed my sling issue that my Linksys had.

My first backup went smooth. I plugged directly into the router so that I had 1 gig speed from my MBP to the router. I kicked it off before I went to bed and it was completed when I got up for work. Now the incremental backups are seamless and working great. I had 54 gigs to backup on the first go around so might be a bit smaller than most users but still worked fine.

A nice feature that I didn't seem to have in my Linksys is that on the Time Capsule you can pick a combo of WPA/WPA2 and what ever your device will support it will utilize that security level. I have one device that doesn't seem to like WPA2 so on my Linksys I had to put everything at WPA where on my Time Capsule I can have that device on WPA and all the others on WPA2.

I like the guest network ability and I'm surprised other companies have not created the same. The guest network just creates a vlan on a subnet outside of your regular network and anyone visiting your house can have access to the net without access to your network. This is nice for me as I like to have my SSID hidden which caused problems when my wife had friends visiting and they couldn't figure out how to add my network as it wasn't advertised. With the Time Capsule I can hide my network and leave the guest network visible so her friends can get on the net without my having to walk them through a setup each time.

Only thing I wish the time capsule did have was an extra lan port, it has 3 where most routers have 4. Outside of that I think Apple did a good job on the new Time Capsule.

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Apple Time Capsule Network Hard Drive

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Time Machine is trying to backup my computer. Yes, I have restarted from scratch, reloaded the firmware, etc...but to no avail. I have also spoken to applecare and will be trying a replacement capsule in the days ahead to see if the problem can be alleviated.

I still give this a 4/5 due to my belief in the routing engine and software that sets up and maintains these devices. My review on the airport extreme base station will solidify my 4/5 reviews.

This product is worthy of a 5/5 review once the hard drive issues are ironed out. I hope I am alone in this problematic situation but time will tell. Ironically, my older time capsule has been running for about a year without any issues....so I am hopeful I have a one off problem.

As always, please leave me comments with suggestions, questions, etc.

Below is my review of the dual band Airport Extreme Base Station:

Hi All,

True to my gadget envy, I acquired one of these dual band extreme base stations to see if they held up to the hype. Sure enough, Apple has improved an old mediocre product with a new more powerful hardware engine and improved software abilities.

Features:
802.11 A/B/G/N DUAL Band radios at 2.4ghz and 5ghz simultaneously.
Gigabit Ethernet ports 1x Wan and 4x Lan.
Guest wireless network.
Disk sharing via USB connected drive.
Access to shared disk via MobileMe (apple mobile me subscribers on os x).

The box comes with the router, the power cord, software cd, and documentation....limited documentation.

Time to test.

Setup: Setup of an apple base station is unlike any other in that you cannot access the setup portal via your web browser. You must install the Apple Airport utility (both mac and windows) in order to set the router up. The software is built very well and provides the typical ease of use known to MAC users. You simply walk through a setup wizard and define simple options for your internet connection, your wireless network, etc, etc. NOTE: When setting up your wireless networks you are able to hit the options button so that you can define a 5ghz network as well (example, main wireless network called wifi, the 5ghz is called wifi (5ghz)). Very easy to setup and get going. You are also able to easily define a SECURED (wpa/wpa2) guest wireless network....which simply means that if you have a visitor they can use wi-fi but not get to any of the computers on your home network. Very Secure....and a great feature to boot.

I was using the old Apple Base Station and kept switching between it and a d-link wireless n router.... I got one of these primarily due to dual band and guest access.

Yes, there are other routers out there that can do this for a bit of a lower cost...but the elegance of the Apple Airport Utility make this a router that can be setup without too much hassle. The software will also identify problems in the setup and have you correct them before it uploads them to the router. These abilities alone make this a router for the non-geeks to be able to setup a robust networking environment at home.

Wireless: As I mentioned before, I am comparing this to an older model apple base station that was single band and worked in the N range. Also compared this against a D-Link DIR-655 which is a 2.4ghz Wireless N router. The section on speed below will detail my wireless experience.

Speed: I have Comcast cable modem service which gives me about 15-25mbps down and 2mbps up....I live in an area where there are probably 5-10 subscribers...so my speed is generally GREAT and never experiences a slow down. The first thing I do when I play with a new router is do a speed test....the new base station is comparable to the others and gets the same exact download/upload speeds over ethernet. There is one exception....using the wireless on this unit yielded BETTER results then the older model and the d-link. Normally when doing a speed test over wireless I get about 12-15mbps and 2mbps up....with this router I was able to successfully hit the 20mbps mark and 2mbps UP. WIN WIN!!!! So I figured that this may be an anomaly and thus proceeded to test a download from Microsoft - a 3.4gb file - which normally downloads anywhere between 900kpbs and 1.2mbps. Surprise.....with the new base station I stayed at 1.3mbps and it did not hiccup even once. The same was true when downloading via a wireless connection, albeit the speed was 1.0mbps....faster then I have ever gotten before. WIN WIN again!

Disk Sharing - Not much to be said here...I attached a Western Digital USB hard drive 320gb and shared it. You simply go into the Airport Utility software and setup sharing of the hard drive and define which password should be used. You can either use the password for the router or setup a separate password to use with Disk Sharing. Speed is dependent upon wired or wireless. I tested while transferring 3 files...one was 2mb one was 100mb and one was a 2.5gb file. The two mb file of course went over before I could blink...the 100mb transferred over in about 3-4 minutes...the 2.5gb took about 15 minutes. The first transfer test was with ETHERNET connectivity. I did the same tests over wireless and found that the times doubled...naturally since wireless is a bit slower I expected that and had no issue with the times.

Mobile-Me - I have not tested the mobile me features just yet but will be testing them in the days ahead and post my results here.

So far I feel this router has hit perfection and will now find a permanent spot in my home...at least until something better hits.

Please do leave me comments with suggestions on the review and or any questions you may have.