Can Windows see the Time Capsule disk?

[weyus]

All,

I recently purchased a MBP and a Time Capsule. Still waiting on the MBP, but went ahead and set up the TC as a router for my current Dell laptop.

In theory, I don't really care since I will have my MBP w/in 2.5 weeks, but is it possible for my Windows machine to see the disk on the TC?

I went into TC and set up the workgroup name to be the same as the workgroup on my PC, but I still don't see it.

I doubt anyone has done it, but was curious if it's possible. I assume that the Windows client should be able to access that giant disk (or a Windows user would never buy the product).

Thanks,
Wes

All,

I recently purchased a MBP and a Time Capsule. Still waiting on the MBP, but went ahead and set up the TC as a router for my current Dell laptop.

In theory, I don't really care since I will have my MBP w/in 2.5 weeks, but is it possible for my Windows machine to see the disk on the TC?

I went into TC and set up the workgroup name to be the same as the workgroup on my PC, but I still don't see it.

I doubt anyone has done it, but was curious if it's possible. I assume that the Windows client should be able to access that giant disk (or a Windows user would never buy the product).

Thanks,
Wes

I just rebooted my PC and I see a big-a**ed TC disk on Z:\ (929 GB).

Impressed @ Apple's interoperability.

One question though, it shows the filesystem as FAT32. Is that right, or just how it's represented to the Windows client?

Wes

[Critical Hippo]

Are you running Vista or XP on that Dell? My Windows XP laptop can access the disk without any problems. I couldn't see it in My Network Places at first; I had to go into Entire Network > Microsoft Windows Network > MSHOME (or WORKGROUP or whatever you've named it) and there it was. After I accessed it there once, it showed up as a folder in My Network Places, just like the shared drives I have on the other PCs in my house.

Windows Vista was a pain in the ass. I kept trying to access it through the Network folder, but I guess Vista kept trying to login with my Vista username and password rather than my Time Capsule username and password. I had to set it up through "Map a Network Drive" in the Computer section instead.

[weyus]

I'm on XP Professional SP2.

I don't see the drive anywhere in My Network Places.

After I rebooted, it just showed up as a network drive under Z:\. I didn't map it, though, it was just there.

Wes

[winty03]

Not to hijack this thread, but I am trying to do exactly that...access the TC hard drive using a windows machine....and unable to. I have rebooted and still nothing. How can I see TC using windows?

[newappleboy]

This all depends on how the drive is formatted. Time machine can run on either HFS or FAT32, so you just have to look at how you formatted it. Chances are if it was set up on a PC, it was formatted as FAT32. But if it was set up on a mac, default would be HFS which means no PC will see it. And you wouldn't need to map it like a normal network drive because the airport utility you installed automatically took care of that.

[skorpien]

newappleboy, I'm sure the thread is referring to the internal HD of the Time Capsule, so there is no way of formatting it without taking the TC apart. I'm not entirely sure, but I've read somewhere that there have been people that have taken it apart and it seems to be formatted as HFS+, so it just might be the way Windows is choosing to report the drive.

winty03, assuming you've set up the workgroup name in the AirPort Utility under Disks > File Sharing, try adding your TC's network to any software firewall's trusted networks/zones list. I had to add my TC's IP to my McAfee firewall on my XP and the Norton firewall on my Vista PCs in order for me to see and access the drive. If that fails, there's a CD that came with the TC that has AirPort Utility for Windows. This includes a program called AirPort Base Station Agent, which loads into your taskbar and allows you to mount the drive with the username and password set in TC.

[t11chb]

This all depends on how the drive is formatted. Time machine can run on either HFS or FAT32, so you just have to look at how you formatted it. Chances are if it was set up on a PC, it was formatted as FAT32. But if it was set up on a mac, default would be HFS which means no PC will see it. And you wouldn't need to map it like a normal network drive because the airport utility you installed automatically took care of that.

Yeah, but i've got macdrive installed and i cant see it!

[cube]

How the drive is formatted does not matter for a network drive. For a PC to see it it should be made available via SMB, not just AFP.

[skorpien]

With the TC, any drives both internal and external are available through both SMB and AFP. It's just a matter of getting Windows to recognize network attached drives. Install AirPort Utility for Windows and have it mount the disk. And be absolutely sure that the Workgroup is the same in both your Windows network setup as well as within the Time Capsule setup using AirPort Utility. Additionally, you may need to add your TC's IP address to the list of trusted networks in any third party firewalls you have installed.

[touchdownjesus4]

You will probably need macdrive (http://www.mediafour.com/products/macdrive/) if it is HFS formatted

[geoffreak]

When working over the network, the underlying file format is not what matters, but the file sharing protocol. To access accessible devices under Windows, I recommend you install Bonjour. This *should* fix any network devices not showing up.

[rkdiddy]

You need to install Bonjour on your PC - this will enable you to view the drive.

[touchdownjesus4]

When working over the network, the underlying file format is not what matters, but the file sharing protocol. To access accessible devices under Windows, I recommend you install Bonjour. This *should* fix any network devices not showing up.

Oh ok, thanks for clearing that up

[t11chb]

You need to install Bonjour on your PC - this will enable you to view the drive.

Actually, you don't need anything!
It doesn't matter how the drive is formatted, you dont need to install bonjour, you need to make sure the Workgroup & WINS Server are the same as your PC's work group. Simple as that. :apple::apple:

[design-is]

Actually, you don't need anything!
It doesn't matter how the drive is formatted, you dont need to install bonjour, you need to make sure the Workgroup & WINS Server are the same as your PC's work group. Simple as that. :apple::apple:

Hi there

I've been struggling with this on and off for a while and haven't been able to get it to work.

As it's not been essential, I've just ignored it until I can be bothered to try again, but now I kind of need to be able to access the Time capsule's drive, and an external USB drive I've connected to it.

Could you elaborate on the setup procedure for Workgroup & WINS Server?

Greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance...

/Doug

[t11chb]

Hi there

I've been struggling with this on and off for a while and haven't been able to get it to work.

As it's not been essential, I've just ignored it until I can be bothered to try again, but now I kind of need to be able to access the Time capsule's drive, and an external USB drive I've connected to it.

Could you elaborate on the setup procedure for Workgroup & WINS Server?

Greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance...

/Doug

All i done was enter PCDNET, which is my workgroup in the Workgroup & WINS on my TC, also done the same for Workgroup on my PC, thats all, it finds the drives in Network places.

[design-is]

Hmmm OK. Sounds deceptively simple. I think I've tried that, but will give it a go again to see if I got something confused.