Time Machine Now Works with Airport Extreme USB Drives

MacRumors · Mar 19, 2008, 10:28 PM

After the release of today's Time Machine and Airport update, several readers report that Time Machine now supports backups to USB drives connected to your Airport Extreme basestation. This configuration essentially reproduces the functionality of Apple's Time Capsule product.

Apple had originally advertised these "AirPort Disk" wireless backups as a feature for Leopard, but this feature was removed prior to its launch. Speculation had suggested that it may have been due to some unresolved security issues, but Apple has made no official statements. While there had been workarounds published, today's update appears to officially restore this feature.

Article Link

flopticalcube · Mar 19, 2008, 10:30 PM

About time too...

stephenli · Mar 19, 2008, 10:30 PM

great! I will buy a 1T tonite and connect to my Airport Extreme!

MacFly123 · 10:32 PM

NICE! I think this is going to make a lot of people very happy

Now I need to figure out all that importing DVDs and the Apple TV thing

Telp · Mar 19, 2008, 10:32 PM

Yes. Finally! This is great news!! Tried this before and all i got was good old kernal panic.

andy721 · 04:53 PM

Heres an idea, why don't you make everything into one freaking machine, stop doing all these dumb add ons Apple. Oh yeah we can use a HD now BFD!

Stella · Mar 19, 2008, 10:33 PM

Great news for people who bought the AE for this very reason

I'm wondering the performance difference between the Extreme and Capsule ( over a wireless network ), since USB for Extreme is fast enough to keep up with an 'N' network.

Robjw · Mar 19, 2008, 10:33 PM

damn it! Now I don't know if I should buy an AEBS and just attach an existing HD or go all out and get a TC!

Str8edgepunker · 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andy721

Heres an idea, why don't you make everything into one freaking machine, stop doing all these dumb add ons Apple. Oh yeah we can use a HD now BFD!

What do you mean? Isn't that what time capsule does?

Anyway, this news is really awesome. Thanks Apple!

mpcoady · Mar 19, 2008, 10:36 PM

If I am reformatting my external HD, what format should I make the partitions?

I tried Mac OS Extended (Journaled), but could not get either partition to appear in Time Machine.

conebbs · Mar 19, 2008, 10:37 PM

Now will people stop bitching now?

Steven.nevets · Mar 19, 2008, 10:37 PM

Perfect! The Time Capsule is just too expensive, but Airport is much cheaper. Then, I can find a 500 gb or so on sale, and get an inexpensive back up solution.

I also find it so interesting that Apple pretty much never mentioned taking it out, or putting it back in. Almost like their iPod touch calendar event "bug fix".

JML42691 · 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andy721

Heres an idea, why don't you make everything into one freaking machine, stop doing all these dumb add ons Apple. Oh yeah we can use a HD now BFD!

Psst...they already did that with time capsule.

flopticalcube · Mar 19, 2008, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stella

Great news for people who bought the AE for this very reason

I'm wondering the performance difference between the Extreme and Capsule ( over a wireless network ), since USB for Extreme is fast enough to keep up with an 'N' network.

USB is fast enough, unfortunately the CPU inside the AEBS isn't. Disk transfers from an attached USB are very slow.

Quote:

Originally Posted by conebbs

Now will people stop bitching now?

Not unles the reliability of Airdisks improves with this update as well.

maxp1 · Mar 19, 2008, 10:40 PM

I honestly didn't think they would do this. I have a tiny bit more faith now.

Telp · Mar 19, 2008, 10:40 PM

Wait, will this work if the EHD is connected to the main mac, and is seen as a shared device between computers? Even if its not connected to the router?

bacaramac · Mar 19, 2008, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mpcoady

If I am reformatting my external HD, what format should I make the partitions?

I tried Mac OS Extended (Journaled), but could not get either partition to appear in Time Machine.

I am not doing partitions, but just used Mac OS extended and it worked. I was just getting ready to research the difference between journaled, etc.

asketchbook · Mar 19, 2008, 10:42 PM

Never!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by conebbs

Now will people stop bitching now?

mpcoady · Mar 19, 2008, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bacaramac

I am not doing partitions, but just used Mac OS extended and it worked. I was just getting ready to research the difference between journaled, etc.

Ok, I'll try that & see how I fair.

Thanks.

kkat69 · Mar 19, 2008, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by conebbs

Now will people stop bitching now?

You first

retroneo · Mar 19, 2008, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Telp

Wait, will this work if the EHD is connected to the main mac, and is seen as a shared device between computers? Even if its not connected to the router?

no. you could use the old hack with that though, but it has data-loss problems.

coolfactor · Mar 19, 2008, 10:44 PM

I don't want to burst anybody's bubbles, but I haven't experienced any success with this. It's no different for me from before the software/firmware update. My USB drive does not show up in Time Machine until after I manually mount it in Finder. Of course, the drive has an existing Time Machine backup on it already, so maybe I need to reformat the drive before this actually works as people are saying it does. So far, no go here.

Zwhaler · Mar 19, 2008, 10:45 PM

****, this just makes me even more pissed off that my external Hard Drive is dead... and my friend voided the warranty...

bigandtasty · 12:31 AM

Read this on the earlier forum post, tried it with my Airport Extreme and it worked! This is the reason I bought the Airport Extreme. I am stoked it works.

The ironic part of this story is I just received my 1T TC this morning! I contemplated not opening it when I got airdisk working, but couldn't resist.

I am now setting up my AE to extend my network off the 1T TC.

FUNNY THOUGH, had this fix come out 2 weeks ago I would have splurged and just purchased a 2T external drive for the AE.

Either way, Nice job

B&T

JacksonGlurk · Mar 19, 2008, 10:50 PM

The updates certainly don't work for everyone, and in particular they haven't helped me in any way.

I have the same old total nonfunctionality of my external drive plugged into my Airport Extreme now that I had before the upgrade. Exactly the same configuration worked perfectly under Tiger, but ever since upgrading to Leopard the air disk functionality has been gone. The updates have made NO difference for me in trying to get it back.

Yes, I have both the firmware update and the airport utility update installed and...nada. ABsolutely the same problem I have always had with Leopard.

When I check the Disk tab of the airport utility the external disk is clearly shown as connected and functioning, however my external drive does not appear on my desktop and it isn't seen by Time Machine. Still, it does appears in the finder and the finder says it is connected. When I click on the disk in the finder in order to access its contents,I hear it spin up, there is a slight pause, then I get the same old error message every time: "The operation cannot be completed because the original item for [name of disk] cannot be found."

No one has ever been able to tell me what that means, but I'm getting used to it regardless.

Hope your luck is better. But, hey, since when did getting Mac software to work reliably become a matter of luck?

Mar 19, 2008, 10:28 PM	#1
MacRumors macrumors bot Join Date: Apr 2001	Time Machine Now Works with Airport Extreme USB Drives After the release of today's Time Machine and Airport update, several readers report that Time Machine now supports backups to USB drives connected to your Airport Extreme basestation. This configuration essentially reproduces the functionality of Apple's Time Capsule product. Apple had originally advertised these "AirPort Disk" wireless backups as a feature for Leopard, but this feature was removed prior to its launch. Speculation had suggested that it may have been due to some unresolved security issues, but Apple has made no official statements. While there had been workarounds published, today's update appears to officially restore this feature. Article Link

Mar 19, 2008, 10:30 PM	#3
stephenli macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jul 2004	great! I will buy a 1T tonite and connect to my Airport Extreme! __________________ I think therefore iPod

Mar 19, 2008, 10:31 PM	#4
MacFly123 macrumors 68000 Join Date: Dec 2006	NICE! I think this is going to make a lot of people very happy Now I need to figure out all that importing DVDs and the Apple TV thing __________________ - Steve Jobs' best friend! Last edited by MacFly123 : Mar 19, 2008 at 10:32 PM. Reason: edit

Mar 19, 2008, 10:32 PM	#5
Telp macrumors 68030 Join Date: Feb 2007	Yes. Finally! This is great news!! Tried this before and all i got was good old kernal panic. __________________ Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower. -Steve Jobs

Mar 19, 2008, 10:32 PM	#6
andy721 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: FLORIDA	Ok Heres an idea, why don't you make everything into one freaking machine, stop doing all these dumb add ons Apple. Oh yeah we can use a HD now BFD! __________________ Black 16GB iPhone 3G S⃣ \|Mac Pro 2x2.8GHz Quad-Core(8-core)\|6GB RAM\|NVIDIA 8800GT\|20" Cinema Display\| Last edited by WildCowboy : Mar 20, 2008 at 04:53 PM. Reason: poor choice of words

Mar 19, 2008, 10:30 PM	#2
flopticalcube macrumors 601 Join Date: Sep 2006	About time too...

Mar 19, 2008, 10:33 PM	#7
Stella macrumors 68040 Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada	Great news for people who bought the AE for this very reason I'm wondering the performance difference between the Extreme and Capsule ( over a wireless network ), since USB for Extreme is fast enough to keep up with an 'N' network.

Mar 19, 2008, 10:33 PM	#8
Robjw macrumors newbie Join Date: Dec 2007	damn it! Now I don't know if I should buy an AEBS and just attach an existing HD or go all out and get a TC!

Mar 19, 2008, 10:36 PM	#10
mpcoady macrumors member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Cedar Rapids, IA	If I am reformatting my external HD, what format should I make the partitions? I tried Mac OS Extended (Journaled), but could not get either partition to appear in Time Machine. __________________ 15" PowerBook G4, 1.67 GHz, 80 GB HD \| 8 GB iPhone

Mar 19, 2008, 10:37 PM	#11
conebbs macrumors newbie Join Date: May 2007	Now will people stop bitching now?

Mar 19, 2008, 10:37 PM	#12
Steven.nevets macrumors member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Ottawa, Canada	Perfect! The Time Capsule is just too expensive, but Airport is much cheaper. Then, I can find a 500 gb or so on sale, and get an inexpensive back up solution. I also find it so interesting that Apple pretty much never mentioned taking it out, or putting it back in. Almost like their iPod touch calendar event "bug fix". __________________ Black MacBook C2D iPhone 3G 8Gb

Mar 19, 2008, 10:40 PM	#15
maxp1 macrumors regular Join Date: Feb 2005	I honestly didn't think they would do this. I have a tiny bit more faith now.

Mar 19, 2008, 10:44 PM	#22
coolfactor macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Campbell River, BC, CANADA	not me I don't want to burst anybody's bubbles, but I haven't experienced any success with this. It's no different for me from before the software/firmware update. My USB drive does not show up in Time Machine until after I manually mount it in Finder. Of course, the drive has an existing Time Machine backup on it already, so maybe I need to reformat the drive before this actually works as people are saying it does. So far, no go here.

Mar 19, 2008, 10:45 PM	#23
Zwhaler macrumors 68040 Join Date: Jun 2006	****, this just makes me even more pissed off that my external Hard Drive is dead... and my friend voided the warranty...

Mar 19, 2008, 10:45 PM	#24
bigandtasty macrumors regular Join Date: Dec 2006	How Ironic! Read this on the earlier forum post, tried it with my Airport Extreme and it worked! This is the reason I bought the Airport Extreme. I am stoked it works. The ironic part of this story is I just received my 1T TC this morning! I contemplated not opening it when I got airdisk working, but couldn't resist. I am now setting up my AE to extend my network off the 1T TC. FUNNY THOUGH, had this fix come out 2 weeks ago I would have splurged and just purchased a 2T external drive for the AE. Either way, Nice job B&T Last edited by bigandtasty : Mar 20, 2008 at 12:31 AM. Reason: ARN CORRECTED ME! THANKS:)

Mar 19, 2008, 10:50 PM	#25
JacksonGlurk macrumors newbie Join Date: Mar 2008	Hold The Phone! The updates certainly don't work for everyone, and in particular they haven't helped me in any way. I have the same old total nonfunctionality of my external drive plugged into my Airport Extreme now that I had before the upgrade. Exactly the same configuration worked perfectly under Tiger, but ever since upgrading to Leopard the air disk functionality has been gone. The updates have made NO difference for me in trying to get it back. Yes, I have both the firmware update and the airport utility update installed and...nada. ABsolutely the same problem I have always had with Leopard. When I check the Disk tab of the airport utility the external disk is clearly shown as connected and functioning, however my external drive does not appear on my desktop and it isn't seen by Time Machine. Still, it does appears in the finder and the finder says it is connected. When I click on the disk in the finder in order to access its contents,I hear it spin up, there is a slight pause, then I get the same old error message every time: "The operation cannot be completed because the original item for [name of disk] cannot be found." No one has ever been able to tell me what that means, but I'm getting used to it regardless. Hope your luck is better. But, hey, since when did getting Mac software to work reliably become a matter of luck?

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