Time Capsule help

Shawnstra · Mar 21, 2009, 07:01 PM

Ok, here is the deal.

I already backup with Time Machine my Mac with an external USB hard drive. So, I will be getting a Time Capsule soon. So, instead of going through the painful initial backup, can I just copy the files from my old ext hard drive to the Time Capsule?

Thanks.

skorpien · Mar 21, 2009, 08:05 PM

Unfortunately, no. Time Machine backs up differently to a Time Capsule or Base Station attached HDD than it does to a USB/FireWire attached one. With the latter, it copies the files directly onto the hard drive. With the TC, it first creates an image of the backup, then copies that onto the drive itself. There's no way about it, you'll have to start the backup again. Use ethernet for your first backup to make it go faster than WiFi, but the incremental backups usually go quite fast (depending on how much has changed in one hour). Keep the old HDD around if you need those backups.

Mar 21, 2009, 07:01 PM	#1
Shawnstra macrumors regular Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Singapore	Time Capsule help Ok, here is the deal. I already backup with Time Machine my Mac with an external USB hard drive. So, I will be getting a Time Capsule soon. So, instead of going through the painful initial backup, can I just copy the files from my old ext hard drive to the Time Capsule? Thanks. __________________ "The mark of good design is not when there's nothing left to add, but when there's nothing left to remove."
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Mar 21, 2009, 08:05 PM	#2
skorpien macrumors 68020 Join Date: Jan 2008	Unfortunately, no. Time Machine backs up differently to a Time Capsule or Base Station attached HDD than it does to a USB/FireWire attached one. With the latter, it copies the files directly onto the hard drive. With the TC, it first creates an image of the backup, then copies that onto the drive itself. There's no way about it, you'll have to start the backup again. Use ethernet for your first backup to make it go faster than WiFi, but the incremental backups usually go quite fast (depending on how much has changed in one hour). Keep the old HDD around if you need those backups. __________________ 17" 2.6 GHz Penryn MBP Collector's Edition 2.4 GHz Alu MB Time Capsule 2TB (1st Gen); Apple TV 160GB; iPhone 4 32GB; iPod Video 30GB
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