Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

IPadNParadise

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 12, 2013
517
165
Regardless of my screen name, I am a brand new MBP owner. Also am an older generation non techy. I think maybe the ease of use of the Ipad made me over confident and so when my Toshiba laptop died, I wanted a mac. Keep in mind tho that I am really one of those grammas that I see being made fun of on these boards, i would have been fine with my ipad when all I do is email, surf the web, store pics. But hey, I love my MBP . The setup went so smoothly for internet thru my ISP provided Westell 7500 router (5 yo now) and my wirelessly connected HP printer.

But now I see I also need a backup device. I am wondering if a Time Capsule would be of any benefit to me. The westell router has b, g modes only and the TC has n capability and dual bands. So will that get me any improvement for my internet surfing and watching youtube without that irritating buffering? I am just so afraid that trying to setup a TC to work with my MBP, Ipad and printer, well ill screw up somehow and end up with no internet connection at all, not even being able to just give up and reconnect MBP and ipad back as originally to my westell router.

As I look thru some of the video tutorials online, I get to the step where they ask for password and I dont know which they want - I have all my passwords written down but they dont say which to use so it would be frustrating. And I dont understand - to use bridge mode or not.

So my question, in all this paranoia is, what will a TC do for me over a plain ol extended hard drive device.
 

satcomer

Suspended
Feb 19, 2008
9,115
1,973
The Finger Lakes Region
I urge you if you are going to an Time Capsule is to buy a powered USB2 hub (you can get one at almost every electronic online store) and plug that into the Capsule itself. Then you can add other USB 2 external drives and or printers and be able to connect 4 things (hard drives +printers, at the same time)and turn those devices into network attachments. All you have to do is use the Mac's included Airport Utility and go into the Capsule setup and share the connected hard drives with the network password. Then in System Preferences->Accounts, Login Item add those mounted drives to you login startups.
 

IPadNParadise

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 12, 2013
517
165
I do appreciate your taking the time to answer my post. But...your steps are so different than any of the setup steps I have read in the TC manual or watched on youtube, I am even more confused. When you dont have a background in basic understanding of computer talk, you need steps outlined in 1...2...3. I see this as a problem of mine anytime I attempt to setup something on a computer. You all know so much more than the simple directions you might be reading for a (whatever computer related) setup.

So my reason for that initial question - how will a TC benefit me, i.e. improve my internet, so I'll know whether I need the stress in figuring out exactly how to setup. Im trying not to end up with $300 backup only device but if I could see a beefit, I could tackle setup, stress and all.
 

IPadNParadise

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 12, 2013
517
165
So if no one wants to help me, as judging from all the views with only one reply, where can I go to learn some of the basics BEHIND TC setup steps in tge manual?

For example,when I was setting up my HP printer to be wireless, I had to download some software from HP website. Download took about 45 minutes or so and then everything went to the final setup on my MBP and I got a step saying, enter password - what password, didnt say. User name was already showing and it was not the one that I used when I had just setup my MBP. Got out my user name/password list and the user name showing was from when I setup my ISP account, five years ago when I first got my Toshiba and ISP service/router. This just makes no logical sense to me but you see what I mean when I say I dont know computer “talk" to know how to set things up in the computer world. So where could I learn and isnt there anybody on here that has the time/patience to explain what benefit a TC would be?
 

tomwvr

macrumors regular
Jun 12, 2012
213
98
Frederick Maryland
BUMP this - I am interested in seeing an answer - I dont have a clue about Time Capsule but am looking at getting one.

----------

I found these instructions on turning the 7500 into bridge mode and using the TC as the router

Scenario:
You got a Westell 7500 modem from Verizon DSL but already have your own router that you want to use.

The following few steps explain how to make the Westell 7500 work in bridge mode.

Note: If at any point you feel like something went wrong, the modem isn’t responding.. anything at all – DON’T PANIC! That’s what our little reset friend is for, just hold down the reset button for about 10 seconds, the modem will restart itself and you’re back to step 1.

How to set Verizon Westell 7500 to bridge mode:

First make sure everything is connected properly, your connection for the first part should look like this:
DSL line > Westell 7500 > Ethernet cable into your computer
(and of course power… apparently nothing works without power – go figure)

Part 1 – switching to bridge mode
1. Open your favorite browser and navigate to 192.168.1.1
2. Log in using your user name and password, if never changed the default is admin / password
3. Go to My Network > Network Connections (left menu)
4. Click on Broadband connection.
5. Click on the edit icon in the VC’s table (bottom table).
6. Set Protocol to Bridge.
7. Set Bridge mode to Bridge.
8. Hit apply to save changes.

Part 2 – Disabling wireless – optional but very recommended
1. Click Wireless network
2. Basic settings
3. Switch wireless network to Off
4. Apply

Part 3 – Disabling DHCP
1. Go to Network connections > Lan.
2. Uncheck Private lan (first option).
3. Apply.

Done!
You are now in bridge mode, the modem will restart and your computer will no longer get an IP from it, connect your router to the modem, set your IP address and you’re good to go.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.