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Airport Time Capsule - What to do with Hard Drive?

thomamon

thomamon

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 24, 2008
1,221
163
Flemington, NJ
So I purchased the AirPort Time Capsule today with the 3gb Hard Drive and I find myself in a bit of a dilemma.

I currently have a 3gb USB 3 drive I use for Time Machine. My question is do I continue to use that and use that HD in the Time Capsule for my iTunes library or vice versa?

Anyone have any pro's and cons of doing it either way? Look forward to any tips or suggestions.

Tom
 
No matter what you decide, just keep in mind that you need to have your data in at least two places. If you do your Time Machine backup to your Time Capsule, and have your iTunes library and music files live on your USB3 drive, any failure of the USB3 drive means your music (or other data) is lost. Vice versa if your Time Capsule is your primary iTunes location - a failure of that means you're toast.

How much storage space are you currently using or do you need? I suggest leaving your Time Capsule as the primary Time Machine backup destination, then putting your iTunes library and files on the USB3 drive. Then, in Time Machine preferences, remove the exclusion preventing backup of your external USB3 drive - so it also gets properly backed up to your Time Capsule along with your internal Mac drive.

Remember - any data on an external drive is subject to loss at any time - don't have that be the sole storage location for anything you deem important. Backup, backup, backup.
 
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Use USB for your library, it'll benefit from the faster performance and Time Machine doesn't need that. Make sure Time Machine is set to back jump both the external USB and your internal drive to the Time Capsule. If you have too much data for all that to fit on the 3TB Time Capsule, add another USB hard drive to the TC and back up your internal drive to one TC disk and your computer's external USB to the other TC disk.
 
FreakinEurekan said:
Use USB for your library, it'll benefit from the faster performance and Time Machine doesn't need that. Make sure Time Machine is set to back jump both the external USB and your internal drive to the Time Capsule. If you have too much data for all that to fit on the 3TB Time Capsule, add another USB hard drive to the TC and back up your internal drive to one TC disk and your computer's external USB to the other TC disk.
Click to expand...

The internal TC drive is much faster than any USB drive attached to the time capsule.

OP are, you trying to eliminate cables and drives attached to your computer.

If not, like eurekan said, use the USB drive attached to your computer for the iTunes library and the TC for Time machine. Include the attached USB drive in your TM backups.

If you are and attaching the USB disk to the TC, it doesn't matter much, although the internal TC drive will be a little more reliable connection... but when it fails, the external USB will be easier to move to another.
 
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FreakinEurekan said:
Use USB for your library, it'll benefit from the faster performance and Time Machine doesn't need that. Make sure Time Machine is set to back jump both the external USB and your internal drive to the Time Capsule. If you have too much data for all that to fit on the 3TB Time Capsule, add another USB hard drive to the TC and back up your internal drive to one TC disk and your computer's external USB to the other TC disk.
Click to expand...

ColdCase said:
The internal TC drive is much faster than any USB drive attached to the time capsule.

OP are, you trying to eliminate cables and drives attached to your computer.

If not, like eurekan said, use the USB drive attached to your computer for the iTunes library and the TC for Time machine. Include the attached USB drive in your TM backups.

If you are and attaching the USB disk to the TC, it doesn't matter much, although the internal TC drive will be a little more reliable connection... but when it fails, the external USB will be easier to move to another.
Click to expand...

That makes a lot of sense. So to be sure, Time Capsule for Time Machine and have that backup both the MBP and External HD with the iTunes library!

Not doing it to eliminate wires, just purchased the Times Capsule yesterday and was trying to figure out best way to setup/configure it all!
 
OK, next question as this has gotten more complicated.

My wife just got an iMac and was wondering about sharing our iTunes library.

How terribly slow would it be if I hooked up the external HD with my iTunes on it and have it hooked up to both of our computers?
 
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