My comment wasn't aimed at the original poster
Yeah, I think we all got that. Mine was aimed at you too.
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Is Time Capsule a Piece of **** or what?
- Thread starter SDDave2007
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Yeah, I think we all got that. Mine was aimed at you too.
A mo-ped will get me from SF to NY. But I'd rather drive a car.
And the thread's TOPIC is about a user whose TC DOESN'T DO what he wants it to.
Most of the posters on here are getting pissy because they bought a TC and are trying to defend the purchase of a piece of ****, the subject of the thread by the way.
lol.
You have probably considered it, but it seems to me the wireless link between the MacBookPro and TC is not working right, and your TC and time machine symptoms are the end result (both other deviced work great?). Perhaps there is a setting or wireless interference issue, all those typical things they tell us to do to troubleshoot a wireless network. If the MacBook was working wirelesly before, what has changed WPA? Frequency? channel? b/g/n mode, location.. ?
I dunno just shooting out an idea, that perhaps the MacBook may be a contributing factor.
I f****** hate my Time Capsule. I spent an entire day trying to connect it to my Macbook wirelessly with no success. I'm going to the Apple Store this weekend and returning it for store credit. This is definitely the only Apple product I have ever had so much trouble with. Whatever, maybe I'll buy the iPhone with the store credit
I f****** hate my Time Capsule. I spent an entire day trying to connect it to my Macbook wirelessly with no success. I'm going to the Apple Store this weekend and returning it for store credit. This is definitely the only Apple product I have ever had so much trouble with. Whatever, maybe I'll buy the iPhone with the store credit
First of all, how is your Time Capsule's wireless set? N-only, B/G compatible? What does your MacBook support (as in, is it a Core 2 Duo machine that supports N out of the box? Do you need to run the updater to get the N support?)?
Did you install the software that came with the Time Capsule on to your laptop?
Are you using a new wireless network name, or the same name as an older network you're replacing? If its the same name, may I suggest using something different.
Personally, my Time Capsule was essentially plug-and-play for me. No trouble getting it going on 4 laptops (2 MacBooks, a MacBook Pro and a 12" PowerBook G4), a wireless desktop (iMac G4) and a wired desktop (Mac Pro).
I just canceled my order for a 500GB Time Capsule. I think I will give Apple a little more time to work out the kinks.
I f****** hate my Time Capsule. I spent an entire day trying to connect it to my Macbook wirelessly with no success. I'm going to the Apple Store this weekend and returning it for store credit. This is definitely the only Apple product I have ever had so much trouble with. Whatever, maybe I'll buy the iPhone with the store credit
Call Apple Support, they worked out great for me. My TC worked fine out of the box but I fubar'ed it when I tried to make it better.
I had no trouble getting Time Capsule up and running. I did encounter problems getting Vista to let me access it as a remote disk, but it didn't take long to figure out that the trouble came from Vista, not Time Capsule.
Why? What kinks? I don't mean to offend people who are having trouble, but it all seems like the problems originate somewhere between the chair and the keyboard, rather than with the Time Capsule itself.
The Time Capsule does exactly what Apple says it does. But don't expect more than what Apple says.
Understand the Time Capsule is an AirPort Extreme router + a Time Machine hard drive for one or more Macs... NOT a media streaming, multipartition NAS running multiple different file systems with a multiplexing print server/buffer plus whatever else people are trying to do with them.
Just go take a look at the support forums at apple.com to see what I mean. There are many, many, many users that are trying to replace or extend an Airport Extreme and having severe difficulties with dropped connections, inability to connect wirelessly, inability to mount drives, etc, etc, etc. And these are just from people trying to replace a working AEBS system! In my case I would be replacing or adding to a Linksys network that is working flawlessly. If the TC has that much trouble replacing or extending an AEBS network, it doesn't exactly give inspire confidence.
So you see, the Time Capsule is FAR LESS THAN an AirPort Extreme router + a Time Machine hard drive for some people!
Just a note that, in my case, the TC replaced a troublesome actiontec wireless and linksys router combination with zero issues or difficulty. Plugged the TC in, answered a couple questions, the TC app grabbed all the network config info, programed the TC and I was done, maybe 2 minutes.
The TC performs much better than the devices it replaced, which were plagued with drop outs and needed to be reset once a week as PM. I'm now getting a solid 16000kb/s down and 1800kb/s upload speed wirelessly via the 5Ghz n mode (more throughput than I was getting through the actiontec hard wired). The Airport extreme hanging off one of the TC LAN port is also much happier providing access for 2.4 b/g mode users .
I am a happy camper, so far, and so are the rest of the network users.
I noticed most of the topics discussed in the apple support forums were traced to cockpit errors, another faulty device, or interference. Some of which can be frustrating. There were a few network issues and fewer TC issues.
A TC is not a NAS, print server, or video streaming device.
LOL, so true. I have the 1TB TC and it installed in under 5 minutes and that included installing the software. No issues at all and transfer speeds are very good at 90+Mbps for backup and drag n drop of files.
I disagree with that angry poster earlier (without mentioning names everyone knows who he is) TC is for people who want an all wireless solution which is what I needed. It's not for everyone just like a hard-wired external is not for everyone. I wanted my external hard drive tucked away in a different room and not connected to my iMac with a bunch of extra wires. Also for people who have more than one computer or Mac in the house it's ideal especially for TM. An hard-wired external won't serve the purpose with multiple computers in the house.
LOL, the justifying rhetoric is hilarious.
At least I know my data is backed up redundantly...instead of on a single point of failure that cannot be hot-swapped (or cold-swapped, or any kind of swapped ) without voiding a warranty. But hey, do it the hard way...to each their own, whatever makes you happy.
And yes, as stated earlier by someone else, the Apple discussion forums are jammed with complaints about TC.
At least I know my data is backed up redundantly...instead of on a single point of failure that cannot be hot-swapped (or cold-swapped, or any kind of swapped
) without voiding a warranty. But hey, do it the hard way...to each their own, whatever makes you happy.And yes, as stated earlier by someone else, the Apple discussion forums are jammed with complaints about TC.
Oh get real, the Apple Discussion forums just like MR is always and I repeat ALWAYS flooded with complaints about anything Apple even if the complaints are not justified which is generally the case.
Like another poster said earlier, the problems people have most of the time are caused between the chair and the computer desk.
Relax man....be cool...geez.
Like I said, to each their own, and whatever makes you happy.
{Chuckles}
If people are trying to "extend" their networks, then I presume they're trying to set up WDS wireless-to-wireless networks. These are a pain to set up correctly, even using Apple equipment. I had one going with two AirPort Express devices and an AirPort Extreme base. All devices MUST be on the same channel and MUST be using the same wireless protocol. WDS networks are slow as the data hops from wireless to wireless and is very susceptible to interference.
Unless people have some large houses or multiple solid internal brick walls, a WDS network in an average private residence is likely overkill and more complex than necessary.
And to be perfectly honest, if most people are still running their Linksys wireless basestations with an SSID of "Linksys" and with the default password, do you really think most people are going to get a WDS wireless network going, even with well-designed Apple hardware and software? I don't.
You can call me an ass if you like, but I think people who are having trouble with the Time Capsule are simply not following the directions or are trying cut corner. I concede that a small percentage might be defective (as with anything), I seriously doubt there is a design flaw.
Unless people have some large houses or multiple solid internal brick walls, a WDS network in an average private residence is likely overkill and more complex than necessary.
And to be perfectly honest, if most people are still running their Linksys wireless basestations with an SSID of "Linksys" and with the default password, do you really think most people are going to get a WDS wireless network going, even with well-designed Apple hardware and software? I don't.
You can call me an ass if you like, but I think people who are having trouble with the Time Capsule are simply not following the directions or are trying cut corner. I concede that a small percentage might be defective (as with anything), I seriously doubt there is a design flaw.
Not As Straight Forward
I think one of the main issues with the time capsule is that people are trying to add it to their existing networks. If you read the Apple documentation, they tend to expect this to be your only access point, not an add-on to an older 802.11 network. And, if you have an old b or g network, Apple recommends making the time capsule your main network, and running those other networks off of it. There are some features in the time capsule to support this, especially if the time capsule is behind an existing router for your internet service.
Bottom line to those of you that hoped this would be plug and play - there are a bunch of networking issues that even some of us experienced people have had to fiddle with to get to work happily!
Also, one thing that might help with the wireless connectivity is to check on channel interference; all of these 802.11 devices broadcast on a particular channel, but if your neighborhood is anything like mine, there are about a dozen other wireless devices within range, all broadcasting on conflicting channels, causing a certain amount of interference. This may cause your local wireless devices to lose their connection, like my apple tv.
You can set the time capsule to automatic so it will check before being on a particular channel. Note that other wireless devices have default channels they use; I understand time capsule to be channel 1 by default. Linksys and Netgear have different defaults.
Also, on the time machine speed thing - I have about 40 gb of stuff that needed to be backed up the first time. It took too long so i used the ethernet to do it - that worked fine. For those of you with 160 gb drives full of movies, pictures, etc, expect to be waiting more than all night for one to get done, wired or wireless!
I think one of the main issues with the time capsule is that people are trying to add it to their existing networks. If you read the Apple documentation, they tend to expect this to be your only access point, not an add-on to an older 802.11 network. And, if you have an old b or g network, Apple recommends making the time capsule your main network, and running those other networks off of it. There are some features in the time capsule to support this, especially if the time capsule is behind an existing router for your internet service.
Bottom line to those of you that hoped this would be plug and play - there are a bunch of networking issues that even some of us experienced people have had to fiddle with to get to work happily!
Also, one thing that might help with the wireless connectivity is to check on channel interference; all of these 802.11 devices broadcast on a particular channel, but if your neighborhood is anything like mine, there are about a dozen other wireless devices within range, all broadcasting on conflicting channels, causing a certain amount of interference. This may cause your local wireless devices to lose their connection, like my apple tv.
You can set the time capsule to automatic so it will check before being on a particular channel. Note that other wireless devices have default channels they use; I understand time capsule to be channel 1 by default. Linksys and Netgear have different defaults.
Also, on the time machine speed thing - I have about 40 gb of stuff that needed to be backed up the first time. It took too long so i used the ethernet to do it - that worked fine. For those of you with 160 gb drives full of movies, pictures, etc, expect to be waiting more than all night for one to get done, wired or wireless!
There Are Other Backup Options
I agree that there are other backup options out there. For example, I use Carbon Copy Cloner with a USB drive to make a bootable image/backup of my laptop manually, just in case things go terribly awry and I must restore my laptop from the image. CCC is a free tool out there that works just fine.
Also, there are less expensive 1TB drives than this Time Capsule. I think one of the smart features of the time capsule is that you don't have to manually initiate a backup - time machine itself will self-initiate when you come back to your wireless network. I don't think TM works flawlessly, but for anybody who has fought with network backups on corporate networks, the TM, TC combination is a good start.
I also agree that having a wireless device and HDD married together creates a single point of failure for two services if one fails and needs repair. But, I also think the age of "less stupid" appliances is upon us, and this happens to just be a new example of the idea.
For others evaluating this - some skill is still required for this to work well on your network, and this is not for the novice with an existing wireless network.
I agree that there are other backup options out there. For example, I use Carbon Copy Cloner with a USB drive to make a bootable image/backup of my laptop manually, just in case things go terribly awry and I must restore my laptop from the image. CCC is a free tool out there that works just fine.
Also, there are less expensive 1TB drives than this Time Capsule. I think one of the smart features of the time capsule is that you don't have to manually initiate a backup - time machine itself will self-initiate when you come back to your wireless network. I don't think TM works flawlessly, but for anybody who has fought with network backups on corporate networks, the TM, TC combination is a good start.
I also agree that having a wireless device and HDD married together creates a single point of failure for two services if one fails and needs repair. But, I also think the age of "less stupid" appliances is upon us, and this happens to just be a new example of the idea.
For others evaluating this - some skill is still required for this to work well on your network, and this is not for the novice with an existing wireless network.
To the OP:
Here's something you can try. If your PC and Mac Pro are co-located in the same room, try running some ethernet from port 2 of the Mac Pro to the PC and configure the Mac Pro to share its internet connection. Then the MBP will be the only machine hooked up wirelessly to the Time Capsule.
Just a thought. Of course if they aren't in the same room it won't work.
Here's something you can try. If your PC and Mac Pro are co-located in the same room, try running some ethernet from port 2 of the Mac Pro to the PC and configure the Mac Pro to share its internet connection. Then the MBP will be the only machine hooked up wirelessly to the Time Capsule.
Just a thought. Of course if they aren't in the same room it won't work.
Working good for me knock on wood. Took about 5 hrs to back up 50gb of stuff over WiFi from my Macbook.
So Nice not having to connect a drive to the comp whenever I want to back up or move things around.
I actually just went to try to move my iTunes stuff over to free up my internal drive. But when I dragged the "iTunes Music" Folder to the Shared Drive It wouldn't let me copy it.
Anyone know a way around this?
Thanks in Advance .
So Nice not having to connect a drive to the comp whenever I want to back up or move things around.
I actually just went to try to move my iTunes stuff over to free up my internal drive. But when I dragged the "iTunes Music" Folder to the Shared Drive It wouldn't let me copy it.
Anyone know a way around this?
Thanks in Advance .