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Mac OS X 10.5.2: World of Warcraft Fix, Still No Airport Extreme Backups

Can anyone comment on iTimeMachine?

http://www.xiotios.com/itimemachine.html

"What is iTimeMachine?

iTimeMachine is a utility, the only utility, that enables the use of AirDisks and Network Disks in Time Machine. Even with the new release of TimeCapsule, users can still not use AirDisks with Time Machine. You can do it with iTimeMachine."
 
Mindflux said:
Funny. You're the first person I've ever seen mention using time machine with an air disk with 'no hacks'.

Was this external drive originally hooked up to your Mac, by chance?
Click to expand...

Yes. So I honestly can't tell you if it would work if you first did a usb wire backup or not.

I found out about the IPv6 by reading a customers review at the apple store believe it or not. I decided to try it and he is right. Very reliable backup. Not near as fast as a direct wire obviously ... but who cares as it is happening in the background.
 
Steve is right

If you plug in a USB disk into your laptop & turn on time machine with it, then plug it into your airport extreme (sharing the disk from the root mount point).

It will work fine. I've experienced this with a LACIE drive.
 
About Time Machine and network volumes...

Leopard does Time Machine backups in two different ways depending on whether the volume is local or not.

If the backup volume is local, it does the backup directly to the local disk, into a directory tree created for this purpose.

If the backup volume is on the network, it will create a sparsebundle on it, and do the backup to the sparsebundle. This is so that OWNERSHIP of files can be preserved within that disk image.

The reason the backups to Airport Express may be getting "corrupted" is people setting them up as local Time Machine backups first, then trying to do them over the network. Ownership cannot be preserved in this scenario, and information is lost, resulting in a bad backup.

You need to understand how Time Machine works and WHY it does the things it does, before accusing Apple of crippling it, then whining incessantly about it.
 
dual64bit said:
This is possible now, any network volume you can follow this hack with.

The important thing is to plug in some sort of local volume to generate the files. Then copy the files over to the NAS in a specific directory (you need to mount directly to). You don't need to connect locally to the NAS, just plug in some sort of external volume to create the files.
Click to expand...

So I can take my external 120GB drive, turn on Time Machine, let it "do its thing", transfer files to my NAS and mount it. I have a few questions on this:

1. Does my 120GB external USB drive need to be empty?
2. If it's not empty, will Time Machine overwrite any existing files on my USB drive?
3. If/when I get TM working on my NAS, will it back up to a specific folder? Meaning, can I have normal "copy and paste" backups from my gf's laptop and from my MBP, keep them on there and still use Time Machine?

Thanks!
 
I can not remember where it was but something was said that the feature was pulled because of the way Airport writes to it's drive can lead to data-loss I think. I guess it can only be fixed with an airport firmware update.?

I just found this on digg. Shows a possible new useful feature in timemachine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dIYeT5N3Ro
 
why the h:apple:ll are they now fixing this issue???

-- Yeah yeah I know to make more money

my point is, there is no excuse to deny customers from features that are potentially available in products they have already purchased with their hard earned cash...

not fair. :mad:
 
tadunne said:
I can not remember where it was but something was said that the feature was pulled because of the way Airport writes to it's drive can lead to data-loss I think. I guess it can only be fixed with an airport firmware update.?

I just found this on digg. Shows a possible new useful feature in timemachine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dIYeT5N3Ro
Click to expand...

That button appeared in some of Leopard's pre-release marketing material.

See this blog post from October 3rd for proof.
 
TimeCapsule and restore...

I'm totally wading in over my head on this one... but is it possible that TimeCapsule based routers will support remote network booting (TFTP a small OSX boot image) so that you can completely recover a Mac whose base OS is corrupted or whose HDD has been replaced or erased?

I can see these scenarios as being the ones you would need something special to make the whole things work "apple style" without a lot of command line noise or ugly configuration... just boot with the alt-key down (like on MBA) and then select the TimeCapsule network, enter the appropriate WPA key and then select the machine image you want to restore.

That'd be kinda cool... but it'd be nice if the AirPort Base Station could make that happen using the USB attached disk or any other AFP or CFS share... The hard part isn't the remote file system piece, but rather the remote boot for OSX with the timemachine restore code. Oh... and probably a firmware update for existing macs to support tftp boots over wireless.

Huh...
 
flipperanubi said:
Secondly, Fry's often runs specials on their hard drives for 500GB for $100-$150. An Airport Extreme is $150. $300 is a lot less than $499. I call Apple Tax.
Click to expand...
Well, except that 499 is for 1TB drive. I call that lack of math skills.

AEBS is $170, 500GB TimeCapsule is $300, the difference is $130 which should cover 500GB hard disk.
 
Peace said:
Using Time Machine wirelessly over any external drive,whether it's connected to an AEBS or the USB slot on a Mac has proven to be unreliable because external disks have a nasty habit of going to sleep unless your using it from the computer itself.It Causes connection errors. I have personally tested this many times.
This is why only internal drives or the new Time Capsule can be used wirelessly.
Click to expand...

OK, how's this (apologies for the ASCII art):

||Computer|| ~~(WiFi)~~> ||BlackBox|| --(USB)--> ||Ext.Disk||

This configuration works if BlackBox is an Apple Mac with Leopard. This configuration fails (maybe) if BlackBox is an Apple AEBS. There's nothing inherent about an external USB disk that prevents it from being used as a Time Machine backup. The crux of the matter is that an Apple AEBS doesn't work but an Apple Mac does. Whether Apple resolves this problem favorably is for them to decide.

My USB drive attached to my Mac sleeps until it's woken up for Time Machine backups, then goes to sleep again after it's ejected after the backup completes. I don't see the relevance of your comment about USB drives.
 
Wasn't there an article somewhere here that suggested TM worked with both the TC's internal drive AND attached drives? If that is the case there should be zero technical problem with TM working with AEBS. I'm pissed coz I've only had my AEBS for 3 weeks.
 
Spike Lightfoot said:
Apple's target market for Time Capsule are the Mom and Pops of the world, who, I'll be willing to bet the farm, are NOT geeky enough to have a spare router on hand like you and I do when their Time Capsule goes belly up. Nor the patience nor interest to reconfigure a different router while their TC is in the shop. With TC, all the advantages of detachable USB or ethernet drives are gone. And for what gain? Convince me, I might buy one. For now, I just don't see the advantage.
Click to expand...

Well they will either have an existing router or not. If they do, problem solved. And if they do not, the only real reason to get a Time Capsule is because they bought it along with some model of MacBook (be it a MB, MBP, or MBA) and they like the idea of being able to wirelessly back-up the unit and be able to roam wirelessly.

If their Time Capsule dies, they still have the ability to connect their portable direct to their broadband modem while they wait for repair. And if it is something as simple as a dead HDD, you might even be able to have the Genius Bar fix it right there, if they stock the spares at the store.
 
bytethese said:
I didn't want to buy a Time Capsule because it's only one disk. What if that goes bad?...
Click to expand...
Well it's a separate disk from the hard disk you are backing up isn't it? I don't get what you are talking about here unless you are envisioning Time Capsule as a home server system that does other things besides back up your main disk.

It's a dedicated Time Machine device. If your hard disk goes bad, then you have the Time Capsule backup. If the Time Capsule disk goes bad, you still have your main disk.

You *can* use it as a network storage drive I guess, but then as you say, you might want to use a RAId for that.
 
While there have been workarounds published, the announcement of Time Capsule raised hopes again that Apple would address this issue soon.


I don't think you should post that there have been "workarounds." Any of the workarounds that have been posted are unstable at best. I have yet to find a way to use Time Machine on an AEBS + USB Network Drive that works safely and competently. You can enter this command into terminal, see your drive in Time Machine, and supposedly backup to it, but the reports of corrupted data, data lost, etc, are all over these threads- these are not workarounds, they're partially-functioning hacks. If this worked, then there wouldn't be thousands of people complaining about Time Capsule when their AEBS's and Airdisk don't work.

BTW- I'd love to be proved wrong, as I want desperately for this work.
 
MacRumors said:



Apple had originally advertised Airdisk wireless backups as a feature for Leopard, but this feature was removed prior to its launch. Speculation has suggested that it may have been due to some unresolved security issues, but Apple has made no official statements. While there have been workarounds published, the announcement of Time Capsule raised hopes again that Apple would address this issue soon.

Article Link
Click to expand...

Oh pleeze, how naive of you to even think this!!!

The reason Apple removed the Airdisk feature from TM at the last moment is because someone (probably Jobs himself) came up with the bright idea of making this an exclusive feature of the (then yet unreleased) Time Capsule, thereby creating a totally new revenue stream. So don't get your hopes up, folks. As long as Time Capsules bleeds black on Apple's bottom line you will not be able to use TM with third party drives connected to your APX, no way.
 
/dev/toaster said:
Again, I still don't see the problem. My USB drives spin up just fine when a backup is requested. Once an hour I can hear them spin up and I can see increased network traffic over my switch. No problems.

If a disk is in use, its not going to sleep. Bad coding on the AEBS will cause this. No reason it can't be fixed.
Click to expand...

I'm no expert, but it does seem odd that a drive that goes to sleep when mounted locally has no problems with time machine but one that goes to sleep when mounted through AEBS does have problems.
 
Virgil-TB2 said:
Well it's a separate disk from the hard disk you are backing up isn't it? I don't get what you are talking about here unless you are envisioning Time Capsule as a home server system that does other things besides back up your main disk.

It's a dedicated Time Machine device. If your hard disk goes bad, then you have the Time Capsule backup. If the Time Capsule disk goes bad, you still have your main disk.

You *can* use it as a network storage drive I guess, but then as you say, you might want to use a RAId for that.
Click to expand...

Well, here's a scenario:

Oh crap, my Mac died! I need to replace my Hard disk and restore from backups. Oh crap, the disk in my TC is corrupt!

I now, small chance of that happening but for long term storage of backups, I want to make sure my backup doesn't go bad, hence my thought that a RAID1 would be better. :) For me anyway, it would be for multiple machines to backup to, so if teh "main backup" goes, we all lose our backup data.
 
Spike Lightfoot said:
OK, how's this (apologies for the ASCII art):

||Computer|| ~~(WiFi)~~> ||BlackBox|| --(USB)--> ||Ext.Disk||

This configuration works if BlackBox is an Apple Mac with Leopard. This configuration fails (maybe) if BlackBox is an Apple AEBS. There's nothing inherent about an external USB disk that prevents it from being used as a Time Machine backup. The crux of the matter is that an Apple AEBS doesn't work but an Apple Mac does. Whether Apple resolves this problem favorably is for them to decide.

My USB drive attached to my Mac sleeps until it's woken up for Time Machine backups, then goes to sleep again after it's ejected after the backup completes. I don't see the relevance of your comment about USB drives.
Click to expand...

I'm referring to networking via wireless and external USB drives.Apple sees the relevance because I've had discussions with people about it.

If you are currently using TM via wireless .N connection through the AEBS to an external USB HD connected to a Mac running Leopard and doing it consistently without error please let Apple bug reports know about it because it is a known issue I have been working on for several months.
 
theBB said:
Well, except that 499 is for 1TB drive. I call that lack of math skills.

AEBS is $170, 500GB TimeCapsule is $300, the difference is $130 which should cover 500GB hard disk.
Click to expand...

Also... not all HDD are built the same... I doubt this, though it would be smart for a "backup disk", but Apple could be using a premium drive.

I have found that, for example, Seagate enterprise drives are MUCH more reliable than their retail cousins... and usually cost between $20-50 more.
 
flipperanubi said:
...if it was just disabled, enterprising hackers would find a way to re-enable it.
Click to expand...

Which they have. A friend of mine got Time Machine to work through his AEBS without any problems. He said it's just disabled by default, but if you change a line of code through Terminal it works fine.
 
Spike Lightfoot said:
OK, how's this (apologies for the ASCII art):

||Computer|| ~~(WiFi)~~> ||BlackBox|| --(USB)--> ||Ext.Disk||

This configuration works if BlackBox is an Apple Mac with Leopard. This configuration fails (maybe) if BlackBox is an Apple AEBS. There's nothing inherent about an external USB disk that prevents it from being used as a Time Machine backup. The crux of the matter is that an Apple AEBS doesn't work but an Apple Mac does. Whether Apple resolves this problem favorably is for them to decide.

My USB drive attached to my Mac sleeps until it's woken up for Time Machine backups, then goes to sleep again after it's ejected after the backup completes. I don't see the relevance of your comment about USB drives.
Click to expand...

My guess is that for common scenarios of wanting to restore a single file or recover a machine that still boots properly, you are correct.

However, if the machine you are restoring won't boot (OS is corrupted, disk is wiped, etc.) you are going to need remote boot... My guess is that Apple has this working with Macs running leopard because they can simply ship their own image to boot the machine (tftp just like you do with... BSD!). Perhaps AEBS doesn't have a boot image but TimeCapsule will?
 
Time Capsule vs. Airport Extreme + USB disk

peestandingup said:
"While there have been workarounds published, the announcement of Time Capsule raised hopes again that Apple would address this issue soon."

Don't count on it. Time Capsule IS the "fix". Who knows why Apple crippled the AP Extreme + AirDisk backup feature. It obviously works well enough with the hack. And that combo is a permanent solution, unlike these Time capsules, where once you run outta space, thats the end.

My guess, with the way Apple's been doing things lately, it was done to sell more hardware.
Click to expand...

That's not it.

Performance with Airport Extreme USB-attached disk is quite poor, especially with multiple users. It's not going to get any better.

Time Capsule uses a 7200 RPM SATA drive connected directly, no USB bridge to add drag. I think you'll see that it works much better than AE + USB disk.

In fact, you can add a USB drive to Time Capsule for file sharing via AFP, SMB, or NFS, but you wouldn't want to use it for Time Machine backups. The results would be just as bad as with the AE+USB disk approach.
 
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