Time Capsule Defrag

[Arkious]

Hi Guys,

I use my Time Capsule as a NAS device rather than backing up and recently i have started getting choppy audio when playing audio from it. I use windows PCs as well as macs attached to it so it could be ready for a defray. Any way to do this or is there another issue causing choppy audio?

 

[Macman45]

Hi Guys,

I use my Time Capsule as a NAS device rather than backing up and recently i have started getting choppy audio when playing audio from it. I use windows PCs as well as macs attached to it so it could be ready for a defray. Any way to do this or is there another issue causing choppy audio?

No defrag or so called utility will help here. If you have the space available on a temporary basis, can you copy the content of the TC, then erase it and start again....I've never used a TC as a streaming device, but if mine shows signs of slowdowns etc. I generally start over.

If space is at a premium, and you don't say whether you are cabled or using wifi, but changing the channels can also help sometimes too.

 

[Arkious]

No defrag or so called utility will help here. If you have the space available on a temporary basis, can you copy the content of the TC, then erase it and start again....I've never used a TC as a streaming device, but if mine shows signs of slowdowns etc. I generally start over.

If space is at a premium, and you don't say whether you are cabled or using wifi, but changing the channels can also help sometimes too.

Thanks for the quick reply!

It is currently connected via ethernet and it only has 200GB used, other devices seem to be okay so im lead to believe my issue lies elsewhere.

This is my issue
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1585855/

 

[justperry]

Macs and HFS do not need to be defrayed, the timecapsule should be HFS so no need, the problem seems to be somewhere else, network for instance.

Edit: Make a new User Account and see if it is better there, but restart first and make the new Account an Admin Account..
If it is gone there it is your normal User Account which is the problem.

 

[Macman45]

Hmm...Things you could try:

Delete and re-do your network connection ( ethernet and wifi ) from system prefs. / network.

Then re-establish a new connection...I've done this before to troubleshoot things and it's worked in the past...makes little sense, but it did work.

As I said before, move that data over to the Mac, then erase the TC and start over.

Both have worked for me in the past, but if neither does, then maybe the HDD in the TC is dying.

 

[maflynn]

Macs and HFS do not need to be defrayed, the timecapsule should be HFS so no need, the problem seems to be somewhere else, network for instance.

That's not entirely true. In some instances particularly when data has to be contiguous, either for video or audio, defragging is needed. For most users, its not needed but like any hard drive, data on HFS+ volumes will get fragmented and while OSX can work with this there maybe needs to keep the streaming data at the highest possible speed.

 

[Macman45]

That's not entirely true. In some instances particularly when data has to be contiguous, either for video or audio, defragging is needed. For most users, its not needed but like any hard drive, data on HFS+ volumes will get fragmented and while OSX can work with this there maybe needs to keep the streaming data at the highest possible speed.

True, the drives in the TC are supposed to be 7200's but that isn't always the case. Some people who've opened them up have found slower enterprise drives there...It makes sense if you are using it for it's intended purpose IE, backups...these are slow and do not require high speed drives. I've never used a TC as a streaming device, so can't really comment further.

 

[justperry]

That's not entirely true. In some instances particularly when data has to be contiguous, either for video or audio, defragging is needed. For most users, its not needed but like any hard drive, data on HFS+ volumes will get fragmented and while OSX can work with this there maybe needs to keep the streaming data at the highest possible speed.

Ok agree, for professionals maybe but not for "normal" users, and especially not for Mp3 files.

 

[Arkious]

okay definatly not a time capsule issue. its an iTunes/quicktime issue as i copied the audio across and it plays the same choppy audio. and video still doesnt play

any ideas? :-S

thanks for your input guys

 

[justperry]

okay definatly not a time capsule issue. its an iTunes/quicktime issue as i copied the audio across and it plays the same choppy audio. and video still doesnt play

any ideas? :-S

thanks for your input guys

Did you make a new account, try there, as I said before, if the issue is not in the new account it is your normal user account which has these issues.

 

[maflynn]

I personally wouldn't be using TC as a NAS. It lacks the features that make NAS a viable option. Time Capsule is a great product to use Time Machine, but above that I'd say look towards a product that is designed for such usages and you'll avoid this problem.

For instance a full blown NAS will use ext4 as the file format, a true modern file format that decreases the need to defrag or have performance issues. User accounts and sharing security. You can also easily stream music, and keep your backups separate from your shares.

Just my $.02

Your options are quite limited in resolving the TC performance issue since the interface through airport utility is quite limited.

 

[Arkious]

just tried the new user and its still no better. no videos playing

yeah i understand what you mean about the time capsule, i would like a very low power system that will run iTunes so that i can connect anywhere but i havent found such a system yet.

but its worked for the last year or so, but need to try understand why these vids arent playing and why the audio seems choppy :-S

 

[rivettmj]

You stated that you have windows and macs connected to it, is the computer that's having the playback issues a mac or a windows system?

If its a mac, check the Performance Monitor to see what the current utilization is for both the CPUs, and the hard disks. Is anything using a large amount or either resource while the machine is idle?

Ifs its a windows based machine same as above but replace "Performance Monitor" with "Task Manager"

 

[justperry]

You stated that you have windows and macs connected to it, is the computer that's having the playback issues a mac or a windows system?

If its a mac, check the Performance Monitor to see what the current utilization is for both the CPUs, and the hard disks. Is anything using a large amount or either resource while the machine is idle?

Ifs its a windows based machine same as above but replace "Performance Monitor" with "Task Manager"

Activity Monitor.

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just tried the new user and its still no better. no videos playing

yeah i understand what you mean about the time capsule, i would like a very low power system that will run iTunes so that i can connect anywhere but i havent found such a system yet.

but its worked for the last year or so, but need to try understand why these vids arent playing and why the audio seems choppy :-S

Well, this tells me the System itself has issues, well, almost sure since the offending files can still be in the main Library.

Since you say it is quicktime/iTunes related you might find the problem in the next Folder.

/Library/QuickTime

You could for instance make a new Folder on the desktop, move all files in the above Quicktime folder to it and restart.
If that helped you know there was a problem with that folder.

Another way to see if your current OS install is a problem is to install a clean install on an external device, even a USB stick would do.(Min. 8 GB)

 

[rivettmj]

Activity Monitor.

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That's what I get for posting prior to caffeine

 

[justperry]

That's what I get for posting prior to caffeine

Or after a few beers.

 

[Arkious]

solved the clicking issue and its now playing videos, just not purchased movies

it is authorised to do so

 

[rivettmj]

What was the cause of the skipping?

Have you tried de-authorizing then re-authorizing the account in iTunes? (also: what is the exact error message you get when trying to play a DRM'd movie?

 

[Arkious]

yeah ive tried de authorising and re authorising and still nothing.

there is no message it just simply doesn't play. goes to a black screen as if ready to play and then doesn't :-S

The cause of the audio was my new speakers in a bad port

 

[rivettmj]

If you go a Get Info (on the right-click menu, or command-i on the file) does it show the video dimensions, and codec? (and does the apple ID match what you think it should be?)

If that all looks good, right click a video and show in Finder (or explorer if Windows)

If you right click and "Open With" and pick quicktime player, see if it 1) Opens in Quicktime and 2) plays in quicktime.

 

[Arkious]

Apple ID is correct and no it won't play in QuickTime either :-(