Time Capsule help

[Shawnstra]

Ok, here is the deal.

I already backup with Time Machine my Mac with an external USB hard drive. So, I will be getting a Time Capsule soon. So, instead of going through the painful initial backup, can I just copy the files from my old ext hard drive to the Time Capsule?

Thanks.

 

[skorpien]

Unfortunately, no. Time Machine backs up differently to a Time Capsule or Base Station attached HDD than it does to a USB/FireWire attached one. With the latter, it copies the files directly onto the hard drive. With the TC, it first creates an image of the backup, then copies that onto the drive itself. There's no way about it, you'll have to start the backup again. Use ethernet for your first backup to make it go faster than WiFi, but the incremental backups usually go quite fast (depending on how much has changed in one hour). Keep the old HDD around if you need those backups.