Time Capsule Questions

[ColinM]

Hello, I'm Colin and pretty new to the MacRumors forum. I joined in January but just now decided to attempt activity.

My family will be upgrading our Airport in the coming months. We'll be moving from an 802.11b Aiport Snow to an 802.11n Time Capsule. I'm using an iMac G5 1.9 GHz with 2.5 GB of RAM, and my sister/mother is currently using an old G4 machine running Tiger. However, they will be upgrading to a Macbook Pro very soon.

I had a couple questions concerning the Aiport and Backing up. So in random order...

1. My mother/sister's new computer will have 802.11n capability, while my iMac will be using 802.11g. Will my computer's networking slow their's down at all? Will I have to change settings on the Time Capsule so it will work with both?

2. For an initial backup, could I connect my current backup drive (SimpleTech External) and drag the backup.db file into the Time Capsule? Or will I need to do my 110 GB Backup over the air? Are there any other/faster ways to do backup?

3. This is more of a broad question, but for those users out there, is it pretty reliable with holding an internet connection? I've had some issues with my computer since I've upgraded to Leopard, but I don't know if that all has to do with the OS, or possibly the old Airport.

Thank you!

-ColinM

 

[Batt]

1) Yes, you'll slow them down to G. I think TC's default setting is to play well at all speeds. I have a TC, an N-capable MacBook Pro and a G-speed Express. It's fast enough.
2) I THINK you can drag the backup file over, but I'm not sure. In any case, do the initial backup via ethernet - it's much faster.
3) I've had no connection issues with either Leopard or Time Capsule.

 

[ColinM]

Just to make sure I've got this... I would plug an Ethernet cord into the Time Capsule, and then to my computer, and then back it up? I have no cable connection in my room, so we wouldn't have internet access for that time, correct?

I could always just bring my iMac G5 Downstairs to the dining room table and plug it in to the Time Capsule there. Yeah, if I'm correct in what your saying about the Ethernet, that should work.

-ColinM

 

[Batt]

Just to make sure I've got this... I would plug an Ethernet cord into the Time Capsule, and then to my computer, and then back it up? I have no cable connection in my room, so we wouldn't have internet access for that time, correct?

I could always just bring my iMac G5 Downstairs to the dining room table and plug it in to the Time Capsule there. Yeah, if I'm correct in what your saying about the Ethernet, that should work.

-ColinM

Plug your computer into one of the 3 LAN ethernet ports on the TC. Not the one for connecting to the internet. Plan on about 4 or 5 hours to do the initial backup. Subsequent wireless backups only take a few minutes.

 

[skorpien]

2) I THINK you can drag the backup file over, but I'm not sure. In any case, do the initial backup via ethernet - it's much faster.

This you can't do. Time Capsule, or any HDD connected to a Time Capsule or AEBS, actually creates a sparsebundle image file for each computer that is being backed up. This isn't compatible or interchangeable with the backup.db file. You'll have to create a new backup. You could however transfer the backup.db file to the TC and store it if you really wanted to, but you won't be able to make subsequent backups to it.

As for your other questions, ethernet for the first backup is pretty much a must. Much faster and more reliable than wifi (won't take forever and won't get a corrupt file if it fails). The subsequent backups are just fine over wifi, but the first one will need to be wired. Also, my TC's Internet connection has been perfect since I've set it up.