i recently purchased an AEBS, and i want to use an external usb hard drive with it for my time machine back-ups. i have a 2010 MBP. i had read somewhere that in order to use time machine over wifi that i needed to purchase a time capsule. is this true? or can i use a usb drive with my current AEBS?
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Time Machine and AEBS
- Thread starter njaremka
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I've been using Time Machine over wifi with my AEBS & USB hard drive combo for a few years and it works just fine.
thanks. maybe this weekend i'll pick up a 3.5 external 2tb or 3tb drive and get it set up.
Just beware that it is not officially supported by Apple.
Some people report zero problems over years of use, others (me for example) are unable to get this working to where it is even a little bit stable.
Some people report zero problems over years of use, others (me for example) are unable to get this working to where it is even a little bit stable.
I don't know how well it work work. However I've read that if you can get it to work, the data transfer speed via the UBS connection will be slower than your wireless speed from your Mac to the AEBS. You're only as fast as your slowest link.
How recently did you purchase the AEBS? If your still in the return window you might want to consider returning it and adding the money you would've spent on the external hard drive and buy a Refurb Time Capsule.
By the time you count the price of the AEBS plus the hard drive you're all over the price of the Time Capsule. Unless you were going to be getting 2tb or more.
The AEBS combo is a lot cheaper here in the UK.
Also be aware of the reliability problems that have plagued the Time Capsule.
for those that have gotten time machine to work with an AEBS and usb hdd, did you set-up time machine with the drive connected to the computer first? or did you connect the drive to the AEBS and set-up from there?
purchase more than 14 days ago. as for my views on the time capsule, see my comment below.
i didnt want to purchase the time capsule because of having issues with other "All-In-One" devices. if the hard drive ever goes out - screwed. if the wifi ever goes out - screwed. no thinaks. at least with two seperate devices my chances of getting screwed are slightly reduced.
purchase more than 14 days ago. as for my views on the time capsule, see my comment below.
The AEBS combo is a lot cheaper here in the UK.
Also be aware of the reliability problems that have plagued the Time Capsule.
i didnt want to purchase the time capsule because of having issues with other "All-In-One" devices. if the hard drive ever goes out - screwed. if the wifi ever goes out - screwed. no thinaks. at least with two seperate devices my chances of getting screwed are slightly reduced.
2TB HD - $80 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...1&cm_re=2tb_hard_drive-_-22-148-681-_-Product
Drive Enclosure - $20 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_re=drive_enclosure-_-17-182-155-_-Product
Refurb AEBS - $130 http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC340LL/A?mco=MjEzNzE0NjA
Total - $230
That's almost half the price of a new 2TB TC (and I think $190 less than a refurb, that I believe usually runs $420 when in stock on Apple's website).
so, just an update...
i plugged my current time machine backup disk into the AEBS, and time machine wouldn't update to it. said something about not having enough space on the drive to complete the backup. bummer. this threw me off because i had been using the drive for the last year with time machine, and never had this problem before. my macbook pro has a 250gb HDD, and this external drive is only 250gb. its a little small, but it should hold everything i need it to.
so, i reformatted the drive, plugged it back into the AEBS, opened time machine preferences, selected the drive, and it started the backup process. awesome! it took quite a while for the first backup to complete, but it completed.
i think i want to still find a larger external so i can partition it to also be able to store movies on it. then i can get CCC and use this current drive as a clone boot drive backup.
i plugged my current time machine backup disk into the AEBS, and time machine wouldn't update to it.
said something about not having enough space on the drive to complete the backup. bummer. this threw me off because i had been using the drive for the last year with time machine, and never had this problem before. my macbook pro has a 250gb HDD, and this external drive is only 250gb. its a little small, but it should hold everything i need it to.so, i reformatted the drive, plugged it back into the AEBS, opened time machine preferences, selected the drive, and it started the backup process. awesome! it took quite a while for the first backup to complete, but it completed.
i think i want to still find a larger external so i can partition it to also be able to store movies on it. then i can get CCC and use this current drive as a clone boot drive backup.