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Time Machine Now Works with Airport Extreme USB Drives

Mindflux said:
I had this problem when I changed the drive icon. Hook the drive up to your mac via USB, hit cmd-I and wipe out the drive icon (if you changed it). Then unmount the disk and hook it back up to your extreme. ( I might have rebooted the router too)

That worked for me.
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MINDFLUX,

Thanks for trying to help, but no joy for me there. I have never changed an icon, for this drive or anything else. Regardless, I tried to follow your instructions anyway and absolutely nothing happened. Still can't see the external HD when its connected via Airport. Not on desktop, not in Time Machine, not even in Disk Utility. Yet when connected directly, everything functions normally. And the same dirve functioned normally under Tiger BOTH via direct connection AND via Airport. I'm at an absolute loss.
 
There was only one response (that went largely unnoticed) that you should be doing your initial backup while the drive is physically connected. You're going to get that first backup out of the way *much* faster than you will via your wireless connection.
 
Firmware update also.

No one's mentioning the firmware update for the AEBS. I'm not at my machine to confirm it but posters on AppleInsider say there's one.
 
katorga said:
OK, reformatted disk with GUID table, journaled, and added back to the AEBS. It still does not show up in TM as an available disk.

Do I have to plug it in to my Mac and set up TM first, then into the AEBS?
Click to expand...

You don't need to set up TM on your Mac, but you do need to "mount" the drive first by selecting the base in the Shared section of Finder then double-clicking the icon for the drive.

It's also worth checking that you've installed the 7.3.1 firmware update; mine didn't work until I did so.
 
and i refuse to believe AEBS or airport express + a USB drive equals all functionality of a TC. Surely they arent earning on the drives in TC. That would just make the product redundant.thats soo not steve or apple!!
 
Long time lurker is out!

First time post, I can't take it anymore just reading post and not saying anything :D

I am happy that this functionality has now been added, I can now move around the house knowing I am backed up every time. Now just need to buy a bigger drive :D

Oh! and setup was easy.
 
I think I must be missing something here. Somebody please explain to me what advantage this has (for desktop computer owners) to simply plugging an external HD into a USB outlet. I'm not trying to be a smart-arse; I really don't understand.
 
Admin account

For all those who believe they have the right settings and disk formats and your Backup disk still won't show up in Time Machine options, this might help. The account I use daily is just a standard account, in addition to an Administrator account, for security purposes. I couldn't get my drive to show up on my standard account, but when I switched to the Admin one it showed up right away. Now it seems to be working on both accounts. Let me know if this worked for anyone else.
 
skinnylegs said:
I think I must be missing something here. Somebody please explain to me what advantage this has (for desktop computer owners) to simply plugging an external HD into a USB outlet. I'm not trying to be a smart-arse; I really don't understand.
Click to expand...

Well, for me, I will no longer have to remember to turn my backup drive on. In one case I got a reminder that said something like "you haven't backed up in two weeks" :eek:
 
skinnylegs said:
I think I must be missing something here. Somebody please explain to me what advantage this has (for desktop computer owners) to simply plugging an external HD into a USB outlet. I'm not trying to be a smart-arse; I really don't understand.
Click to expand...

In my case, my router is nice and cosy in a media cabinet that serves A/V and internet through out the house. I have a new iMac (couldn't wait for the update) and cinema display for the G5 on my desk and a macbook I roam the house with. I'd like all the computers to be backed up and a HD would be out of place with the extra cords on the desk. Plus I prefer external HD's not be seen.
 
So, I buy a 1TB drive to back-up because Steve announces this feature.

Feature is pulled. I use the drive to back up 1 of 3 computers in my house. I'm not happy about this, but at least there is some backing-up going on.

Time Capsule is announced, and I buy the 1TB model.

I don't know what to do with the old drive, but I need to back-up all of my computers, so I bite the bullet and get the Time Capsule.

Time Capsule arrives. Now backing-up 3 computers.

Apple turns on backing up through Airport Extremes.

It's not that I am angry about it, it's just annoying beyond words.
 
computerman-8 said:
I've played around with AEBS and AirDisk a bit today. A bit confusing.


What happens to you guys when you restart you computer? Does the directory automatically get mounted?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if this had been answered but so far what mine has done is when time machine needs to talk to the disk on the AEBS it just seems to connect in the background. The disk does not show up as mounted on the desktop or the finder side bar but it does send backups to the drive and you can go into the Time Machine space GUI thing completely fine. Without using the network connection for anything else my iStat shows 4mbps going 'out' so it does seem to work just fine.
 
BWhaler said:
...
It's not that I am angry about it, it's just annoying beyond words.
Click to expand...

Well, the way Apple has really bungled this, there's no way to please everyone. I'm one of the many who bought the AEBS on the promise/hope of wireless TM backups, so I'm very relieved today. If it's any consolation, those who had AEBS's and bought TC's for wireless backups and feel ripped off might do well to note they now have excess capacity, rather than missing features the rest of us have had to live with for many weeks.
 
arkmannj said:
double-edged sword... the complaining can be annoying (though I am certainly guilty of it)

on the other side, complaining helps give Apple the heads up on what customers want and need.

I try to visit http://www.apple.com/feedback/ before I complain though.
Click to expand...

You're being very polite. The original comment was inane.

No, I will NOT stop bitching. I had a perfectly functioning backup set up when I was running Tiger. Since I 'upgraded' to Leopard, I have invested at least a hundred hours just in trying to get back what I had before and wasted every darn one of them. I am happy for those of you who do not have a problem following the 7.3.1 firmware update, but some of us clearly continue to have the problem of nonfunctionality with regard to airdisk.

Why someone would reply with a snide comment when we complain about it simply eludes me. I guess there are people around who aren't very smart and really have nothing better to do than shoot off their mouth for no reason. I respectfully suggest they just butt out until the more thoughtful here resolve these problems.
 
I'm curious about the new Airport Express 802.11N and AirDisk for the simple reason I just bought one (mostly just for the AirTunes feature to stream my losslessly stored CD library to my high-end stereo) and the "Airport Express" setup disk installed a utility called AIRDISK. Why would they include the airdisk utility with the Airport Express if it doesn't work with it?

Unfortunately, I don't have any USB hard drives to try connecting to it to see if it'll do anything (I've got my 2nd of two 500GB hard drives installed internally in my upgraded PowerMac 1.8GHz 7448 G4 via a Sonnet Sata card which transfers just a BIT faster than USB or 802.11N is capable of... I get around 75MB/sec.)

Admittedly, there's no mention of any airdisk function in the new Airport Express manual, just the well-known printer function. However, when I installed the Airport Express, it immediately offered to update the firmware in it to 3.1 from 3.0 (think that's the numbers it used) so there was a firmware update for it also.
 
Network H D With Gigabit Ethernet Connection

GREAT NEWS.

Now does anyone know whether I can connect an Ethernet Network Hard Drive and still do Time Machine back ups. More importantly will an actual Ethernet hard drive work when connected to AEB.

Need to upgrade as current hard drive is way too small. My current set up to AEB is USB hub with hard drive and printer. Works a treat but I believe an networked hard drive with Ethernet is better and quicker?

Any ideas. Thanks.
 
i.maverick said:
and i refuse to believe AEBS or airport express + a USB drive equals all functionality of a TC. Surely they arent earning on the drives in TC. That would just make the product redundant.thats soo not steve or apple!!
Click to expand...

Some things are true whether you believe in them or not.
 
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