Cannot get into my HD on Airport Time Capsule

[mtl24]

Hello!

I have a Airport Time Capsule 2TB (Mac Mini type) and I cannot get into the hard drive in it to retrieve stuff...

I used it as a modem for many years until last year when I switched carrier and got their own modem. Then I forgot about it and I stopped to back up as I now use and pay for iCloud...

Now, I need to get stuff from the HD so I reconnect everything and while it's recognized and working, I cannot go back in time with Time Machine... Everything is greyed out...

I have a Macbook Air late 2010 and the Airport was bought at the same time. High Sierra is the latest I can get as my Macbook is too old. Everything was working fine and dandy with High Sierra last year before I switched carrier. So that's not it.

I spend an hour with Apple on the phone (1 hour for a 12 year old product!!! BRAVO Apple!!!) but there was so much they could do because my OS is too old... He did told me everything seem to be working fine with the Airport, it was a matter of the HD...

That's all I can think about for now.

If there is a Time Machine genius here... HELP!

Thank you!

 

[satcomer]

Sorry to be bad news but I'm surprised it lasted this long! Sorry dude the hard Drive went South without you as they used to say!

 

[Idgit]

You're going to have to physical open up the Time Capsule and remove the drive. iFixit.com should have a tutorial. Then you'll need to get a USB-SATA adapter or an external hard drive case for the removed drive. Connect it to your laptop and see if you can access the files.

 

[mtl24]

Sorry to be bad news but I'm surprised it lasted this long! Sorry dude the hard Drive went South without you as they used to say!

NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooo 😭

 

[mtl24]

You're going to have to physical open up the Time Capsule and remove the drive. iFixit.com should have a tutorial. Then you'll need to get a USB-SATA adapter or an external hard drive case for the removed drive. Connect it to your laptop and see if you can access the files.

Yeah that's what I was afraid... Thankfully, I don't really need the Airport anymore and I do have a HD docking station... I am assuming it's a 3.5 drive inside...

Stupid question before that, there is a USB port in the back of the Airport... Any chance I could just connect that?

I will try it but... I cannot find a damn regular on both ends USB cable on in the house now!!!

 

[Idgit]

Yeah that's what I was afraid... Thankfully, I don't really need the Airport anymore and I do have a HD docking station... I am assuming it's a 3.5 drive inside...

Stupid question before that, there is a USB port in the back of the Airport... Any chance I could just connect that?

I will try it but... I cannot find a damn regular on both ends USB cable on in the house now!!!

The USB port is only for external attached drives.

The 3.5" drive can be replaced and you can continue to use it as a Time Machine backup. I believe the Time Capsules usually had a Western Digital Black HDD (7200 rpm) in them.

While the drive inside might be dead, it could also be only partially dead and, if so, it would be possible to retrieve your data. If you have another copy of the data, then it's not essential to recover the data. But if the data on the Time Capsule drive is your only copy, then you'll probably want to try to recover it.

 

[mtl24]

The USB port is only for external attached drives.

The 3.5" drive can be replaced and you can continue to use it as a Time Machine backup. I believe the Time Capsules usually had a Western Digital Black HDD (7200 rpm) in them.

While the drive inside might be dead, it could also be only partially dead and, if so, it would be possible to retrieve your data. If you have another copy of the data, then it's not essential to recover the data. But if the data on the Time Capsule drive is your only copy, then you'll probably want to try to recover it.

Thank you for that.

The only reason I am doing all this is to retrieve my data since It was my backup and I don't have any other copy and I really really would like to recover it..! I am afraid after 12 years the HDD is probably dead...

 

[Idgit]

Thank you for that.

The only reason I am doing all this is to retrieve my data since It was my backup and I don't have any other copy and I really really would like to recover it..! I am afraid after 12 years the HDD is probably dead...

If you absolutely must have the data off of that drive and it is indeed dead, then you'll need to use a drive recovery service like DriveSavers. They're not cheap but if the data is irreplaceable, then they might be your only option.

 

[mtl24]

If you absolutely must have the data off of that drive and it is indeed dead, then you'll need to use a drive recovery service like DriveSavers. They're not cheap but if the data is irreplaceable, then they might be your only option.

Again, thank you for that!

Since I never had a problem with my Macbook Air in 12 years, and I am more used to problems with Windows, in case my HDD is not dead, what would I see?

12 years of data will be in folders à la Windows or with a date system like Time Machine works?

 

[Idgit]

Again, thank you for that!

Since I never had a problem with my Macbook Air in 12 years, and I am more used to problems with Windows, in case my HDD is not dead, what would I see?

12 years of data will be in folders à la Windows or with a date system like Time Machine works?

You'll have to remove the drive from the Time Capsule and then put it in an external hard drive case or some sort of USB-SATA adapter. Connect it to your laptop and see if the drive mounts. If it does, run Disk Utility on the drive. After that, start copying files off of it if you can.

 

[mtl24]

You'll have to remove the drive from the Time Capsule and then put it in an external hard drive case or some sort of USB-SATA adapter. Connect it to your laptop and see if the drive mounts. If it does, run Disk Utility on the drive. After that, start copying files off of it if you can.

Thank you very much I will try all that and hope for the best...!

 

[mtl24]

Hello friends!

I have finally open my Airport and took out the WD 2TB Green HD...

Connecting it to the docking station, 3 "folders" opened on the desktop:

1- APConfig
2- APSwap
3- Data

Now, #3 Data is the name I gave the HD and/or the folder where I sent everything in the past 12 years... That's the one I want to save... There is a Share Root folder inside... and a Mac something file inside...

What do I do now?

Thank you!

 

[mtl24]

FYI I have a Macbook Air 256 so I will obviously need more space but I do have external HD that I can connect to my Macbook Air...

 

[Idgit]

Hello friends!

I have finally open my Airport and took out the WD 2TB Green HD...

Connecting it to the docking station, 3 "folders" opened on the desktop:

1- APConfig
2- APSwap
3- Data

Now, #3 Data is the name I gave the HD and/or the folder where I sent everything in the past 12 years... That's the one I want to save... There is a Share Root folder inside... and a Mac something file inside...

What do I do now?

Thank you!

Can you post a screen shot of the folder structure inside Data?

 

[mtl24]

Can you post a screen shot of the folder structure inside Data?

 

[mtl24]

 

[Idgit]

OK, that disk image contains your Time Capsule backup. If you mount it, you can browse your backups by date and restore what data you need to another external drive.

Do you want to keep your entire backup or do you just want to save important files?

The Time Capsule could be dead or it could be the hard drive. You've removed the drive and it mounts, but it may have bad sectors. Download and install SMART Utility and then install the SAT SMART driver using these instructions: https://www.volitans-software.com/support/smart-utility-faq/#external. The SAT SMART driver will allow SMART Utility to check the heath of the external drive you removed from the Time Capsule. Post the results here.

Once we have an idea of the health of the drive, we can make some more decisions.

 

[mtl24]

OK, that disk image contains your Time Capsule backup. If you mount it, you can browse your backups by date and restore what data you need to another external drive.

Do you want to keep your entire backup or do you just want to save important files?

The Time Capsule could be dead or it could be the hard drive. You've removed the drive and it mounts, but it may have bad sectors. Download and install SMART Utility and then install the SAT SMART driver using these instructions: https://www.volitans-software.com/support/smart-utility-faq/#external. The SAT SMART driver will allow SMART Utility to check the heath of the external drive you removed from the Time Capsule. Post the results here.

Once we have an idea of the health of the drive, we can make some more decisions.

First of all, THANKS A LOT!!! I really appreciate it!

Second, I don't really need the entire backup although I would like to know what's in it and be able to choose what's to save... Again, 12 years of stuff, I forgot a lot of things that's in it that I would like to keep... Also, I don't really know what date to look for...

Now, when you talk about "mount it" I don't know what means (either lost in translation or very limited knowledge with all things computer).

Since the drive is out and attached to a docking station, does Time Capsule still maters as it's out of it? Time Capsule is the physical thing and Time Machine the "app" isn't It?

Anyway... I will follow your instructions and see what happens later...

Again, thank you VERY much you kind Sir!

 

[Idgit]

As for the Time Capsule, if the drive is truly the problem, then you can install a new drive back into the Time Capsule (assuming you didn't damage it) and resume using it as a network Time Machine backup device.

To mount the disk image, just double-click the file named "Mac-585..." and it should appear in your sidebar as if you connected an external drive.

Inside the mounted disk image, you'll see a folder called "Backups.backupdb". Inside that will probably be the name of your computer and inside that will be a list of dated folders. The most recent folder will contain your most recent backups.

Starting with the most recent backup, browse the folders looking for important files you want to keep. Copy those to another hard drive. Best to put them in an appropriately named folder like "Time Machine Archive" or something like that but how you name and organize it is obviously up to you.

 

[mtl24]

OK, that disk image contains your Time Capsule backup. If you mount it, you can browse your backups by date and restore what data you need to another external drive.

Do you want to keep your entire backup or do you just want to save important files?

The Time Capsule could be dead or it could be the hard drive. You've removed the drive and it mounts, but it may have bad sectors. Download and install SMART Utility and then install the SAT SMART driver using these instructions: https://www.volitans-software.com/support/smart-utility-faq/#external. The SAT SMART driver will allow SMART Utility to check the heath of the external drive you removed from the Time Capsule. Post the results here.

Once we have an idea of the health of the drive, we can make some more decisions.

Sorry it's in french...

The SANS TITRE in blue is the name I gave the HD many moons ago...

CONFORME in green means compliant...

 

[Idgit]

That's the SMART report of your internal Apple SSD. Did you install the SAT SMART driver? If so, you might have to grant it permissions in System Preferences > Security & Privacy.

But, given how old the drive is, I think we can safely assume that it's failing. So, maybe it's best if you just browse through the old backup folders inside the disk image and then copy anything you need off the drive. Now, if some of those copies fail, that's a strong indicator of bad sectors. See if you can find the same files in the other backup folders and copy those.

Once you're satisfied that you have everything import off the drive, you can stick the drive into a closet somewhere, just in case there is another file you need to recover at a later date. Or you can try to do a security erase of it using Disk Utility. If the security erase succeeds, then you can recycle the drive. If the security erase fails, then you'll want to take the drive to a place that will crush the drive for you. A web search should find a bunch of places in your city.

The reason you would want to destroy the drive is to prevent anyone from retrieving the drive from a recycling centre and looking at the data on the drive. You want to protect your privacy and prevent identity theft, etc.

 

[mtl24]

That's the SMART report of your internal Apple SSD. Did you install the SAT SMART driver? If so, you might have to grant it permissions in System Preferences > Security & Privacy.

But, given how old the drive is, I think we can safely assume that it's failing. So, maybe it's best if you just browse through the old backup folders inside the disk image and then copy anything you need off the drive. Now, if some of those copies fail, that's a strong indicator of bad sectors. See if you can find the same files in the other backup folders and copy those.

Once you're satisfied that you have everything import off the drive, you can stick the drive into a closet somewhere, just in case there is another file you need to recover at a later date. Or you can try to do a security erase of it using Disk Utility. If the security erase succeeds, then you can recycle the drive. If the security erase fails, then you'll want to take the drive to a place that will crush the drive for you. A web search should find a bunch of places in your city.

The reason you would want to destroy the drive is to prevent anyone from retrieving the drive from a recycling centre and looking at the data on the drive. You want to protect your privacy and prevent identity theft, etc.

I don't see any driver to install and it's just a trial version maybe that's why...

Anyway, when I look inside the backup.backup folder there is another Mac folder and one white page inside in progress from 2021...

That's it

 

[Idgit]

Anyway, when I look inside the backup.backup folder there is another Mac folder and one white page inside in progress from 2021...

That's it

Oh, that's not good. Normally you should see a list of folders like this:

If you "Get Info" on the actual disk image, how large is it? If it actually is your old Time Machine backup image, it should be very large. It could be that this backup is damaged because the drive is failing.

Also, are there any files on either of those two other volumes, APconfig and Apswap?

 

[mtl24]

Nothing inside APswap

Inside APconfig

 

[Idgit]

How big is the disk image?