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is it a good idea to use Time capsule 2TB if its life span is only 18 months!

I doubt that 18 month figure is official. Thats just what the news sites have been saying in response to the droves of dead TCs out here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Capsule_(Apple)#Failures
http://www.tuaw.com/2009/09/11/are-apple-time-capsules-out-of-time/
http://www.pcworld.com/article/173675/users_complain_as_apple_time_capsules_die_young.html
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9139367/Dying_Apple_Time_Capsules_spark_complaints
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/nov/04/apple-time-capsule-failures-early
http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/09/11/apples-time-capsules-croak-after-18-months/
http://www.geek.com/articles/apple/apple-time-capsules-dying-by-the-droves-after-18-months-20091012/

http://timecapsuledead.org/ reports an average a little longer - 19 months, 20 days.
 
Its not Apple that says it only lasts 18 months. Its a forum member on Apples website.

Just spoke to Apple Customer Care regarding AppleCare. I wasnt aware you had to register it. Turns out I didnt have to any way because it automatically registers when bought with a Mac. :)
 
MacBoobsPro said:
Its not Apple that says it only lasts 18 months. Its a forum member on Apples website.

Just spoke to Apple Customer Care regarding AppleCare. I wasnt aware you had to register it. Turns out I didnt have to any way because it automatically registers when bought with a Mac. :)
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what if u buy it separately like i did ? and not even from apple it self .. i bought t else where
 
steve2112 said:
Those are answers "from the community". Those are just normal users answering questions, just like here. None of those are official Apple answers.
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yes..but its input from the users ..and most of the has the pretty much the same story ... i wonder why its always 18 months ?
 
ansabakhan said:
i wonder why its always 18 months ?
Click to expand...

The Time Capsule was first released 24 months ago on February 29th, 2008.

Only the early adopters of the 1st generation TC's would have owned it longer than 18 months so far, and out of them only the ones with problems would have reported it. The Time Capsule is currently on it's 4th generation, which (hopefully) has improved the design based on early reported problems.
 
I was the owner of a 1TB TimeCapsule. I was sold this unit by someone at the Apple store, as I need random access for my iTunes Library (not a volume for back up) and a wireless router.

It worked well for about 9 months and then crashed. The router portion continued to function normally, but the HD was inaccessible. I "lost" about 420GB of music (I say "lost" because I had about 380GB of the 420 on physical media). Apple took care of covering me, but could do no data recovery...quotes for which were ranging from $800 - $1200 (if I wanted the unit "maintained" to the point which Apple would let me swap it out for credit). It turns out that Apple designs the TCs not for random access (i.e., iTunes Library storage) but solely for backup/archiving purposes - despite them being an external HD.

I will no longer ever by an External HD that cannot be configured for RAID 1. While I was able to re-rip most of my music off the physical CDs again, it took months to do so.

I now use 2 WD MyBook Studio Edition II 2TB externals via FW800. One is set to RAID 1 (1TB) for iTunes content only, the other is set for RAID 0 and is used as my "TC" for TimeMachine backups.

Thanks,
 
I have 2 x 500GB Time Capsule still working perfectly, 2 years later. Also have a 1TB dual-band Time Capsule, still working perfectly.
 
ansabakhan said:
yes..but its input from the users ..and most of the has the pretty much the same story ... i wonder why its always 18 months ?
Click to expand...

Sorry, this is not meant to offend you, but I think it's a bit naive on your part to take the word from users that are posting on Apple's website. You have no idea how people take care of their stuff and if you have any experience on MR you'd understand that the people that are vocal are in a small minority and the people with good experiences don't post.

Man, you scared me for a minute because I've had my TC since January 2008 when it was first announced and I've had no issues with it whatsoever. Please make sure you post valid information when making statements saying, "Apple's own website says it will last 18 months". Customer feedback is not a valid statement from Apple's website.
 
HLdan said:
Sorry, this is not meant to offend you, but I think it's a bit naive on your part to take the word from users that are posting on Apple's website. You have no idea how people take care of their stuff and if you have any experience on MR you'd understand that the people that are vocal are in a small minority and the people with good experiences don't post.

Man, you scared me for a minute because I've had my TC since January 2008 when it was first announced and I've had no issues with it whatsoever. Please make sure you post valid information when making statements saying, "Apple's own website says it will last 18 months". Customer feedback is not a valid statement from Apple's website.
Click to expand...

My WD external crashed after 2 years. Be careful. If I were you, I'd look into a new external, pronto. Never know if your TC is about to fail.
 
HLdan said:
Sorry, this is not meant to offend you, but I think it's a bit naive on your part to take the word from users that are posting on Apple's website. You have no idea how people take care of their stuff and if you have any experience on MR you'd understand that the people that are vocal are in a small minority and the people with good experiences don't post.

Man, you scared me for a minute because I've had my TC since January 2008 when it was first announced and I've had no issues with it whatsoever. Please make sure you post valid information when making statements saying, "Apple's own website says it will last 18 months". Customer feedback is not a valid statement from Apple's website.
Click to expand...

i see what you are saying.... sorry for scaring you i didnt mean you i would be spending my next 20 months hoping it dosnt fail .. on that positive note it might work for 18 months alteast
 
IndustrialSpace said:
My WD external crashed after 2 years. Be careful. If I were you, I'd look into a new external, pronto. Never know if your TC is about to fail.
Click to expand...

I have multiple externals. My Time Capsule is used for Time Machine backups, however each Mac that's using it has the original files on them, I keep the same files on each Mac so that's extra backup, plus my WD 1TB external. Also I have Applecare on my Macs so it's not like the TC can't be easily replaced. However you're right and the OP is right to be concerned since the TC is used everyday, all day, however it is a server class hard drive.
 
ACKRITE said:
I was the owner of a 1TB TimeCapsule. I was sold this unit by someone at the Apple store, as I need random access for my iTunes Library (not a volume for back up) and a wireless router.

It worked well for about 9 months and then crashed. The router portion continued to function normally, but the HD was inaccessible. I "lost" about 420GB of music (I say "lost" because I had about 380GB of the 420 on physical media). Apple took care of covering me, but could do no data recovery...quotes for which were ranging from $800 - $1200 (if I wanted the unit "maintained" to the point which Apple would let me swap it out for credit). It turns out that Apple designs the TCs not for random access (i.e., iTunes Library storage) but solely for backup/archiving purposes - despite them being an external HD.

I will no longer ever by an External HD that cannot be configured for RAID 1. While I was able to re-rip most of my music off the physical CDs again, it took months to do so.

I now use 2 WD MyBook Studio Edition II 2TB externals via FW800. One is set to RAID 1 (1TB) for iTunes content only, the other is set for RAID 0 and is used as my "TC" for TimeMachine backups.

Thanks,
Click to expand...
So an Airport Extreme and a WD MyBook Studio Edition II 2TB would be a suitable alternative to a 2 TB Time Capsule ?
 
The Hammer said:
So an Airport Extreme and a WD MyBook Studio Edition II 2TB would be a suitable alternative to a 2 TB Time Capsule ?
Click to expand...

That's what I have at home. 1T though. Use it for my wife's TM so she dosent have to plug her MacBook into anything to do backups
 
My 1st gen TC 500GB has worked just fine since I bought it in March 2008. I bought it when they were available, though it was a few weeks after I got my MBP. If I remember correctly, there was a bit of a delay before the first Time Capsules were shipping.

When this one does die I will certainly buy another one. I won't actually lose any data because it only contains backups of my and my wife's Macs. I have Apple Care on it and my MBP, so I still have just under a year where I'm still covered.
 
HLdan said:
Sorry, this is not meant to offend you, but I think it's a bit naive on your part to take the word from users that are posting on Apple's website. You have no idea how people take care of their stuff and if you have any experience on MR you'd understand that the people that are vocal are in a small minority and the people with good experiences don't post.

Man, you scared me for a minute because I've had my TC since January 2008 when it was first announced and I've had no issues with it whatsoever. Please make sure you post valid information when making statements saying, "Apple's own website says it will last 18 months". Customer feedback is not a valid statement from Apple's website.
Click to expand...


Sorry but several hundred users from various parts of the world and using TC with their Macs - along with 40+ pages of the SAME issue - cannot ALL be using their TC the SAME way or taking care of it the SAME way. To think that would also be naive. There is not much to take care of TC; just connect it to a UPS with surge protection and don't let anything having static charge near it and not in a room with serious dust issues. Still your post is great input.

The HDD is not the issue; its the power supply.

I'm considering the LaCie Network Space 2; its sleek and adds a menu bar add on. Random access is allowed and TM compatible with iTunes library sharing. My main concern is getting this to work with my existing DLink WiFi router.

Has anyone used the LaCie Network Space 2?? :cool:
 
CJS7070 said:
Well, if you've already got it, isn't it more useful to use it than not?
Click to expand...

If you've already got a liferaft with a hole in it, isn't it more useful to use it than not? ;)

sunk.jpg
 
BlackViper said:
http://www.apple.com/support/products/mac.html

AC covers your apple router so long as it was purchased up to 2 years before your Mac. I would guess this works even if the router died in the 12 month period between it's own warranty expiring and the new Mac purchase. AC does NOT cover Data in any form, it's on you to have a reliable backup strategy.
Click to expand...

I have a great feeling that Apple's grant for a server/storage cloud farm in Illinois in the next 2yrs will somehow combine Me.com with a cloud version of TimeCapsule. I'm praying!
 
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