Time Capsule, iTunes, External HD

[djoz18]

Hi there,

I just bought a 2TB Time Capsule and am looking forward to setting it up. That said, I've been doing research about moving my iTunes and iPhoto libraries to an external to be used with the TC for wi-fi access. I understand that if you partition the TC HD that it won't back up whatever is on it.

1. I have a MacBook Pro. Its my understanding that if I time machine my mac, can I also time machine the external that my itunes is on it its connected to the mac?

2. If I put my itunes and iphoto libraries on a 500g external I already own, can I connect it to the TC for wi-fi access, and bring it back to my mac periodically to save it as a time machine backup on the TC? I don't mind moving it once in a while.

Basically Im trying to free up all the space on my Mac's HD, move my libraries to an external, and back everything up using the TC. I have a MacBook Pro, 2 iPhones (6 & 6S), and an Apple TV 4.

Thanks for your help and suggestions!

 

[Weaselboy]

1. Yes that will work. But by default, Time Machine excludes external drives from backup. So once you attach the external drive you need to go into Time Machine settings on OS X and remove that drive from the excluded list.

2. Yes, this will work, but expect it to very slow. The file transfer speeds over a Time Capsule are fairly slow.

 

[AppleNewton]

You have correct answers provided, but the question is Why? are you running out of space on your MacBook? why use two separate drives for Photos + iTunes?

I wouldn't even partition the TC drive, and let it be what its meant to be. Or a Mac Mini with your libraries and a drive for back-up if you really wanted to granular or particular.

Then you could use iCloud photo library/itunes library for being away from your network and to free space on your macbook - just throwing another idea/option out there.

 

[Weaselboy]

I wouldn't even partition the TC drive, and let it be what its meant to be.

I meant to touch on that in my post and missed it... but you cannot partition a Time Capsule drive. There is no way to partition in Airport Utility, and even if you remove the drive and make two partitions, as soon as you put it back in the darn thing will reformat itself back to one partition.

 

[lynmond]

I meant to touch on that in my post and missed it... but you cannot partition a Time Capsule drive. There is no way to partition in Airport Utility, and even if you remove the drive and make two partitions, as soon as you put it back in the darn thing will reformat itself back to one partition.

I'm considering a new external drive for both backups/archive - considering WD My Book Pro (TB2/USB3) or should I wait for TB3 / USB-C ?

 

[Weaselboy]

I'm considering a new external drive for both backups/archive - considering WD My Book Pro (TB2/USB3) or should I wait for TB3 / USB-C ?

Hmm... tough question. It is so hard to know what to do right now. If you know you will be keeping your current Mac for a while, then I'd say the current WD My Book Pro will be fine. For backup purposes, I don't think TB3/USB-C will add much if any speed. But if you are thinking of getting a new Mac later this year, I think that makes it a tough call. If the new Mac portables come out with only USB-C connections, then you would need to use a USB-C to USB3 adaptor, ir wait for newer USB-C external RAID drives like this to come out.

 

[AppleNewton]

I meant to touch on that in my post and missed it... but you cannot partition a Time Capsule drive. There is no way to partition in Airport Utility, and even if you remove the drive and make two partitions, as soon as you put it back in the darn thing will reformat itself back to one partition.

2 or 3TB TC need to be updated 3 minimum , 4 or 6TB should be available...i guess you could always expand with an external drive to it for more storage or redundant backups.


I agree with USB-C stuff...once more than the MacBook has it...we'll see more transition. id get whatever is compatible with your mac and available at the time and sell it off later. granted prices for those things will still be pricey.

 

[lynmond]

Hmm... tough question. It is so hard to know what to do right now. If you know you will be keeping your current Mac for a while, then I'd say the current WD My Book Pro will be fine. For backup purposes, I don't think TB3/USB-C will add much if any speed. But if you are thinking of getting a new Mac later this year, I think that makes it a tough call. If the new Mac portables come out with only USB-C connections, then you would need to use a USB-C to USB3 adaptor, ir wait for newer USB-C external RAID drives like this to come out.

Thanks! As it happens, I will be pulling the trigger on a new 15" MBP later this year to replace my current 15" MBP from 2010. I agree its tricky to know what to do, but I'm beginning to think err on the side of caution and sadly wait! But I also agree increased speeds are unlikely (with WD Black 7200 drive being the bottleneck) but the connectivity would be neater especially if/when daisy chaining down the line. Also I want a new 27" monitor like the imminent Dell U2717HA and even it has 'old' connectivity...

 

[djoz18]

You have correct answers provided, but the question is Why? are you running out of space on your MacBook? why use two separate drives for Photos + iTunes?

I wouldn't even partition the TC drive, and let it be what its meant to be. Or a Mac Mini with your libraries and a drive for back-up if you really wanted to granular or particular.

Then you could use iCloud photo library/itunes library for being away from your network and to free space on your macbook - just throwing another idea/option out there.

My MacBook is basically dying, its from 2008, so I wanted to get as much off of it as possible. I'd be willing to get a Mac Mini or something on the network as well with my photos/itunes. If I do, will I be able to back this up to the time machine without me having a second screen and what not?