MacOSG: getting AirDisk to work with Time Machine

Posted by Daniel East Oct 26, 2007 at 11:00am

By Dave Merten

Recently I bought a 500GB external USB 2.0 hard drive for backup purposes. I planed on connecting it to Time Machine via my AirPort Extreme’s AirDisk. After installing Leopard and reading Time Machine’s documentation though, I found out that AirDisk will not work with Time Machine. In fact, AirDisk is not even mentioned in any of Time Machine’s documentation here. It only states that is will not work with an iPod or iDisk.

I find this strange, because in Apple’s original ad for Leopard on their Web site, the following was stated.

“Effortless meets wireless. With a hard disk connected to your AirPort Extreme Base Station, all the Macs in your house can use Time Machine to back up wirelessly. Simply select your AirPort Disk as the backup disk for each computer and the whole family can enjoy the benefits of Time Machine.”

AppleInsider has reported that AEBS AirDisk was supported in earlier Leopard betas. So what’s going on here? Why did Apple axe AEBS AirDisk support at the last minute? Are there serious issues, or do they plan on implementing it in a future update?

Read this thread at Apple Discussions that’s starting to heat up: Time Machine will disappoint notebook users It seems a lot of users bought external drives and Airport Extreme Base Stations to use with Time Machine, and are now disappointed.

What are your thoughts?

UPDATE: It seems someone got it to work here. Give it a try and let us know if it works for you.

rob ellis adds, “I also got Time Machine working over AEBS, but with a much simpler method.”

1. Connect your USB disk directly to the Mac.
2. Set up Time Machine and let your initial backup run.
3. Eject the disk and connect to the AEBS.
4. You need to ‘touch’ the disk by opening it in Finder, then Time Machine realises where it is and carries on.

Mac Owners Support Group-aka MacOSG-was conceived by Dave Merten, the former ‘Focus on Mac Support’ guide at About.com. Since it’s humble beginning as ‘G5 Owners Support Group’ back in February 2004, MacOSG has become one of the world’s fastest-growing online Apple User Groups, dedicated to helping Mac users from all over the globe.

MacOSG Home
Support Forums
Become a Member
Email us: admin AT macosg.com

Advanced Search

Article Information

Comment on this Article Print this Article Email this Article Digg This

Contributor

Recent Articles