Jazmin Li
Apple's Time Capsule combines an AirPort Extreme router and a 500 GB or 1 TB hard drive into a single unit, allowing users to combine a wireless base station and storage accessible over a home or small business network. While it is possible to partition the Time Capsule drive, it is not recommended by Apple Support and may void the warranty. To partition the drive, users can use Disk Utility, however, it is important to note that Disk Utility cannot be used to partition a network drive. Additionally, the firmware on the Time Capsule may not support partitioned drives, and it is recommended to have a backup of all data before attempting any changes.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Partitioning Apple Airport Extreme | Not possible with the Time Capsule drive |
| Partitioning with Disk Utility | Possible with physical drives but not network drives |
| File Systems Supported | Mac OS Extended, FAT16, FAT32 |
| File Systems Not Supported | APFS, ExFAT, NTFS |
| Workaround | Use a USB drive with multiple partitions |
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What You'll Learn
Using Disk Utility to partition a drive
First, open Disk Utility. This can be found in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder on your Mac. In the Disk Utility dialogue box, you should see your connected disk listed, along with any name you gave it. Click on the File Sharing tab and enable file sharing. You will also see various password options; you can choose to use the same password that you use to connect to the Apple Airport Extreme. There is also an option to connect over the Internet and to enable Windows File Sharing by entering a Windows workgroup name. After making your changes, click the Update button.
Note that your Apple Airport Extreme will restart, which will cause any Internet or other connections to drop for a few moments. At this point, your AirDisk can be accessed from computers connecting to your Apple Airport Extreme. In the Finder, for instance, clicking on the Shared item in the sidebar will show your iMac as having a shared drive, as will your AirPort. Clicking on that icon will let you connect to the shared drive.
Before partitioning and formatting the drive, there is one more step. In the Disk Utility dialogue box, click the Options button. You will see that the disk is set to use a DOS-style Master Boot Record. Change that setting to GUID Partition Table (for Intel-based Macs). Click OK to return to the main dialogue box window. Now you can apply the settings to create a Mac OS Extended Partition.
It is important to note that AirPort base stations do not support encrypted formats or disks formatted as APFS, ExFAT, or NTFS. The disk must be formatted as Mac OS Extended, FAT16, or FAT32.
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Using Time Machine to back up a Mac
To use Time Machine to back up a Mac, you will need an external hard drive. The size of the hard drive should be at least double the storage capacity of your Mac. This is because Time Machine not only creates an initial full copy of your data but also saves subsequent copies that include changes made since the last backup.
Once you have your hard drive, follow these steps:
- Connect the external drive to your Mac.
- Go to System Settings > General > Time Machine.
- Click "Add Backup Disk".
- Select your external drive and click "Use Disk".
- Decide if you want to password-protect your backups and fill in the relevant fields.
- Check the box next to "Back Up Automatically".
Your Mac should now start backing up immediately. If it doesn't, you can start the process manually. To do this, click the box next to "Show Time Machine in the menu bar". Then, click the Time Machine icon in your menu bar and select "Back Up Now".
You can also choose to back up select files. To do this, click the Apple icon in the top-left corner of your screen, then select System Preferences. Next, click Time Machine, then Options. You will see this in the bottom-right corner of the window. Now, click the "+" button and choose the files or folders you want to include in your backup.
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Using a USB drive with Airport Extreme
You can use any USB hard drive with your Apple Airport Extreme, including a USB thumb drive. This allows you to create a wireless network drive that can be accessed by all users connected to the wireless network. This is a great way to share documents, photos, music, and movies with others on your network.
Firstly, connect the USB hard drive to the USB port on the AirPort Extreme Base Station. If you want to connect multiple devices, you can use a USB hub. Once connected, open the AirPort Utility application on your Mac (found in Applications > Utilities) and click on 'Manual Setup', followed by 'Disks'. You should then see your connected disk listed. Click on the 'File Sharing' tab and enable file sharing. You will also need to select a security option for your network drive. You can choose between securing your drive with accounts, a disk password, or with an AirPort Extreme password.
It is important to note that the AirPort Extreme does not support all file formats. AirPort base stations do not support encrypted formats or disks formatted as APFS, ExFAT, or NTFS. Supported file systems include Mac OS Extended, FAT16, and FAT32.
Once you have completed these steps, you can use your Mac to connect to the network drive. You will be able to access the drive from computers connecting to your AirPort Extreme and load any type of file an iOS device can use.
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Formatting a drive as Mac OS Extended
If you are using macOS 10.12 or earlier, you can format your drive as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) using Disk Utility. This file system, also known as HFS+, was the default for years, from the first version of macOS X until macOS Sierra.
To format your drive as Mac OS Extended (Journaled), open Disk Utility by going to Finder > Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility. It's important to note that reformatting the drive will erase all data on it, so be sure to back up any important data before proceeding.
Once you've opened Disk Utility, you can follow the steps to format your drive. First, select the drive you want to format from the sidebar. Then, choose the "Erase" tab and select "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" from the Format drop-down menu. You can also choose between the standard format or the case-sensitive or encrypted versions. If you have a lot of folders with the same name, varying only in uppercase and lowercase letters, you may want to select the case-sensitive option. If you need to protect sensitive data, you can choose the encrypted format.
After selecting the desired format, enter a name for your drive and click "Erase." Your drive will now be formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and can be used with your Mac.
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Accessing multiple partitions on Airport Time Capsule
To access multiple partitions on an Airport Time Capsule, you need to use Disk Utility. However, it is important to note that the firmware on the Time Capsule does not support partitioned drives, so even if you are successful in partitioning the drive, things may not work correctly.
- Start doing a backup in Time Machine so that your Time Capsule appears in Finder and/or on your desktop.
- Open Disk Utility and select your Time Capsule.
- Click on "Partition".
- Drag the slider to decrease the size of the "Backup of your computer" to whatever size you want to dedicate to Time Machine backups.
- Click the + arrow to add a new partition.
- Adjust the size of the new partition and give it a name.
- Click "Apply".
It is important to note that this process may not work with all versions of the Time Capsule. Some users have reported success with the mid-July 2011 MD032LL/A model, while others have reported issues with the first-generation Time Capsule.
Additionally, some users have reported that they were able to access multiple partitions on their Airport Time Capsule by creating a virtual disk using Disk Utility and dragging it to the Time Capsule. This method involves partitioning a virtual disk, erasing the Time Capsule, and then starting over.
It is always recommended to have a backup of your data before attempting any disk partitioning or formatting changes.
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Frequently asked questions
You can use Disk Utility to partition your Apple Airport Extreme. However, this may not be possible anymore, as Apple has removed the possibility of installing a partitioned disk manually. You can also try using a Disk Image on the Time Capsule disk to reserve a given amount of space.
Apple Airport base stations do not support encrypted formats or disks formatted as APFS, ExFAT, or NTFS. You will also not be able to back up Time Machine to the disk image, as Time Machine must back up directly to the root drive.
You can add a USB drive of any size with multiple partitions to the Time Capsule. You can also use a Seagate backup plus portable drive, which can be formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
