the wall to wall is calling

Another time capsule arrived today from Apple and seems to be working.

That's one dead and gone, one dead to return to the Apple Store and one dead and replaced. Maybe I should have switched technologies? Actually, I do separately back up my photos and music to another RAID5 system, but that's a manual process.

The idea of the time capsule is pretty good. The device to be backed up knows when the time capsule is accessible and quietly backs up everything that has changed, more or less continuously. Its a great model because its completely 'hands off'.

When it works.

time capsule overheating fix

Stop apple time capsule overheating. Lay old disk drive on top rear of case as heat sink. Inelegant but practical.

bah gum, there wern' 'arf an explosion

I seem rather unlucky with these Time Capsule dedicated backup devices. The new one that arrived yesterday has also failed. It was maybe half way through backing up an iMac, when it suddenly stopped working and the little indicator light went out. I've re-plugged it since but to no avail.

Its a trifle embarrassing, because this is actually the third one that has died. When the first one (pictured) went wrong, I put it down to bad luck. I'd had it less than two years and was a bit miffed that the backup device lasted such a short time, but it was out of warranty so I didn't think there was much I could do.

Then a couple of weeks ago another one failed in the same way. Dead except for the little lights for ethernet which momentarily flash when I plug in the mains cable. Again, its around 18 months old.

This third new one was in the middle of backing up 600 Gigabytes from one computer when it expired. Its a 2 Terabyte unit and is supposed to have a 'server grade disk' inside it.

Its pretty obvious to me that all three have suffered from power supply faults. I actually had the latest one plugged into an anti surge power adapter as well, so I've done what I can to protect it. I noticed it ran rather hot, so I'm guessing heat + electronics=fried apple.

I called Apple about the latest one and they are sending a replacement. I asked if they'd had this happen before, but was told by the technical guy that he'd never heard of anything like it.

Of course, I couldn't resist a quick google and was surprised when the Time Capsule Memorial Register popped up.



Along with the very handy link to the BBC's summary of UK Consumer Protection Law and the six year 'fitness for purpose' rule. I'll see how I get on at the Apple Store with the other dead one.

one of my time capsules has croaked

It's slightly annoying to discover that the time capsule I use to back up one of my computers has converted itself into a white brick.

I don't solely rely upon the device as a backup but I still consider the device to have been a relatively recent addition to the environment (albeit outside of warranty), probably with a main purpose to outlive the system it is backing up.

Anyway, after varied attempts to revive it, I pinged it apart and retrieved the 'Hitachi Deskstar' terabyte disk from inside it. I diagnostically tried it without the disk but not even the network lights would come on at the back of the unit.

Something rather terminal has happened inside of it. I feel a "dear Apple" email is needed.