Would this work?

[mkaiser1]

I currently have a Time Capsule which is used to store all my music and video (and soon photos), however I initially bought it to be a back up and as a result now have no back ups.

I'm thinking of buying a standard Mac Mini (maybe just an old one with 2Gb RAM) and plugging my TC into it to use as an external HD. My intention is to leave these on all the time to use to store ALL files on. I use a MacBook all the time and want to know whether this will work. IE I will be able to wirelessly access any file on the Mac Mini or it's external HD via my MacBook.

The Second part...If I buy a second TC to have as a back up HD will my Mac Mini and external HD both be able to back up onto it via Time Machine?

Thanks in advance for any help and advice anyone can provide. In theory, I think this will all work, but I you guys REALLY know your stuff

 

[Digital Skunk]

You'd be better served by a HDD plugged into the USB port of the TC.

Or a NAS drive plugged into the ethernet port on the TC.

You can backup as many Macs as you wish to your TC. I have four backing up to mine now. With NAS, you'd potentially be able to backup no matter where you are.

 

[matticus008]

My intention is to leave these on all the time to use to store ALL files on. I use a MacBook all the time and want to know whether this will work. IE I will be able to wirelessly access any file on the Mac Mini or it's external HD via my MacBook.

Yes, it will work fine. The Time Capsule will show up as a volume on the network just like the Mac's internal hard drive will.

The Second part...If I buy a second TC to have as a back up HD will my Mac Mini and external HD both be able to back up onto it via Time Machine?

Yes, Time Machine can back up multiple volumes concurrently. But there is no point in buying a second Time Capsule that you'll attach locally--the one you currently have will already be acting as an overpriced external drive, with no benefit from the Time Capsule's primary feature: its wireless abilities. Having two unused Time Capsules is silly.

Unless you're buying them for the design alone (e.g., to stack them), just buy a regular external Firewire drive for Time Machine. 1TB drives are easily found for $100.

 

[mkaiser1]

You'd be better served by a HDD plugged into the USB port of the TC.

Or a NAS drive plugged into the ethernet port on the TC.

You can backup as many Macs as you wish to your TC. I have four backing up to mine now. With NAS, you'd potentially be able to backup no matter where you are.

So, if I plug an HDD into my existing TC can one back up from the other? I assumed my TC needed Time Machine in order to back up automatically?

 

[mkaiser1]

Yes, it will work fine. The Time Capsule will show up as a volume on the network just like the Mac's internal hard drive will.

Yes, Time Machine can back up multiple volumes concurrently. But there is no point in buying a second Time Capsule that you'll attach locally--the one you currently have will already be acting as an overpriced external drive, with no benefit from the Time Capsule's primary feature: its wireless abilities. Having two unused Time Capsules is silly.

Unless you're buying them for the design alone (e.g., to stack them), just buy a regular external Firewire drive for Time Machine. 1TB drives are easily found for $100.

Thanks for response - Main reason for thinking of a second TC is that my current one is only 500Gb and to future proof myself I want my back drive to be 1Tb. Therefore my TC is kind of redundant unless I use it as my external HD. What do you think?

 

[matticus008]

Thanks for response - Main reason for thinking of a second TC is that my current one is only 500Gb and to future proof myself I want my back drive to be 1Tb.

Sure, you want a large backup drive. But there's no reason for it to be a Time Capsule, since you're not planning on using it wirelessly.

If you plan on backing up your Mac mini and your existing Time Capsule to a new hard drive, and you plan on leaving that hard drive attached to the Mac, you'd save a ton of money going with a regular external drive.

Therefore my TC is kind of redundant unless I use it as my external HD. What do you think?

Right. A second superfluous Time Capsule would be even more redundant than just one being used as local storage.

 

[Digital Skunk]

So, if I plug an HDD into my existing TC can one back up from the other? I assumed my TC needed Time Machine in order to back up automatically?

Yes, but what it sounds like you want is a NAS, since you want all your media to be accessible wirelessly AND you want it to be backed up along with your Macs.

Take everything off of your TC and stick it in your Mac Mini, like Matticus said, grab a 1TB drive to backup the Mini locally and/or plug your 1TB into your TC to back up everything straight up wirelessly.

Something like that . . . I am not sure if you want to backup what's on the TC HDD, because that may be a bit unnecessary and you can work that out easily by sticking the media library on one drive.