12-16-2009, 03:13 AM

Hi,
Last weekend I bought a 1TB Timecapsule.
I'd like to have your advice about the best way to set it up. This is my current situation:

In the livingroom I have my router, which is mandatory for digital TV. My desk is on the first floor. I have no ethernet connection on my desk. I do have wireless network.

Where should i put the timecapsule? In the livingroom and connect it via ethernet to my router? On my desk and connect it wireless?
Should I use the wireless from the router or setup a wireless network via the timecapsule?

Thanks for your experiences and advice!

12-16-2009, 12:14 PM

Hi XTofke,

I find the best setup is as follows:

1. Modem/Router (wireless or not) >connected to> Time capsule via ethernet
2. Existing wireless AP/SSID disabled on modem/router
3. Create new wirless network using TC (9/10 it provides a better range than your ISP supplied router)
4. Connect via wireless to your desktop/Mac

By teh way, there's no need to disable your existing wireless SSID, as it's fine to have more than one operating out of the same router if that's what you prefer - which can be useful for guests to connect to etc,.

If it's a dual band TC, then you can setup a seperate 5GHz wireless network, from the one above, for a more robust connection to 'n' enabled hardware.

Hope that helps

12-17-2009, 12:08 AM

Thanks for your advice Big Mac.

I will give it a try!

One more question.
For the initial TimeMachine backup, it's best to connect my Macbook through ethernet to the TC. I already tried this, but I had the impression it was still using the wireless to copy the data.
I did plugin the cable after both Macbook and TC were booted. Should I plug them first and then boot?

12-17-2009, 12:30 AM

The easiest way to guarantee that the Mac is connected via wire instead of wireless is to do one of the following:
1. Open the Networking preference pane. If the padlock is locked click on the lock and enter an administrator password. Drag the network connections in order so that Ethernet is first and Airport is further down the list. Now close the preference pane
2. Option 2 is to turn off your Airport network card. this forces the Mac to look for a wired connection.

Either way should work fine. The advantage of the first option is that the mac will look for a wired connection but move on to the Airport when an ethernet connection isn't available. Most of the time the entire process will happen without you noticing. It's one of the things I love about OS X.

12-18-2009, 04:20 AM

I installed the TC as advised and it's seems to be working very well! Thank you all!
I'll do the initial (wired) timecapsule-backup this weekend.