Need help accessing the hard drive in my old Time Capsule (used as router) to retrieve files

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Level 1

37 points

Need help accessing the hard drive in my old Time Capsule (used as router) to retrieve files

I have a 2023 Macbook Pro (M2 chip) running Sonoma 14.7.6, and an old 1 TB Time Capsule that I use as a router and use the disk for extra file storage. For a long time I was not able to access the disk (and no ethernet connection meant no plug-in)-- last year I got help & it was turning up for a while in my finder menu (I think under "shared?") -- then it disappeared again. I want to access those older files (no other backup of those) and transfer then to another disk, but while I have the disk checked as accessible in Airport Utility I cannot see it & can no longer access it. Can anyone help? I would like to get these moved before all support for Time Capsule is gone.

Thank you.

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 14.7

Posted on Oct 11, 2025 7:12 PM

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Answer 1

John Galt

Level 10

154,264 points

Oct 13, 2025 5:57 AM in response to Clare in Chi

Try it this way. In the Finder, choose Go > Network. Does the Time Capsule appear there?

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Answer 2

John Galt

Level 10

154,264 points

Oct 13, 2025 7:08 AM in response to Clare in Chi

Great! Thanks for the update. If it did not appear we would have had to proceed with more time-consuming steps.

Needless to say keep maintaining backups, and if you are interested in network Time Machine backups I have been working on an alternative to the Time Capsule. It has been working perfectly so far, but it will take about a year of testing for it to earn the same confidence the TCs did over their lifetime.

The Time Capsule itself is likely to remain useful as a router for some time. It's just that its proprietary file transfer protocol is going away... like its predecessor AppleTalk did ages ago.

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Answer 3

John Galt

Level 10

154,264 points

Oct 12, 2025 6:56 PM in response to Clare in Chi

- last year I got help & it was turning up for a while in my finder menu (I think under "shared?")

It would be under Locations.

Locations > Network to be precise.

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Answer 4

Clare in Chi Author

Level 1

37 points

Oct 13, 2025 12:28 AM in response to John Galt

Thanks, but the only thing showing up in Locations is my hard drive? It used to show up under shared (not there either now- that's empty).

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Answer 5

Clare in Chi Author

Level 1

37 points

Oct 13, 2025 6:58 AM in response to John Galt

Yes- I found it-- thanks-- I shad only seen the 2nd reply-- houldn't have replied based just on what the discussion board emailed me. Much appreciated!

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