my sky+ box, just died on me >_<

[KaoriFan]

tried to record something, and must have been out of drive space on the Sky+. now i get a 'system fault' and am asked to call sky.

 

looks to me like the HDD is dead as i can't hear it anymore.

 

Has anybody hooked one of the Sky+ HDD (probably maxtor) to a PC. I have lots of stuff on their i wanted to copy, it's all from FTA.

 

now i can't access the Planner or record anything at all. bog-standard Sky is all i have.

 

any help greatly appreciated,

 

thanks in advance,

Ian

[wez_p]

my hard drive went recently in mine, but it wouldn't even power on, never mind just being able to watch the channels

 

afaik, you can't get the files off the hard drive but they are easily replaceable as they are just normal hard drives

 

some good info here http://forum.digitalspy.co.uk/board/showthread.php?t=156344

[JustGav]

You can't extract the data, the main reason they fail is due to overheating, so unless you really want to spend big money on a forensic HDD recovery, I'd just get a bigger disk and put into the sky+ box (I did)...

 

Just make sure the drive you pick is supported....

[KaoriFan]

cheers for both your replies. greatly appreciated

 

the drive is dead, and it only had some travel and documentaries on it.

 

will take a look at the link later on, it may help.

 

i know maxtor were the main ones put in the Sky+ at first. personally i would never buy maxtor, having heard the infamous 'Maxtor beeps' mp3.

 

i was thinking of getting another Sky+, but could do with increasing the capacity of the one that failed.

 

funny thing is, last weekend my Echostar Multi-sat receiver fried as well.

 

anyways, cheers once again

all the best

Ian

 

p.s. will let you know how i get on

[Shane]

Hi, I have quite a bit to do with Sky boxes, before you condemn the HD try doing a "forced download". Forgive me if you have done this already.

 

OK What you need to do is: 1) to remove the mains power, 2) press and hold in the BACK UP button on the front panel (not on the remote). 3) with the BACK UP button depressed re-apply mains.

 

Keep your finger on the back up button until ALL the leds on the front panel light up. Dont take your finger off until then. Once all the LED are on yopu can take your finger off the button and you may get a message on the screen saying "Software download, do not remove signal or power. this could take 10 minutes" or something along those lines. After a while all the leds will go out and then in another minute or so you should be able to re-boot the box. Not saying for a minute that this will cure your HD is indeed it has died, but it's worth a shot. I see loads of these in my days work and many faults are cleared by this proccess. A good place to look for tips is digitalspy and then follow the links for Sky+. Out of interest which model do you have, Pace PVR1 or 2 I would guess? Good luck.

[KaoriFan]

Hi, I have quite a bit to do with Sky boxes, before you condemn the HD try doing a "forced download". Forgive me if you have done this already.

 

OK What you need to do is: 1) to remove the mains power, 2) press and hold in the BACK UP button on the front panel (not on the remote). 3) with the BACK UP button depressed re-apply mains.

 

Keep your finger on the back up button until ALL the leds on the front panel light up. Dont take your finger off until then. Once all the LED are on yopu can take your finger off the button and you may get a message on the screen saying "Software download, do not remove signal or power. this could take 10 minutes" or something along those lines. After a while all the leds will go out and then in another minute or so you should be able to re-boot the box. Not saying for a minute that this will cure your HD is indeed it has died, but it's worth a shot. I see loads of these in my days work and many faults are cleared by this proccess. A good place to look for tips is digitalspy and then follow the links for Sky+. Out of interest which model do you have, Pace PVR1 or 2 I would guess? Good luck.

 

thanks Shane,

i did try the backup method already, but really appreciate you taking the time to give step-by-step instructions. i know not everyone knows about this trick.

will check out the website later on, thanks.

not sure the model, it was the first Pace (full silver), with the 40GB HD. lost a Pace MS1000 years ago as well.

yep, will need all the luck i can get what with losing 2 Sat receivers, and having work done on the Supra atm.

 

forgot to say, it just shows a System Fault mesage and to call Sky. its annoying as only last week Sky rang me to ask if i wanted insurance to cover all digibox's. the Sony is dying as well.

 

thanks once again

Ian

[Mike]

I was considering getting this when we finally move into the 'new' living room but all I hear about Sky+ is problems...?! My friend has been though three boxes in the last six months....

 

Obviously, apart from this problem... would you recommend? or stick with normal Sky?

[KaoriFan]

I was considering getting this when we finally move into the 'new' living room but all I hear about Sky+ is problems...?! My friend has been though three boxes in the last six months....

 

Obviously, apart from this problem... would you recommend? or stick with normal Sky?

 

hi hi

 

sure, i would recommend it no hesitation. it's the only real option if you want to be able to record stuff easily.

i am on the top package and it works out to 52.50 a month.

i don't bother with Prem Plus or any of the Box Office or PPV channels.

the good thing about it, you can set a really good spread of timer's for when you are out. much easier than running out of video tape.

 

not too sure on the 'box' options these days, back when i got mine it was Pace all the way, or Amstrad.

 

if i can get the HD working, i am fairly certain they will be in mpeg2 with no encryption.

as has been said previous, you can swap the HD over for a new one and higher capacity. i will change it for a 160GB, if i can.

 

if you want to know anything else, feel free to ask

 

all the best

Ian

[JohnK]

I went through 4 boxes in 15 months.

 

But when its working its an excelent system.