Guide on how to upgrade your sky + box

MR DAZ · 09-11-2004 11:21am #1

Lads,

A friend of mine gave me this guide on how to upgrade a sky plus box.

Just thought it would handy for anyone thinking about doing it.

http://members.boards.ie/mrdaz/Sky+.zip

Daz

robert muldoon · 10-11-2004 12:36am

MR DAZ wrote:

Lads,

A friend of mine gave me this guide on how to upgrade a sky plus box.

Just thought it would handy for anyone thinking about doing it.

http://members.boards.ie/mrdaz/Sky+.zip

Daz

How long does this take to download,I have just an ISDN connection

sceptre · 10-11-2004 3:16am

It's 740KB Robert. So not tiny but not big. Under two minutes on single channel ISDN if you get your full 64kps

ADSLUSER · 11-11-2004 11:46am

These instructions are somewhat out of date though the procedure still remains the same. With the new software, you can now install drives up to 250MB.

For a more up to date instructions, see the following:

http://forum.digitalspy.co.uk/board/showthread.php?t=156344

also pictures of the upgrade at:

www.hummer.co.uk

I'm planning to take the plunge and upgrade my SKY+ Pace V2 box shortly. Has anyone on Boards actually done the upgrade yet? Just curious to see how they got on. Looks pretty straight forward enough reading from other forums.

Wiggy · 11-11-2004 1:51pm

ADSLUSER wrote:

I'm planning to take the plunge and upgrade my SKY+ Pace V2 box shortly. Has anyone on Boards actually done the upgrade yet? Just curious to see how they got on. Looks pretty straight forward enough reading from other forums.

I fitted a Western Digital 250Gb WD2500JB to my Pace V2 box a couple of weeks ago.

The fan is on all the time now, but this doesn't bother me. The box runs really cool as a result.

It is working perfectly well so far.

The most popular 250 Gb drive seems to be the Maxtor 5A250J0, which is a 5400 rpm drive. These are noisy drives however. People who run the Maxtor utilities to run the drive in quiet mode are starting to report glitches when dual recording.

ADSLUSER · 11-11-2004 2:46pm

I ordered a Maxtor 6Y160P0 and was wondering did anyone report any problems. This was recommended by many sites. If I enable acoustic quiet mode, would that impact dual recording? This drive is also 7200rpm, hopefully it runs efficiently enough?

digiking · 11-11-2004 5:33pm

I have that drive in my v2 box, Works perfectly, In the box nearly 2 weeks now, Its way better with 160gb drive no more deleting recordings

It was the latest addition to my home theatre rig,

Sky plus v.2 box
Bose lifestyle 8 home entertainment system
Lg Rd - Jt51 Projector, :cool: and not very expensive ether

ADSLUSER · 11-11-2004 5:37pm

So dual recording using acoustic quiet mode works fine without any problems on the Maxtor? My drive just arrived, just waiting for my T10 Torx security bit tomorrow so I can open the Sky+ box!

digiking · 11-11-2004 9:46pm

Don't get caught,
The t10 screwdriver is NOT for the casing screws, Its is to remove the drive caddy from the box, Use a small vicegrips or simular to twist the screws out of the case, Do this very slowly so you can put them back in with the least amount of damage,

Digiking

Wiggy · 12-11-2004 8:47am

digiking wrote:

Don't get caught,
The t10 screwdriver is NOT for the casing screws, Its is to remove the drive caddy from the box.
Digiking

Yes - it is for the casing screws, and for the drive caddy.
And it's an X driver, the one with the hole.

ADSLUSER · 12-11-2004 11:37am

Where can I located one of these screwdrivers, I ordered one in Maplins but they are still waiting delivery of new stock but I want to get one for this weekend. Just ran the Maxtor utilities to disable write verify and also set it to acoustic quiet mode. All that remains is to open the SKY+ and install the drive!

Wiggy · 12-11-2004 1:55pm

ADSLUSER wrote:

Where can I located one of these screwdrivers, I ordered one in Maplins but they are still waiting delivery of new stock but I want to get one for this weekend. Just ran the Maxtor utilities to disable write verify and also set it to acoustic quiet mode. All that remains is to open the SKY+ and install the drive!

I got a set of 32 security bits at Woodies for around €19. This was the only set that had the hole in the centre - all the other screwdrivers they had were either the wrong size, or didn't have the hole.

ADSLUSER · 12-11-2004 3:29pm

Thanks Wiggy, I'll try Woodies this evening. €19 sounds reasonable since Maplins were charging €13 for for this one security bit! Can't wait to have 80hours worth of storage!

digiking · 12-11-2004 8:52pm

It didn't open my sky v2 box, It only removed the drive caddy, Its a different screwdriver for the casing screws, Just use a vice grips,

ADSLUSER · 13-11-2004 12:15pm

The T10 Torx is only used on Pace V2 machines, the Amstrads are different so that could be the difference. An ordinary T10 can be used to open the caddy.

Anyway just to keep everyone updated, I got my T10 Torx from Maplins in the end. It cost me 13 EUR for a 33pc security bit set - not bad value I thought.

Anyway, I installed my 160 Maxtor drive last night and everything works perfectly. It runs just as quiet as my original drive and cooler too. This may be attributed by the fact the fan runs all the time now (I think anyway but must check again when it's on standby). I tried recording two programs at the same time while watching a previous recorded program and no issues. Everything runs really smooth even when I use FF x 30 speed, no jitters or hiccups in the picture.

Overall the upgrade process is pretty straightforward and it's definitely a much cheaper alternative to upgrading to SKY 160 which doesn't appear to offer any more benefits except two USB ports which we don't know what it will be used for. Anyone planning to upgrade, follow the www.hummer.co.uk

Anyone that has opened up a desktop PC to install any card, ram or drives will have not problem.

ElNino · 19-11-2004 11:19am

Anyone know where I could get the T10 Torx screwdriver in Limerick?

I tried to order the set off Maplin.co.uk but they rejected the order on the basis that Bank of Ireland wouldn't do a security check on my credit card! Anyway they have now lost a customer for life. Strange that any other site never had a problem.

Our man in Havana · 28-12-2004 12:35pm

ElNino wrote:

Anyone know where I could get the T10 Torx screwdriver in Limerick?

I tried to order the set off Maplin.co.uk but they rejected the order on the basis that Bank of Ireland wouldn't do a security check on my credit card! Anyway they have now lost a customer for life. Strange that any other site never had a problem.

I had the same problem with maplins and credit cards, They must get burned with a lot of internet fraud.
I would be greatful if some one could advise where to get a T10 Torx screwdriver. Would a 200GB drive work or must it be a 250GB?

ElNino · 29-12-2004 3:11am

Bond-007 wrote:

I had the same problem with maplins and credit cards, They must get burned with a lot of internet fraud.
I would be greatful if some one could advise where to get a T10 Torx screwdriver. Would a 200GB drive work or must it be a 250GB?

I ended up getting a Torx screwdriver set in a car motor factors place for 12 yoyos. Torx screwdrivers are used alot on cars.

I used a Maxtor 250GB to upgrade my box. If you have a Pace V2 box then it will take anything up to a max of 250GB.

Our man in Havana · 29-12-2004 3:21am

ElNino wrote:

I ended up getting a Torx screwdriver set in a car motor factors place for 12 yoyos. Torx screwdrivers are used alot on cars.

I used a Maxtor 250GB to upgrade my box. If you have a Pace V2 box then it will take anything up to a max of 250GB.

Thanks:)

v10 · 03-01-2005 12:00am

After upgrading the hard drive, does the sky+ box function exactly the same only with more space ? i.e. can someone post drawbacks if any that occur.
I read somewhere that the percentage remaining does not read right for example.

Also the drive I was considering using was either a 180g Nikimi drive I have currently in my PC or the Western Digital 250g currently on sale for €149(I think) in aldi. Has anyone any experience of either of these ?

Cheers.

pH · 03-01-2005 1:38am

I upgraded my Pace V2 with a maxtor 250GB (5400 rpm) disk.

Disk makes a few weird clicking noises, and I've had 2 crashes while recording/playing at the same time. My box had been pretty trouble free before the upgrade.

% free seems fine though.

Anyone needing a hand or help upgrading just PM me.

pH

ElNino · 03-01-2005 2:24am

v10 wrote:

After upgrading the hard drive, does the sky+ box function exactly the same only with more space ? i.e. can someone post drawbacks if any that occur.
I read somewhere that the percentage remaining does not read right for example.
Cheers.

There have been no reported problems with Pace V2 boxes. The precentage bug is to do with the disk space for each programme used being rounded upwards. So if you add up the reported disk space used by all your programmes and add on the reported free disk space you will always get more than 100%, Hiowever the disk free percentage is correct.

v10 wrote:

Also the drive I was considering using was either a 180g Nikimi drive I have currently in my PC or the Western Digital 250g currently on sale for €149(I think) in aldi. Has anyone any experience of either of these ?

Cheers.

I also used a Maxtor 250GB 5400rpm so I can't help either. However you will find lots more here:

http://forum.digitalspy.co.uk/board/forumdisplay.php?f=35

Guide on how to upgrade your sky + box

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