Sky+ 160 GB Launch

Will there be an upgrade option from older boxes?

Digital Spy Sky+ Upgrade FAQ at

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


Digital Spy - Sky+ Upgrade FAQ - 26th September 2004


1. Introduction
2. Disclaimer
3. What version of Sky+ Receiver do I have?
4. What kind of Hard Disk should I upgrade my Sky+ with?
5. What is the biggest size Hard Disk that I can upgrade my Sky+ with?
6. What is the "17 minute bug"?
7. Preparing to install the new Sky+ HD
8. Installation of the HD
9. Common observations
10. Credits



1. Introduction

This article was written with two aims. 1) to serve as a one-stop resource for potential Sky+ upgraders, and 2) to avoid the common situation of same old questions being asked in a post, time and time again.

The popularity of Sky+ upgrades is so high that it’s resulted in large threads that some people do not wish to search through, hopefully this FAQ can help answer most of the questions that you may have.



2. Disclaimer

By following the below information, you will void your warranty with your Sky+ hardware. Digital Spy Ltd and its forum users can and will not be responsible for any damaged hardware should a Sky+ box be damaged in any way during the following of these procedures. You and you alone take responsibility for this.

To Sky+ V1 users: by following these intructions you risk being infected with the "17 minute bug". This bug still exists with your hardware and hasnt been fixed by Sky yet.



3. What version of Sky+ Receiver do I have?

When you have Sky+ installed, you will have one of the following:

Pace Sky+ V1: Largest of the three Plus boxes available. Has the Interactive card slot in the middle, with the Led counter on the left.

Pace Sky+ V2: Smaller than the Pace V1 Sky+ box. Has the Interactive card slot on the left with the Led counter in the middle.

Amstrad Sky+: Equal in size as the Pace Sky+ V2 and looks identical, apart from the Interactive card slot being on the right, and the control buttons on the left.

There will soon be a new Thomson built Sky+ receiver released with an official 160gb Hard Disk and USB ports.





4. What kind of Hard Disk should I upgrade my Sky+ with?

Every Sky+ unit is installed with a 40gb Maxtor Hard Disk, spinning at 5400rpm. The majority of Sky+ upgraders have used Maxtor HDs running at 5400rpm with capacities of 80gb, 120gb, and more recently for any V2 users 160gb and 250gb. 300gb Maxtor 5400rpm drives have been tested but do NOT work on V2 boxes.

The general consensus is that the ideal HD to go for runs at 5400rpm, cache shouldn’t be a concern. The majority of successful upgrades have been done with primarily Maxtor drives but also Samsung and IBM work well.

Automan suggests the following for V2 upgrades:

250gb Drive: Maxtor 5A250J0
160gb Drive: Maxtor 6Y160P0
120gb Drives: Maxtor 6Y120L0, Samsung SV1204H, Samsung SP1203N
80gb Drive: Maxtor 6YO80L0

For reference, standard HD fitted in a Sky+ V2 is a Maxtor 2F040L0

As for Prices, I highly recommend copying the above code of the HD you are interested in, and running a price search at www.pcindex.co.uk. This will give you the cheapest price and stock availability for your target HD. A 250gb should be no more than £100 as I write this.





5. What's the biggest size Hard Disk that I can upgrade my Sky+ with?

The current situation with upgradable HDs are as follows:

Pace Sky+ V1: The maximum size HD that you can install is 120gb. However the "17 minute bug" (see below) still exists with the V1 receiver.

Pace Sky+ V2: The maximum size HD that you can install at the moment is 250gb. So far, dozens of DS users have installed this size HD, and not experienced the "17 minute bug". The latest firmware upgrade for the Pace V2 box seems to have allowed a higher capacity HD to be installed, which would make sense if the advertised "Official" 160gb Sky+ receiver was to use the same hardware as the V2 machines.

Amstrad Sky+: It seems the maximum size HD that you can install at the moment on the Amstrad Sky+ receiver is 250gb. With fewer users of this new machine around, feedback is at a slower rate but it does look to be the same situation with the Pace V2 owners.





6. What is the "17 minute bug"?

The "17 minute bug" has plagued many owners who upgraded their Sky+ machines (and unfortunately some users who haven’t) since the firmware containing the Duel Recording functionality was released. The bug freezes any Sky+ recordings at the hour mark, effectively ruining a recording that runs beyond this duration. A major symptom of this bug is that the infected program always jumps back to the seventeen minute mark if you are to fast forward or rewind through your recording between 17 minutes and the time the recording freezes.

The 17 Minute Bug can infect otherwise successful recordings if the "unfixed" Sky+ machine is reset, or if the Sky+ box is over 80% of its capacity.

It looks like the latest version of the Sky+ V2 firmware for both Pace and Amstrad receivers have fixed this bug, but the 17 minute bug still exists on V1 machines. We hope Sky will fix the V1 firmware at a later date, as there no manual fix we can perform ourselves.





7. Preparing to install the new Sky+ HD

Ok, so you have taken the plunge and have in your hands a nice new Hard Disk to upgrade your Sky+. What do you need to do beforehand?

First of all, watch your recordings and make a note of all your series links. Then, you need to purchase the correct screwdriver bit (T10 Torx Security bit) to open your Sky+ receiver with. This can be purchased from the following links:

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/sea...1&cd=1&x=13&y=8

or

http://www.maplin.co.uk (code GU60Q)


If you have bought a Maxtor drive, it is worth running the Maxtor utilities to turn off Write Verify and set the HD to Quiet mode. DS user Nickleics documented this perfectly:



Quote:



Originally Posted by Nickleics

1. You need 2 x blank floppy disks.
2. Download POWERMAX from Maxtor website
http://www.maxtor.com/portal/site/M...s&downloadID=22
3. Run the POWERMAX self-extraction - it will save itself to one of the blank floppies that you have. No need to have it formatted, it will overwrite the whole disk.
4. Download WVSET from Maxtor website
http://maxtor.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/...hp?p_faqid=1210
5. Download AMSET from Maxtor website
http://maxtor.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/...hp?p_faqid=1200
6. Format the other floppy disk with system files on it.
7. Run the WVSET and AMSET self-extracting files and have them save to the floppy disk.
8. Turn off PC, disconnect existing HDDs, and connect the Maxtor.
9. Turn on PC, with Powermax floppy disk in drive.
10. Powermax will start, run Initialization check on it to confirm that it is installed correct.
11. Restart PC, boot from other floppy disk.
12. Run WVSET /OFF to turn off write verify.
13. Run AMSET /QUIET to turn on quiet mode.
14. Switch off and disconnect HDD, reconnect old HDDs.
15. Check that the CSS jumper is set on the drive.
16. Turn off instant rewind on Sky+.
17. Sky+ off, then follow installation instructions on Hummer's website







8. Installation of the HD

Right. You have the HD, you have watched your recordings, made a note of the series links and have the right tools for the job. You’re ready.

I direct you to the oracle of Sky+ Upgrading. Automan's excellent site.

http://www.hummer.co.uk/sky.htm





9. Common observations

Due to the nature of the larger HD, the physical size of the drive is bigger, but should still be small enough to fit snugly into your Sky+ receiver.

The IDE cable of the Sky+ machines is tight, but be gentle when disconnecting it, it WILL come out. This will save any damage caused to the ribbon and to your hand should you slip!

A lot of upgraders have noticed that the Fan in the upgraded Sky+ box stays on for a long time, if not all the time. It is the belief of many that this is due to the firmware. The fan on the Sky+ machines are quite robust and in most cases the fan noise isn’t noticeable, even if you sleep in the same room as the Sky+ unit.

The latest Sky+ firmware instructs the HD to wind down when not in use, so cooling is less of an issue as before. If you believe your Sky+ unit requires cooling and you can not relocate it to a area with improved airflow, Automan's site contains good advice for what to do to help cool your Sky+ box.

When you are done installing your Sky+ HD, enjoy. It is worth keeping the old Sky+ HD safe and sound should you have any problems with your receiver in the future. There is no warranty seal on the Sky+ receiver so in theory you could put the original drive back in the machine should you have to replace the unit.





10. Credits

Automan - many thanks for your stellar guide to everything that is Sky+, I am sure that it’s been a one-stop resource for hundreds of people who have benefited from your instructions and observations.

Nickleics - thank you for your excellent AMSET instructions.

All Digital Spy Sky+ Upgraders - thank you for all of your feedback and support for fellow DS users.

Please DO NOT reply to this post with any questions or issues to your Sky+ box. Please ONLY reply should you wish any additions or point out any corrections to this FAQ.

Kind regards

Dan


Last edited by DanVitale : 26-09-2004 at 19:04.


*

beolight wrote:

anybody know what size hard drive you will get with new installation of sky plus due to be done next week?

40GB,The new boxes are not on general release yet.

beolight wrote:

MMM DRAT

is it worth cancelling installation and holding out for another week or two?

I would say yes,but bear in mind the next generation boxes will cost a good bit more than the present boxes,and if you have already purchased the present model,the 160GB is not an upgrade,but a completely new product line-as in the third generation of Sky Box if you like.

smileyrecords wrote:

he he hilarious i have over 1200GB on my main media pc thats connected to a ntl digital box, with Timeshifting/MPEG2 Capture/Video Editing/MPEG4 Compression software running.

beats sky+ anytime

Apart from the lousy compression ntl uses... and the digital-analogue-digital recording.

€599????? Methinks I'll just buy a Hard drive from Komplett/Elara and install it - assuming I'll need the extra capacity anyway that is Glad I didn't bother hanging on now before ordering my V2 box...

Will Sky then give you a choice now or is the V2 box being replaced with the 160GB version? And is there any real difference aside from capacity?

hey bricks , what hard drive did you use , im thinking of upgrading mine with a
Maxtor DiamondMax 10 160GB IDE ATA/133 8MB cache 7200RPM from komplett but i was thinking it might run too hot

Are the disk drive speeds (ie was old disk 5400rpm and new disk 7200rpm) the same maybe the board is picking up the HD is spining very fast and thus it must be doing a lot of work and needs cooling .... may be talking crap here.