Sky+ box F***ed - What to do with it.

muffler

I posted here a few weeks back about the sky+ box getting stuck in standby mode after a lightening storm. I have since bought a new one and was wondering if the old one is any good for anything - parts etc or should I just throw into the local recycling center.

Cheers

wil

muffler wrote: »

I posted here a few weeks back about the sky+ box getting stuck in standby mode after a lightening storm. I have since bought a new one and was wondering if the old one is any good for anything - parts etc or should I just throw into the local recycling center.

Cheers

of little use, the power supply, the part someone would most likely want for parts is probably damaged.
Swap it for a working one down the recycling centre. They carry a large range recently,;)

EDIT
IGNORE the above

ongarite

Does the red light come on to show its getting power? but won't then turn on.
If HDD is acting up, this is on the most common symptoms.

You can force a master reset (can't remember button combo) and it'll try wipe and format the HDD.

muffler

ongarite wrote: »

Does the red light come on to show its getting power? but won't then turn on.
If HDD is acting up, this is on the most common symptoms.

You can force a master reset (can't remember button combo) and it'll try wipe and format the HDD.

Bar giving it the last rites I think everything was done that cold be done in an attempt to revive it. I disconnected it from mains, removed cables from rear, software download by sky, held in buttons in a particular sequence on restarting etc etc.

The red light is on so obviously getting power but no matter what was done it refused to come out of standby mode. The insurance paid out for a new one anyhow but as I said in my first post it would be a pity to dump it if it could be salvaged in any way.

Tony

If you had a spare hard drive and the time to put it in it might well boot up ok.

muffler wrote: »

Bar giving it the last rites I think everything was done that cold be done in an attempt to revive it. I disconnected it from mains, removed cables from rear, software download by sky, held in buttons in a particular sequence on restarting etc etc.

The red light is on so obviously getting power but no matter what was done it refused to come out of standby mode. The insurance paid out for a new one anyhow but as I said in my first post it would be a pity to dump it if it could be salvaged in any way.

muffler

Thanks for that Tony. Not too well up to speed on these matters but I will ask around locally. Thanks.

wil

wil wrote: »

of little use, the power supply, the part someone would most likely want for parts is probably damaged.
Swap it for a working one down the recycling centre. They carry a large range recently,;)

Apologies I jumped the gun a bit (so unlike me:rolleyes:)
I missed the "+" (blinded by outrage)
Ignore what I said previously as it applied to a standard digibox.
A Sky+ box deserves a little more remedial attention.
Failed power supply or hard drive might be the first suspects if normal resuscitation attempts fail.

ongarite

Don't know if you have done this but its worth a shot before binning it:

Turn the Sky box off at the wall
Press and hold the LEFT and RIGHT keys on the front of the box whilst reapplying the power
Wait for the Sky ring to light on the front of the box before releasing LEFT and RIGHT
Press the SELECT key to start the Full System Reset
While the Sky box quick formats the HDD the ring will circle backwards
Once complete, the green PLAY light will illuminate to indicate success, or the red RECORD light to indicate failure
The box will go to standby when complete - Wait 5 minutes and turn on normally with the front panel or remote

AFAIK as I know if the HDD is fried, you can just drop in an IDE HDD and do as above and it'll format it for use in your Sky+ box.

muffler

Thanks for that ongarite. I will certainly give it a go.

One question on that procedure - do I need the cable (from dish) connected to the box while doing this?

The reason I ask is that the cables and the new Sky+ box are in at the back of a wall unit and while its not overly difficult to access them and switch them over its just a pain in the ass stretching to get at them. The guy that put the cables in didnt leave much room for maneuvering.

ongarite

I doubt it. If you do the format and then it is able to turn on but get no signal as cables disconnected, the box is working again IMO.

200motels

muffler wrote: »

Bar giving it the last rites I think everything was done that cold be done in an attempt to revive it. I disconnected it from mains, removed cables from rear, software download by sky, held in buttons in a particular sequence on restarting etc etc.

The red light is on so obviously getting power but no matter what was done it refused to come out of standby mode. The insurance paid out for a new one anyhow but as I said in my first post it would be a pity to dump it if it could be salvaged in any way.

The exact thing happened to my Sky+ box no matter what I done it would not come out of standby mode, threw it out and got a HD box.

watty

Or it could be the tuners are fried and the hard disk is OK. More likely even.

You can try formatting the hard driv in your PC instead of CD-ROM to test it.

muffler

I tried ongarite's suggestion but nothing happened.

Watty, do you mean remove the hard drive from the box and put it into the PC?

watty

If the box is fried (likely) you can always recycle the hard drive for a PC. It's just an ordinary drive. But to use it you need to repartion & re-format. It's the only easy to remove re-usable part.

IT Loser

Do these SKY+ boxes have a reputation for this sort of thing or are they generally hard-wearing? My pal has one and he says they love to overheat and should not be moved once setup in a well ventilated environment. Any opinions? Thanks.:cool:

david2002

The solution outlined for resetting the SKY+ Box by Ongarite above worked for my Sky+ Box.
One thing to be aware of though. You lose all the recordings which have been saved. Nothing can be done about this though.

Good on you Ongarite (Thanks again)

Denis:)