hard drive for sky+ upgrade

seveb

Hi,

does anyone know where I can buy either a Maxtor 5A25OJO 250gb (5400rpm) or a Maxtor 4R16OLO 160gb (5400rpm) hard drive for my sky+ box.
Most drives now are 7200rpm which won't do.
I've tried to order from technoworld.com but they say they won't deliver to Ireland.

If anyone has any ideas I'd be really grateful. Thanks.

Greenman

seveb wrote:

Hi,

does anyone know where I can buy either a Maxtor 5A25OJO 250gb (5400rpm) or a Maxtor 4R16OLO 160gb (5400rpm) hard drive for my sky+ box.
Most drives now are 7200rpm which won't do.
I've tried to order from technoworld.com but they say they won't deliver to Ireland.

If anyone has any ideas I'd be really grateful. Thanks.

I wonder did you try here
http://www.techstore.co.uk/browse.php?a=p&prodLineID=35802

Plus did you look at this site?
http://www.hummer.co.uk/sky.htm

Let us know how you got on!!!!

seveb

thanks Greenman, i'll give them a try.
i've seen that hummer site - it's pretty much the only proper guide for upgrading the sky+ drive.

pH

I bought that 250GB one from www.elara.ie - but they no longer seem to stock them.

Now that I have 250, it's far to big, I never go below 50%. The 250 causes the fan to run all the time, whereas the 160 will make the fan work correctly.

Maybe the 160 is the better choice. Have a look at the digitalspy.co.uk sky+ forum. There is a permanent thread there with known working alternative drives.

ixtlan

I have a generic Maxtor 7200rpm 160Gb drive in my Sky+

Certainly the 5400 rpm drives would be a better choice, but I havn't had any problems with mine. I think the fan will stay on whatever drive you choose. I actually disconnected the fan from the circuit board, removed the extension panel from the rear, and placed a PC case 8cm fan there extracting air. This is quieter than the original fan.

Ix

seveb

ya i already checked elara & komplett, all the usual places.
i'm gonna order the 250gb from techstore.co.uk - i'd prefer the 160gb aswell but they don't have it.
i've been reading the digitalspy forums for a while aswell and it seems the general consensus that these drives are like gold dust.
so as the 250gb is there now i might aswell go for it.

seveb

pH - did you have to buy those T10 Torx security bits to open the sky+ box or will a screwdriver of some sort do?

pH

Yep I bought a set of security bits in Maplin, though i believe you can sort of wedge a small normal screwdriver in enough to turn them.

slegs

pH wrote:

Yep I bought a set of security bits in Maplin, though i believe you can sort of wedge a small normal screwdriver in enough to turn them.

woodies also do the torx screw bits for about a tenner

The Samsung and Maxtor hard drives can all be sourced on websites in the UK. I bought from www.planetmicro.co.uk and http://www.stuff-uk.net (bought 2 different drives for different people) but they can also be sourced on www.dabs.ie (UK but priced in Euro) also.

slegs

its the torx T10 with the hole that you want (youll know what I mean when you see it! - there is one without a hole also)

seveb

thanks guys.
i'll try woodies for those bits.
i ordered the maxtor 4R160L0 the other day from www.it-buy.co.uk
£59.61 including vat & p+p.

i'll let ye know how it works out when I get it.

digiking

komplett.ie - thats where i got mine...

seveb

ya, i tried there first, but no luck, they only have the drive that run at 7200rpm

digiking

I've got the maxtor 6y90p0 or something and it works perfect...Not a single problem,,,Why do 5400rpm drive anyways???

Our man in Havana

I used a Samsung SP1203N 120GB with is recommended by Hummer. Its a 7200rpm disk and has caused no trouble whatsoever.I don't notice any noise from it. Got it from amazon.co.uk for under €100

seveb

just had my order cancelled by it-buy.co.uk after 10 days and after them debiting my credit card!
said they won't ship to ireland.
what a waste of time!

seveb

i can't find a drive from any online retailer that will deliver to ireland including techstore.co.uk so i'm going to go with the samsung as recommended by bond-007, as it's available on amazon and at least they'll deliver.

digitaldr

Ordered a ST-4R160L0 yesterday from stuff-uk.net for £69.63 including p+p. They asked me to Email/fax a current utility bill to verify my address.

seveb

thanks digitaldr, just cancelled my amazon order, and ordered from stuff-uk.
it's cheaper and the one that i wanted. also, amazon wouldn't be able to deliver until 12th june!

Our man in Havana

i has a samsung drive if you want to deal PM me.

digitaldr

Actually the drive is for a mate of mine in Kerry, he's planning to get Sky+ in his new house and was quoted €600 for the 160 Gb version! I have had a Hitachi deskstar 120 Gb drive in my own box for >1year now with no problems.

Drive arrived this morning - won't be fitting it for a few months though. Checked my Visa statement online and final price was €103.11

bazza

Anyone notice the Hummer $ky site is now MIA?

Typical - had to be the day my new maxtor 160GB was delivered... (EUR92 from Dabs BTW incl postage etc).

I know its not rocket science, but anyone got a copy of the hummer instructions?

bazza

Hmmm, it would appear its not gone!! The link in the second post in this thread is incorrect.

Correct link to the hummer guide is : http://www.humvee.co.uk/sky.htm

eirman

I just got a notification that suitable 250g drives are now in stock

http://gameloaded.co.uk/UK_Maxtor_Maxline_ll_2835.htm

The price seems good - not sure about postage to ROI.

seveb

finally got my 160gb drive today, i must now go thru the task of clearing my current disk before i take it out. got it from stuff-uk.net

bazza

Seveb: How much? I got the maxtor 160 from Dabs for about EUR 93 all in incl delivery

seveb

£70 incl del, i guess that's about 105-110 euro.
haven't fitted it yet as i'm still in the process of clearing my current drive.

seveb

fitted it a couple of days back and it's running nice & smooth.
no problems.