$ky+ digibox fan - post upgrade to 160GB

bazza

Howdy all - did the upgrade and I stuck a 160GB in my 40GB Pace $ky+ box and now the fan is on ALL the time, even in standby!

I've switched off instant replay, so there should be no disk activity whatsoever when the box is in standby (or am I wrong here?). So why is the fan on all the time? Though I read somewhere that the new box software would set the HD to spin down when in standby?

Anyone got any tips or noticed the same thing?

Gegerty

bazza wrote:

Howdy all - did the upgrade and I stuck a 160GB in my 40GB Pace $ky+ box and now the fan is on ALL the time, even in standby!

I've switched off instant replay, so there should be no disk activity whatsoever when the box is in standby (or am I wrong here?). So why is the fan on all the time? Though I read somewhere that the new box software would set the HD to spin down when in standby?

Anyone got any tips or noticed the same thing?

I haven't got sky+ yet but will be getting it shortly and doing this myself. here's a link: http://www.wiredhomeguide.co.uk/audiovisual/sky+_upgrade_1.htm

It doesn't mention detatching the fan so this sounds like a strange problem. I remember when i upgraded the drive on my xbox I thought I had a problem with the fan as well but it just turned out that the hard disk was just a lot noisier, could this be your problem?

pH

Unless you used exactly the same maxtor disk used by Sky in their 160GB model then the bios never turns the fan off.

This shouldn't be a problem, but some fit a Zalman FANMATE which allows you to turn down the fan.

digitaldr

I fitted a quiet 80mm fan just took out the plate at the back and attached it there. It's inaudible.

bazza

I'm using a Maxtor 160GB - what came out of it was a Seagate 40GB. Gegerty, the Maxtor is as quiet, if not quieter than the disk I took out. The noise is from the fan for sure.

ph: thats a bizzare statement to make! Surely the box is completely agnostic to the HD used. Where did you get that information that the bios is 'aware' of the HD model?

Common sense says that when the box is hot, then the fan comes on - therefore there must be a temperature sensor in there somewhere (must open it up again for a look). Anyone clued into this?

bazza

Was thinking about the bios/system software - could it be that models with 160GB disks are known to run 'hot' (regardless of disk manufacturer) and $ky default the fan to run constantly as a result when a 160 is detected?

Anyone got a genuine $ky+ 160 box that can verify this? Does that fan run all the time in that unit?

pH

I'm presuming this is a Pace V2 you've upgraded, not a V1 or an Amstrad. If so unless the firmware recognises the disk it runs the fan constantly. This is not the case in the Sky 160 box.

The only upgrade drive that makes the fan work properly is the 5400 rpm maxtor 160 that is used in the 160 box. Check out digitalspy or avforums for more info.

bazza

Yup, Pace V2. Hmmm, the Maxtor 160 I put in is the 7200rpm version (6Y160P0). So the fan is in a 'failsafe' mode of always on, if it doesn't recognise the disk as being a Maxtor 5400rpm. So why then was the fan only on intermittently when I had the 40GB Seagate in there then? That would appear to indicate that it 'recognises' that particular drive, which is obviously not a Maxtor - maybe its an rpm issue, rather than a manufacturer/model. Now where did I put that spare 5400rpm drive again?!

Gwynston

I don't read DigitalSpy, but have been told by someone who does that you have to be careful when choosing an upgade HD, because some draw quite a high current, thus leading to higher system temps, thus leading to the fan always being on.

After all his research, he's going to install one of these 250GB drives: Hitachi DeskStar T7K250

I'll let you know how he gets on.

dancin

I put in a 120 GB maxtor (Maxtor 6Y120L0) last december (as recommended on hummer's site : http://www.humvee.co.uk/sky.htm).

Yep, the fan is always on. Got used to it pretty quickly.

There are a bunch of discussions about the fan being on over at avforums and digitalspy, but the main theory around last Dec was that the newer disks are all 7200 rpm. The digibox realises this somehow and surns the fan on all the time.

Apart from the noise though, you should not have much of a problem with it. The fan should last for years, and replacing them apparently is straightforward enough.

Gwynston

A quote from my friend who's done a lot of research into suitable drives:

There was an issue with early Sky EPG software that meant that the fan came on all the time with large drives in the system, this is no longer a problem and the thermostat that triggers the fan is now operating it correctly.

He went to explain to me that the main problem with the 7200rpm drives tried out was their high current drain, causing the fan to run all the time. Newer drives like the Hitachi DeskStar T7K250 have fewer onboard chips, and use physically fewer platters internally, which together means they have a much lower current requirement, and hence less temperature than even the original Maxtor drives supplied with the Sky+ boxes. Maxtor drives tend to have especially high current requirements, hence your fan being on all the time, dancin.

bazza

Ok - so after a lot of reading on the matter on digital spy and so on, there would be appear to be sod all you can do about the fan being on all the time - especially when using a 7200rpm drive.

So what I'm thinking of trying is reducing the noise from the fan using a Zalman fan mate to reduce the fan rpm - anyone done it yet?

Gwynston

Really Bazza?
From his research, my mate reckons the Hitachi will do the job, and due to its low current drain, without triggering the fan all the time. It is a 250GB drive, but I'm sure there must be similar smaller ones too.

bazza

Well I'm interested to see how he gets on - problem is I don't really want to fork out for another disk without knowing if it'll solve the problem! So let us know how he gets on

Gwynston

My mate is actually holding off on upgrading to the 250GB Hitachi for now. But he already has an upgrade installed: a 120Gb Maxtor DiamondMax9 and he says he has no problems with the fan being on all the time. Are you sure you have the latest updates?

bazza

I'm pretty sure the box is running with the latest software rev (can't tell for certain as I'm not in front of it right now!). But I might try to force an update just in case.

Is your mates 120GB Maxtor a 5400rpm drive by any chance - as opposed to 7200?