Bigger Sky+ harddrive?

[BenJ]

Hey

Was wondering if it is possible to upgrade the harddrive in the sky+ box because my dad is a serial hoarder and the box is constantly at around 2% free space which is really annoying.

The Sky+ box we have is the Thomson 127K148, version number: 4E2106, Operating system version: 1.31B03, EPG software version: 5.02.F

Ive heard the max you can go is 250gig, but they are IDE drives and hard to get hold of, plus it would only be an upgrade from 80 to 170gig because sky reserves 80gig for somthing else?

The other alternative I was thinking was to get a Sky HD box, and use that, apparently they are 300gig? and ive also heard they can be upgraded to 750gig and they use the newer serial sata drives which are easy to come by.

Anyone able to offer me some ideas, confirm anything ive found or help in anyway is much appreciated.

Ben.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

There's a big thread on AV Forums about which model hard drives you can put in.

AFAIK, it is recommended to have a drive with liquid bearing (less noise), 5400rpm (less heat) and then you'll need a TORX security head bit on the screwdriver to open the box.

Apart from that it's a case of open, replace and the box does the rest

 

[stoofa]

It is unfortunately a mine field when it comes to upgrading the HD in your Sky box.
Starting with Sky+

The box will actually see and read/write to a 300GB HD, however the box itself can only format to 250GB.
You can format the drive in a PC (you need to format it using a particular file format) and then put it in the Sky+ box.
This is fine unless you have the need to format the drive again - in which case you have to take it out, reformat it and then refit it again.
So sticking to 250GB is sensible.
Whatever size HD you use you will lose 80GB.
All new Sky+ boxes come with a 160GB HD however 80GB of this is reserved for Sky use and there is no way of getting this back - even if you switch Sky Anytme off.
A 250GB HD will give you 170GB of useable capacity, so over the 80GB you've currently got it will give you more than twice as much space.

The drive does not have to be 5400rpm - the drive supplied in my Pace PVR3 box was a 7200rpm unit and I replaced it with a 7200rpm unit.
You should make sure that the drive is of "CE" class - these are drives specifically designed for use in these kind of devices, they are also designed to run 24/7.
It is going to be luck if the 250GB IDE drive you buy will work or not unfortunately, there is no official list as Sky don't want you replacing the drive.
If you want a drive that will 100% work in your box, then look here:

http://www.xtendedplay.co.uk/skyskyhd-drive-upgrades-ct-3_20.html

Unfortunately you will pay over the odds for this kit, however you will get a 250GB drive that will definitely work, you get all the tools you require to get inside the box and you also get an instruction sheet showing you what to do.
I bought the 250GB kit myself and it worked a charm - they also supply a 5yr guarantee, so any HD failure in the future is covered.

The HD the above company supplied me was:

Seagate DB35 7200.3 8MB U100
ST3250820ACE

They are now a discontinued drive, however if you can source one somewhere it will definitely work.
Also if you could find out what model Seagate have replaced this drive with that should also do the trick.

The Sky HD box can take upto a 1TB HD - however once again it is trial and error.
If you Google for "Sky HD Upgrade" or similar you will find a few links to sites that list models that have definitely worked for other people.

Remember that as soon as you open your Sky box you do invalidate the warranty.

 

[Memphis]

It is unfortunately a mine field when it comes to upgrading the HD in your Sky box.

Now you see, it really really isn't that bad.

When the disk failed in our Sky+ box, it was a case of wait 2 months for Sky to come and fix it, and charge £65, or fix it myself. A quick Google of "Sky+ HD Upgrade" gave me easy guides, and the biggest sticking point was having to run out to buy Torx Security bits. Within 10 minutes the new drive was in and formatted, with recording capability restored.

It really wasn't a big deal at all. For sure watching how hot the drive gets is something to keep in mind, but even so, there are many reports of people getting away with 7200rpm drives.

 

[[DOD]Asprilla]

I'm sure there is relatively cheap software available as well that allows you to format a bigger drive in the Sky style and copy over your existing recorded data.

 

[BenJ]

Thanks Stoofa, loads of usefull info there fella, legend! Ill have to speak to my parents and see how much they are willing to spend before deciding which route to go down. Any 1 else with info on what drives have worked and which ones havent etc, if you could post and let me know

 

[stoofa]

I'm sure there is relatively cheap software available as well that allows you to format a bigger drive in the Sky style and copy over your existing recorded data.

If you Google around I believe it can be downloaded for free.
The only reason I stayed at 250GB on the Sky+ box was so that the box could format the drive itself if it was needed.
Also as far as I'm aware, although the box can read larger drives (if formatted externally of the box) the "Percentage Free" bar only reflects 250GB - cosmetic issue I know.

 

[stoofa]

Now you see, it really really isn't that bad.

When the disk failed in our Sky+ box, it was a case of wait 2 months for Sky to come and fix it, and charge £65, or fix it myself. A quick Google of "Sky+ HD Upgrade" gave me easy guides, and the biggest sticking point was having to run out to buy Torx Security bits. Within 10 minutes the new drive was in and formatted, with recording capability restored.

It really wasn't a big deal at all. For sure watching how hot the drive gets is something to keep in mind, but even so, there are many reports of people getting away with 7200rpm drives.

Which drive did you install?
There are an awful lot of drives that won't work - even if you Google you'll only find a handful of makes/models listed and the majority of those are out of production.

7200rpm drives are not an issue - my Pace PVR3 was supplied (brand new box from Sky) with a Seagate 7200rpm unit installed.

The issue mainly revolves around initial spin-up times.
A lot of HD's actually don't spin-up quick enough during boot and this is why they won't work on the Sky boxes.
You might think that the super-fast, 7200rpm, U133 drive is one of the fastest IDE drives available - however you may well find the initial spin-up speed just isn't quite fast enough so the box doesn't recognise the drive etc.

I'm not saying it is impossible, it is however a costly mistake to make.
Buy a drive, if it works great, if it doesn't that's £40 - £50 wasted as the capacity is probably going to be too low for you to use in a PC for example.

It might be worth cracking open your Sky+ box and looking at the make/model of HD installed.
If you can source a drive from the same manufacturer and from the same family of drive but just higher capacity you'll be laughing.

 

[[DOD]Asprilla]

Also as far as I'm aware, although the box can read larger drives (if formatted externally of the box) the "Percentage Free" bar only reflects 250GB - cosmetic issue I know.

Not sure about this, although I've mainly been reading about the HD boxes which may be different. According to a number of threads on AVForums the 'Percentage Free' works correctly when both internal and external upgrades are done. I think that the HD boxes are SATA rather than so some people are simply using external sata HDD cradles to connect new disks.