Sky + mod

[family man]

I am getting Sky + today and was wondering if anyone has modded one with an larger hard drive?

Is it easy to do?

Were there any problems?

Was it worth doing?

Cheers!

[DaveJP]

try a search on Digital Spy!

Dave

[family man]

Originally posted by DaveJP
try a search on Digital Spy!

Dave

Tried that and cant find a lot??

[GregB]

Originally posted by family man
Tried that and cant find a lot??

There are loads of posts about this on DigitalSpy so you may need to search again. Basically though it can be done but there are a lot of problems so I've decided against it.

Amstard have recently released a Sky+ box which is apparently better than the Pace and you alos have the benefit of being able to talk to Alan Sugar directly as he posts on DigitalSpy

[Ragnar]

There's a guide here for the version 1 box, it's pretty much the same for the version 2.

http://www.hummer.co.uk/disc-change.htm

[M@rtin]

It's dead easy, just swap the drive and go into the service menu and do a full housekeeping. You'll need a torx security bit to open it up.

The only snag is that since the dual record update, upgraded boxes have been rather flaky when they get too full. Check the "17 min bug" threads on Digitalspy for more info. Basically saved programs can hang part way through, or they will play but the time elapsed counter gets stuck at 17mins so you can't jump to a point further than that.

I've got a 120Gb in mine and find that as long as I keep it less than 60% full it works as normal. It's a pain to waste the extra space but it is still bigger than the stock drive. I just wish Sky would sort it out properly, but then some people say that they introduced the bug on purpose to discourage home upgrades!

[family man]

I think I will hold off on that for the time being then!!

That aside I must say that it is THE most impressive piece of kit I have ever come across!!! (not literally you understand!!)

[Mr Jolly]

Mate, it's so easy to upgrade. If you're looking to do it, do it sooner rather than later, as you can't transfer recordings. All you need is a drive, replacement fan and fanmate and the torq screwdriver bit. You won't get an easier upgrade! :thumbs:

[gram99]

Originally posted by GregB

have the benefit of being able to talk to Alan Sugar directly as he posts on DigitalSpy

pretty cool that huh?

[family man]

Originally posted by Mr Jolly
Mate, it's so easy to upgrade. If you're looking to do it, do it sooner rather than later, as you can't transfer recordings. All you need is a drive, replacement fan and fanmate and the torq screwdriver bit. You won't get an easier upgrade! :thumbs:

Still worries me as there seem to be a number of people complaining about problems.

Also whats the point of only having 60% of a 120GB?? OK it gives you about 70GB but the risk for an extra 30GB wouldnt seem worth it to me!!

[Zath]

I wish there wasnt all these issues with upgrading the hard disk, because i'd really like to get one put in my Sky+, i always seem to be running out of space.

I was always gonna upgrade mine once it got out of warranty in June, but right now i'm unsure whether to start tinkering with it or not. :thinking:

[carlito8]

I upgraded mine with a 120gb box the day I got it and to be honest I'm not sure it was worth it. I've had the 17 min bug about 10 times in 3/4 months so far and although it's not been on anything vital it's still annoying, this has been when the box is arouond 40-50% full.

At the moment I'm reluctant to fill it up anymore for fear of losing a load of the stuff I've got waiting to watch (world at war series etc...)

Hopefully there will be a new software release soon that sorts it all out but to be honest sky don't seem to care at all :(

[Mr Jolly]

Originally posted by family man
Still worries me as there seem to be a number of people complaining about problems.

Also whats the point of only having 60% of a 120GB?? OK it gives you about 70GB but the risk for an extra 30GB wouldnt seem worth it to me!!

I must admit I wasn't aware of this problem with the newer boxes. Mine is an older Pace one and it was well worth it for me. The only bug is the amount used percentage, which shows as a minus figure, though the bar shows the correct amount. Mine had the full 120 gb.