Disk Space on Sky+ Hard Disk Misteriously Disappearing

Eugenius

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Hi folks,

Necessity forces me back on the forum after having installed Sky+ in my Prague residence.
My 40 giga hard drive wroked just fine for many months, but recently (a couple of months ago) I noticed that even when I had only one or two movies recorded on the hard drive, the free space indicator would show very low values.
So I decided to delete all the recordings from the hard drive, and surprise-surprise, the available space was only around 55 %.
I was baffled, so I decided to ask for your advice. What could occupy the rest of the free space? Is the indicator correct? Regards and thanks, Eugen
 

Mickha

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Hi Eugenius,
I did read an article, similar to your problem, and copied it for a friend, I don't know if it relates to you problem but it might be worth reading:


Sky charges for repairs to non-faulty digiboxes

British Sky Broadcasting has denied accusations that the company tried to profit from a known software fault in its digital video recorders, after customers were charged £65 for engineers to visit their homes.

A recurring fault in the Sky+ system software causes recordings to fail for no apparent reason. The bug eats up space on the digibox's hard disk and, even after the failed recording has been deleted, the disk space is lost.

Although the problem has dragged on for two years, coming and going through various software updates, recent complaints from Sky+ customers have revealed an interesting development:

Customers whose digiboxes are still under warranty are told by Sky that the fault is known about and will be fixed with an automatic software update, downloaded by satellite. But customers whose digiboxes are out of warranty are told that it is a hardware fault and will require an engineer visit. This incurs a £65 call-out charge.



But calling twice as a customer whose digibox is out of warranty, both times we were told that it is a hardware fault and we would have to pay £65 for an engineer to fix it.

Refunds and retraining

Sky has so far been unable to explain the discrepancy in advice being given to customers, but a spokeswoman stressed that the company was "absolutely not" trying to profit by charging for unnecessary call-outs.

"We have had complaints from a small percentage of customers and we have confirmed that it is a software fault," the spokeswoman explained.

"We will review engineer call-outs on a case-by-case basis and although we can't make any promises with regard to refunds, some customers would receive a refund if the engineer was unable to fix the problem."

The spokeswoman acknowledged that "retraining" of some call centre staff may be necessary to ensure that customers are offered appropriate advice in future, regardless of whether or not their digiboxes are still under warranty.

Never miss a thing

This recording fault has been a long-term thorn in the side of Sky and thousands of customers who subscribe to the £10 per month Sky+ service.

Why the fault cannot be fixed permanently is a mystery, and some Sky+ users have come to dread the automatic software updates, knowing that the problem may re-appear at any time.

When the bug first struck, customers were infuriated by Sky insisting that there was nothing wrong. An extemporary campaign organised on an internet discussion forum resulted in a flood of complaints to Sky, but the company continued to deny the fault and denied receiving any complaints.

Concerns were heightened when it was discovered that a hidden menu option had been added to the engineer's menu on the Sky+ interface. "Planner Rebuild" seemed to serve no purpose other than to correct for the lost disk space caused by the recording bug. Rather than crushing the bug once and for all, it appeared that Sky had decided to simply work around it.

Much to the dismay and some ironic amusement of Sky+ users, the "Planner Rebuild" feature was a failure and has not solved the problem it was meant to fix.

Sky+ adverts infamously boasted that subscribers would "never miss a thing", a claim which has lead to Sky paying compensation to customers affected by the recording bug. The "never miss a thing" line does not appear in the latest round of advertising.


Best wishes
Mickha
 

Eugenius

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Thank you very much for your prompt reply, Mikcha!

I am afraid that what you posted is actually the cause of my problem, too.
But, since I have the Sky+ abroad, it would be impossible for me to call a Sky technician even if I wanted to -- and I DON'T want to. I consider that what they charge is already a shame, I am paing 35 quid per month for the movie channels.
What I would like to ask you, guys, is to try and give me some advice on how I could solve the problem without having to call Sky. If I do, then I need to give them an excuse for not having the box connected to a bloody telephone line and for refusing to have their specialist knocking at my door (which would imply him traveling across the Channel, ha-ha!)
So, please, I am open to suggestions! Eugen

P.S. Thank you all in advance!
 

Eugenius

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Thank you! I'll give it a try this afternoon, hope it'll work! Have a good weekend guys'n'gals!
 

Eugenius

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Eugenius said:
Thank you! I'll give it a try this afternoon, hope it'll work! Have a good weekend guys'n'gals!

Well, today I tried to follow the instructions ("press SERVICES then 4 - 0 - 1 - SELECT and choose FULL SYSTEM RESET"). The problem is that when I press Services, I get in the menu, and I don' t know how to press 4-0-1. If I press 4, it will get me into the option 4 on the Services menu. I may be technically challenged, but could you guys be so patient as to explain the procedure to me step-by-step? Lots of thanks, Eugen
 

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Not sure m8, as I don't have $ky Plus myself.


Anyone else conform the key sequence please?

STICK
 

PaulR

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Neither do I but I would think it's similar to an ordinary dodgybox in that the "0" option is hidden, so just press the buttons as described.

PaulR
 

rolfw

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Yes Eugenius, as PaulR says, it is a hidden menu, supposedly for installers only, but also stops the kids from messing up the settings on the box.

If you go into Services, then option 4 which is System Setup, then press 0,1,select, you will enter the installer menu, do not wait for anything to happen between key presses, just press them one after another.
 

Eugenius

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rolfw said:
Yes Eugenius, as PaulR says, it is a hidden menu, supposedly for installers only, but also stops the kids from messing up the settings on the box.

If you go into Services, then option 4 which is System Setup, then press 0,1,select, you will enter the installer menu, do not wait for anything to happen between key presses, just press them one after another.

Thanx again, guys,
I'll give it a try today.
By the way, "mysterious" things are happening. I recorded "supersize Me" a couple of days ago. Guess what, when I wanted to watch it last night, it was GONE from the recorded menu on the hard drive. Eugenius
 

Eugenius

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Eugenius said:
Thanx again, guys,
I'll give it a try today.
By the way, "mysterious" things are happening. I recorded "supersize Me" a couple of days ago. Guess what, when I wanted to watch it last night, it was GONE from the recorded menu on the hard drive. Eugenius

Well, it TOTALLY worked! Disk space is back at 100 percent.
But I would like to ask you if there is any known possibility that the bug will appear again, and for how many times I could reformat the hard disk. Rgds, Eugenius
 

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The bug may well surface again unless Sky fix it.

You can reformat the hard drive as many times as you need to, it doesn't wear it out any more than using it normally.
 

Eugenius

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PoloMint said:
The bug may well surface again unless Sky fix it.

You can reformat the hard drive as many times as you need to, it doesn't wear it out any more than using it normally.

Thanx! I'll keep in touch with you guys! Eugenius
 

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Services - 4 - 0 - 1 - Select and instead of housekeeping try Planner Rebuild next time ;)
 

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Hi guys, wondering if you could help me. I've got exactly the same problem. There's no programmes in my Sky+ planner but I only have 58% free. When i try pressing Services - 4-0-1 nothing happens. Its takes me to the services menu but I cant get any further. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: Ignore me I wasnt pressing select afterwards! How dumb am I!? :)
 

PaulR

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EDIT: Ignore me I wasn't pressing select afterwards! How dumb am I!?
Dunno. Perhaps we should run a poll to find out? :D




No, seriously we've all done stupid things in our time. The worst thing is when you're convinced that you've done exactly what the instructions say - until you go back to reread them that is.

BTW, is the problem fixed now?

PaulR
 

Shaq-Fu

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PaulR said:
Dunno. Perhaps we should run a poll to find out? :D

No, seriously we've all done stupid things in our time. The worst thing is when you're convinced that you've done exactly what the instructions say - until you go back to reread them that is.

BTW, is the problem fixed now?

PaulR

LOL. Believe me, we wouldnt need a poll to discover the answer! :D

Yes it is sorted now cheers mate. Thanks for everyone's help.
 
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