Sky+/Sky boxes & standby

[Salforal]

Hi, all, numpty question from a newbie!

I normally turn my Sky+ & Sky boxes off when not in use for prolonged periods, ie at night and while I'm at work.

My reasoning is threefold: 1) saves money; 2) saves the planet; and 3) lessens the chances of a house fire due to electical fault.

Am I doing more harm than good? Is it better to leave them in standby mode? I've been reading some of the threads about hard drive failure. My free space indicator is way (out box is only 10 months old) and it seems time for some housekeeping. Now I'm wondering if the daily power-up and power-down is contributing? Mind, the hard drive has been noisy from day one. Must ring Sky whilst still in warranty!

TIA.

 

[Starburst]

I personally would not switch off a device that has the ability to receive data from the satellite 24/7 such as EPG updates and OS updates.

There are also always reports of failed units after a reboot and you are probably tempting fate doing so many cold restarts, alas SKY hardware (and probably others) are not totally robust and if they are going to fail during boot up is perhaps the more common time.

There is no practical difference in power useage during standby compared to being active however if it's off you lose any chance to record programming from overnight or when you away which is one of the plus points of the system.

A Planner Rebuild to fix the free space issues can be done at anytime and that problem seems to affect a lot of people so switching the box off probably isn't the cause. The Housekeeping function wipes all the data off the hard drive so perhaps only should be done after you have watched everything or have serious problems. Amstrad units do seem to be (according to posters) more noisy than the PACE equivalents but overall noise is perhaps a subjective thing so can't really advise on a warranty call out just for noise.

 

[Nick_UK]

My free space indicator is way (out box is only 10 months old) and it seems time for some housekeeping.

If the box is 10 months old, and you're preventing it from "phoning home", then chances are you're breaking the terms of your agreement with Sky. (Unless of course you're one of the few people who purchased their box at an unsubsidised price).

 

[Salforal]

A Planner Rebuild to fix the free space issues can be done at anytime and that problem seems to affect a lot of people so switching the box off probably isn't the cause. The Housekeeping function wipes all the data off the hard drive so perhaps only should be done after you have watched everything or have serious problems. Amstrad units do seem to be (according to posters) more noisy than the PACE equivalents but overall noise is perhaps a subjective thing so can't really advise on a warranty call out just for noise.

I have an Amstrad unit

As for Planner Rebuilds and Housekeeping, when I go to Services -> 4 and press 0 to access the engineer's menu, nothing happens. No extra menu. Anything I can try before 'phoning Sky?

 

[Starburst]

Services
4
0
1
Select

Ignore the screen, when you complete the sequence the menu will appear

 

[Salforal]

Cheers, Starbusrt, much appreciated. Mission accomplished.