[Freetime Fix-up] Supersize your Sky+HD box for extra storage

Sky are currently promoting their “supertelly” HD packages with free Sky+HD box and free setup.  If you’ve had Sky HD for a while,  you’ll certainly be familiar with the huge amounts of space required for HD movies.   Other than paying Sky for the latest Sky+HD boxes, there are essential two options around for increasing the storage of your sky box.

Standard Sky+HD boxes come with a 300GB disc,  but 160GB is effectively dead weight as it’s used for Sky Anytime content, leaving you with a mere 140GB.

The first option is to try and use the eSATA connection on the back of the box. There has been some reported successes, but the port on the back of the Sky+HD box is reportedly only for “future features” and possibly only supports Anytime functionality.

The other option is to crack open the box and fit a larger SATA disc inside.   Clearly this invalidates your warranty on the box,  and you should attempt this at your own risk. If you screw it up, you only have yourself to blame.  However,  there are a number of recorded successes in this DIY approach.  All you will need is a Philips screw driver,  a suitable replacement drive of your choice (check for differences between Pace and Thompson drives), a couple of knives for prising open the box, and and make sure you have grounded yourself before opening the box.  You’ll also need a lot of patience.

You may also find an unexpected benefit of changing the disk of your Sky+HD box is it’s a lot quieter than the old disk.

Have you successfully upgraded your Sky+HD box?

Visit here to upgrade Pace Sky+HD hard disk to get extra storage.

Visit here to upgrade Thompson Sky+HD hard disk to get extra storage.