WD5000AAKB in Amstrad PVR3 DRX280 working perfect except fan

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WD5000AAKB in Amstrad PVR3 DRX280 working perfect except fan

Postby davepusey » Fri Dec 11, 2009 12:43 pm

Just upgraded my Amstrad PVR3 DRX280 with a Western Digital WD5000AAKB and everything seems to be working perfectly.

The only exception is the fan, which turns on and off every few minutes, even in standby. The box itself is not hot, so I suspect this is just a fan controller issue. Looks like I will have to get one of these... http://skyplusfancontroller.com/buyacontroller2.aspx

The only problem i had using Copy+ was that under Windows 7 Pro it kept getting Access Denied error when it tried to "Lock and dismount source drive". Rebooted into XP Pro at it worked fine.

The disk was 97% full and took about 45mins to copy - both disks on the same IDE channel.
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Re: WD5000AAKB in Amstrad PVR3 DRX280 working perfect except fan

Postby pcbbc » Mon Dec 14, 2009 12:55 am

davepusey wrote:The only exception is the fan, which turns on and off every few minutes, even in standby. The box itself is not hot, so I suspect this is just a fan controller issue. Looks like I will have to get one of these... http://skyplusfancontroller.com/buyacontroller2.aspx
Unfortunately this is a common problem with certain boxes and drives. The fan controller is a good option if you can not live with it.

The only problem i had using Copy+ was that under Windows 7 Pro it kept getting Access Denied error when it tried to "Lock and dismount source drive". Rebooted into XP Pro at it worked fine.
I hope this issue is fixed with the current 1.2.0.5 Beta :)

The disk was 97% full and took about 45mins to copy - both disks on the same IDE channel.
Excellent - good luck with your new drive!
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Re: WD5000AAKB in Amstrad PVR3 DRX280 working perfect except fan

Postby DBMandrake » Tue Mar 09, 2010 11:30 am

davepusey wrote:Just upgraded my Amstrad PVR3 DRX280 with a Western Digital WD5000AAKB and everything seems to be working perfectly.

The only exception is the fan, which turns on and off every few minutes, even in standby. The box itself is not hot, so I suspect this is just a fan controller issue. Looks like I will have to get one of these... http://skyplusfancontroller.com/buyacontroller2.aspx

Are you sure it's actually going into standby ? I've just attempted the exact same upgrade (same hard drive, same Amstrad box) and had to revert to the original drive - as well as the fan running flat out all the time it's on (full 12v applied to the fan) the box will not sit in standby - if I put it in standby about 2 minutes later it powers up again on the default channel 998, so I can't turn it off :(

See my post here:

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=646&p=2908#p2908

Any ideas ? For the moment I'm stuck with the original drive.
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Re: WD5000AAKB in Amstrad PVR3 DRX280 working perfect except fan

Postby tiotop4choice » Thu Mar 11, 2010 2:56 pm

As a non-techie but comforted by the very useful threads and advice on this forum I decided to take the plunge and made the same HDD upgrade as recommended this weekend.

Copy+ ran like a dream and I had the immediate storage boost but unfortunately I am experiencing similar problems with fan performance - it is permanently working overtime making an awful din where no existed before and periodically shuts itself off and puts the box in standby mode - normally during the night in the middle of a recording with a resulting failed status on the planner.

I have now ordered the fan controller as previously mentioned and crossing my fingers that it will solve the issue although it seems a false economy to fork out £33 for a controller when I got the HD for just £40 on-line. But if it fixes the problem and saves me face with the wifey who is looking increasingly perplexed with my DIY efforts it will be money well spent.

I had been looking to purchase an upgrade pack from:
http://www.xtendedplay.co.uk/skyskyhd-d ... -3_20.html
but they have been permanently out of stock recently and do not reply to my e-mail enquiries.

There are kits available on Ebay for almost £100 but I am not convinced that they contain more than the basic £40 HD bundled with the free advice available on-line.

I will install the fan controller this weekend and post the results.
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Re: WD5000AAKB in Amstrad PVR3 DRX280 working perfect except fan

Postby tiotop4choice » Tue Mar 16, 2010 2:37 pm

Fan controller installed easily and fixed the fan issue but made the box switching off far more frequent so I have reverted to old drive and given up on the whole exercise until someone can recommend a fully compatible hard drive without any of the annoying side effects.
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Re: WD5000AAKB in Amstrad PVR3 DRX280 working perfect except fan

Postby DBMandrake » Tue Mar 16, 2010 2:57 pm

Sorry to hear that. I too have given up on the Western Digital WD5000AAKB in the Amstrad DRX280 - it doesn't seem to be compatible and causes the box to repeatedly crash while in standby. (Good luck expecting timed recordings to work with the box on standby in this state)

I think I've found a source of supply of the (out of production) Seagate ST3500830ACE - which is the 500GB version of the DB35.3 Series drives that the original ST3160215ACE belongs to - in theory it should be 100% compatible, as they are the same model group of drives just different capacities, and the Amstrad Box is known to work with capacities up to 500GB.

I ordered it on Friday and got an order confirmation email but have not yet received a shipping confirmation or been charged - they claim to have them in stock, but we'll see...could just be an out of date listing. Will advise the forum of the outcome.

Here are all the drives in the DB35.3 series - if any of these can be found, they should in theory work 100%.

ST3160215ACE - 160GB (original drive)
ST3250820ACE - 250GB (2.1x recording time)
ST3320820ACE - 320GB (3x recording time)
ST3400820ACE - 400GB (4x recording time)
ST3500830ACE - 500GB (5.25x recording time)

I've seen a couple of other suppliers who have 2 or 3 stock left of the 250GB version but I didn't think it was a worthwhile bump in capacity, (when the original drive is still working) giving only twice the recording time when Anytime's 80GB storage is taken into account.
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Re: WD5000AAKB in Amstrad PVR3 DRX280 working perfect except fan

Postby tiotop4choice » Tue Mar 16, 2010 5:03 pm

That is very interesting; please update us on if the drive arrives and works successfully.
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Re: WD5000AAKB in Amstrad PVR3 DRX280 working perfect except fan

Postby Fradbut » Fri Apr 23, 2010 3:55 pm

Hi Folks,

I've tried the same upgrade to my Amstrad PVR3 DRX280 with the same drive - WD5000AAKB but have a different problem. The Copy+ worked great. I did get an error come up during the start of copying but I ignored it (can't remember the message - at my own peril). The new drive booted up fine in the digibox and worked great but when I put it on standby it took 3-4 mins and then to switch back onto full power it again took 3-4 mins. On pressing power on nothing happened or whirred during the 3-4 mins. Any ideas on what it could be ?
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Re: WD5000AAKB in Amstrad PVR3 DRX280 working perfect except fan

Postby DBMandrake » Fri Apr 23, 2010 4:12 pm

Yes,

Exact same problem I describe above - the drive is not compatible, and although it appears to work when the device is running, as soon as you put the Sky+ to sleep (turn it "off" from the remote) the box will crash and reboot, getting stuck in an infinite loop of rebooting itself. The reason it wont turn on for several minutes is because it is part way through rebooting.

Sorry but this drive is NOT compatible with this model Sky+ box, I suggest you cut your losses and give up on trying to get this particular model drive working in it.
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Re: WD5000AAKB in Amstrad PVR3 DRX280 working perfect except fan

Postby Fradbut » Fri Apr 23, 2010 4:59 pm

Blimey you got back quick - Thanks - The drive seems to work fine when the digibox does turn on after 3-4 mins but to get the box from standby to on has this time delay. Do you think its anything to do with the sky software needs updating ? or do you think its a hardware problem ?
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Re: WD5000AAKB in Amstrad PVR3 DRX280 working perfect except fan

Postby DBMandrake » Mon Apr 26, 2010 8:20 am

The "time delay" as you put it is due to the fact the box is crashing and rebooting all the time, and it will not respond to the remote while it is in the process of rebooting.

I have the latest software on my Sky+ box and it still doesn't work properly, so it's not a version issue. No I don't think it's a hardware problem, it is a compatibility issue. You have to remember that the Sky+ box is not a generic PC, and the operating system was only written and tested to support ONE model of drive, there are no guarantees that it will work on other models of drive let alone other brands - there is obviously something about the western digital command set or timings that is incompatible. Sorry, but I think you're beating a dead horse with this one...
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Re: WD5000AAKB in Amstrad PVR3 DRX280 working perfect except

Postby davepusey » Sun Jan 30, 2011 2:56 pm

Sorry to be so later, but after a couple of weeks (Jan 2010) of doing my upgrade i had to revert it to the original drive. Too many recordings were failing for it to be acceptable.
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