How To Replace/Upgrade Your 4K Freesat Box Hard Drive (Fix Problems)

[@TheApacheKing]

I've been made aware that formatting your hard drive on your PC might not always be a good idea. If you're having problems with your hard drive, try deleting the partitions on it using your computer but don't format the hard drive. You might need to format it or you might not so be sure to try both methods if you're having problems. Thanks to @jcorchards for making me aware of this 😊.

[@ltaylor3281]

This is the best video of how to do this, I now have a new hard drive that works, many thanks.

[@TheApacheKing]

I'm glad it helped and thanks very much for your nice comment 😊

[@SimonStokes]

Thanks for this - any idea if you can drop a HDD into a non-recordable unit, to upgrade it? Is the cable included inside?

[@TheApacheKing]

I haven't had hands on with a non-recordable unit but would like to at some point. I highly doubt the cable is included though. I think all of these boxes use the same motherboard as the non-recordable unit has 2 satellite ports when it only needs and uses 1. If I'm honest, these boxes seem quite cheaply made so it wouldn't surprise me if they are the same inside. The edges are sharp as well which is another sign they are cheaply made which is unfortunate. Back to your question though, if you can get a hard drive cable that fits these boxes from somewhere, you may be able to use a hard drive with your box. The recordable box cases are bigger though so you'd have to leave the lid off of yours and have the hard drive dangling out, which isn't ideal. I intend on making a video on something similar to this if/when I pick up a non-recordable box. The video would be about whether or not you can fix a recordable box by using the non-recordable motherboard as a cheaper way of fixing it. Or if you can convert a non-recordable into a recordable such as in your case. I'm waiting to try and get a faulty non-recordable one as I don't want to spend much on one since I already have a recordable one. Anyway, sorry for the long comment and for not being more help. If your box is out of warranty, you could open it up and see if it has the hard drive connectors on the motherboard. If it does, it's very likely you can use a hard drive with your box. TLDR: You can convert a recordable box to a non-recordable one if the hard drive fails or if you remove it, so I don't see why you can't convert a non-recordable box to a recordable one if you have the cable and the motherboard has the connections.

[@mkjustuk]

Awesome, not sure why they don't put at least format in brackets for the delete recording option. Great vid!

[@TheApacheKing]

They should do really but I suppose they're trying to be as user-friendly as possible so everyone understands. There's other things they do should with these boxes but they don't for some reason, I won't get into that though haha 😅

[@joshuahunter632]

Hi, have you got a link for the hard drive?

[@TheApacheKing]

This is it: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B082LWP1MQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I recommend finding an equivalent though as this drive has doubled in price for some reason. I thought it was discontinued because it wasn't available for a while but is now back and yeah, very expensive. WD's Blue drives are good too and you probably won't notice much difference in speed. It can be found here: www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Digital-Blue-2-5-Inch-Drive/dp/B071F9MLJJ?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1 That too has gone up in price as well. You could also get a HDD from CEX or somewhere used. I say CEX because they seem to sell them very cheap.

[@firsteerr]

Are you using a standard data HDD ? One you would use in a pc for instance ?

[@TheApacheKing]

Yeah, a standard 2.5" hard drive for laptops. It's a faster than average one though at 7200rpm. You can use a slower one but I didn't like how slow my Freesat box was with the original drive so I got a fast one, which does seem to make the box faster.

[@firsteerr]

@@TheApacheKing thanks very much i have a 500g and would like more recording space as im lazy at watching my recordings and yes it is a bit slow in this modern age of 1tb fibre

[@red24hours]

Thanks for sharing this video. I'd like to purchase 1TB Western Digital Hard Drive. Could you kindly send the link where could I purchase Thanks

[@TheApacheKing]

I don't think Western Digital make these anymore which is unfortunate as it's a fast one. I can't find it on their website and because it's now rare, sellers are selling it way overpriced. Seagate do 7200rpm 2.5" hard drives though if you don't mind using a different brand. I personally have had 2 Seagates break but other people say they're very good and recommend them. You might also find the HDD I have from places like CEX. Here is the listing for my HDD though, but I don't recommend paying anymore than £50 for it. www.amazon.co.uk/WD_BLACK-Performance-Mobile-Internal-Drive/dp/B082LWP1MQ/ref=pd_ybh_a_d_sccl_2/259-1144129-2463505?pd_rd_w=YlrZr&content-id=amzn1.sym.8376088b-0f61-403e-bc7e-9463f4fe112d&pf_rd_p=8376088b-0f61-403e-bc7e-9463f4fe112d&pf_rd_r=9QKT4D2YNVDVB8CZ98RF&pd_rd_wg=9Wi1H&pd_rd_r=421096e0-4259-4ce9-8a60-41769c0e0796&pd_rd_i=B082LWP1MQ&psc=1 Alternative HDD's: www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=7200rpm+hdd+2.5%22&ref=nb_sb_noss

[@red24hours]

Much appreciated for your information. It is a bit pricey. I was hoping for under 40 pounds

[@TheApacheKing]

Any hard drive will be fine, it's just that the average one might seem slower than the one I have. CEX usually sell hard drives cheap so you could get one from them. They might even sell a fast one 👍

[@LynnFarndon-we6ct]

Thank you

[@jcorchards]

Hi, thanks for the video, I was getting a mesaage saying there was a problem with my hard drive and the only option I had was to reboot, I couldn't even get channels to come on, I have followed your instructions and replaced the hard drive with a used one I had, I'm still getting the same issue, if I goto settings it says HDD failure but when I formatted etc on pc all was OK, have you any ideas

[@TheApacheKing]

You could try checking the drive for errors on your PC by going to 'This PC', then right-clicking on the hard drive, going to 'Properties' and under the 'Tools' tab, click on "Check". Have you tried formatting the drive on your Freesat box or only on PC? You could try formatting it on your Freesat box if you haven't. You could also try resetting your Freesat box but I recommend seeing what Freesat themselves say first before doing that, they may have a better option. I'm not sure what else to suggest I'm afraid, apart from trying another hard drive if you can. If you haven't tried my troubleshooting at the end of the video, you could try deleting any partitions on the drive and then go along with the process to format it to your PC again, and then format it to your Freesat box.

[@jcorchards]

Thanks for the reply, I did all of the above, and got it working again, what I did in the end was delete the volume on a pc but then not format on the pc but put it into the arris box, and let that format the drive, all was working spot on until I turned it off last night, then this morning it's back to the same problem, I did put the original hard drive in thought as both the old and replacement I had were fine for errors etc on the pc.

[@TheApacheKing]

That could be a sign that it's on its way out if it works one minute and then doesn't the next. It's possible both of yours are on their way out, or these Freesat boxes are fussy and conditions have to be a certain way with a certain drive at a certain drive health, etc. If you still have the issue, you could try getting another used hard drive from CEX or somewhere similar that offer a warranty. At least if you still have the issue, you can take the drive back and then contact Freesat. I'm not sponsored by CEX, I just suggested them because their hard drives are cheap and they offer a 2 year warranty.

[@jcorchards]

I'll have a go with my replacement drive tonight it's only a quick job now I know how, I'll report back, if I'm getting the same issue I'll try buying a cheap drive like you say from Cex.

[@jcorchards]

Hi, spare drive now in freesat box and working OK again, same again I plugged it into pc first and deleted the partition just left it as unallocated space. What's weird though my pc doesn't think there's anything wrong with the drive I've taken out. Fingers crossed it still works tomorrow and it's been in standby a while again. Thanks for your help 👍

[@LynnFarndon]

I can only find this model on Amazon that delivers to Spain - WD Black - ... High-performance desktop hard drive de 500 GB (7200 rpm, SATA a 6 Gb/s, 32 MB de caché, 2.5") Would it be a suitable replacement. Thank you in advance

[@TheApacheKing]

Yeah, that seems to be the 500GB model of the one I bought. It'll work fine and you should get a speed increase using it over the one that came with your Freesat box.

[@liambreakspear1235]

I have done ssd swap on mine and now keep getting overheating message..but running temperature is unchanged. ?? Any advise.

[@TheApacheKing]

I don't think these support SSDs. They probably didn't implement an error code or screen for when people do this because they'd rather you didn't. I've heard other people say they use an SSD and it works but I couldn't get mine working.

[@liambreakspear1235]

​@TheApacheKing it works but every 20 minutes overheats at 128c I guess the power draw is to much for the box and the cooling components.

[@TheApacheKing]

SSDs use less power than regular HDDs so I don't know what causes the overheating. SSDs work differently and it seems like Freesat didn't implement compatibility for SSDs so I suppose it's just getting confused. Or maybe there's too many data streams for the SSD to handle. When you watch live TV, the Freesat box is basically recording in the background constantly so maybe all this recording and stuff is too much for it. Anyway, I recommend using regular HDDs because SSDs don't seem to work very well.

[@pdmageer]

Price of hard drive of 1tb ?

[@TheApacheKing]

Depends which one you get. If you get a used one, it'll be a lot cheaper than a brand new one. Price varies depending on speed, size and brand.

[@sharonruffy2538]

I did the reformat, then upon loading up it said it wasn't working and needed a reboot again, then it said repairing hard drive...it rebooted and the disk is working again, so new hdd isn't always required!!

[@TheApacheKing]

That's good you got your HDD working again. But usually when these Freesat boxes come up with that message, it means the hard drive is failing or has failed. Yours may still last a while but I'd prepare for a full on failure in your situation. If yours does fail, you can use a used HDD to save a lot of money. You don't have to use a brand new one. Yours might stay fine though and you won't need to replace it👍

[@ronaldchik.s.c1003]

Does anyone know if I could use a non-recordable 4k Freesat box and plug-in a hard drive to do the recording please?

[@TheApacheKing]

I haven't been able to test this yet but you could sell your box and use the money towards a recordable one. You can get them cheaper on eBay.

[@TheApacheKing]

I've ordered a non-recordable box so I'll let you know if I'm able to get it to record. If I can, I'll probably make a video on it as well.

[@Mountain_DewdX7]

Will this let me play fortnite in 720p

[@TheApacheKing]

Ofc. You'll have to enable it in the settings though. By default, the resolution is 480p for some reason.

[@Mountain_DewdX7]

@@TheApacheKing I tried that but all i got was a warning that my account would be banned if I did not win a watch using a sky remote instead of controller

[@Mountain_DewdX7]

Update: just won a match using the sky remote and it overheated so I will have to ask Greggs to repair my Freesat.

[@TheApacheKing]

Oh, bad luck. I was going to suggest using a Sky Digibox remote, they prevent overheating. Or use a Sky+ remote which prevents overheating as well but has the added benefit of being able to use cheats. I used it to get passed the Level 5 boss, used infinite health and gave myself 1 coin which I spent on My Little Pony Minecraft skin. Hope this helps 👍

[@Mountain_DewdX7]

It's ok, after getting through to Jim Ryan at Sony he sent me a fax on behalf of Cadburys detailing a workaround. I just have to do a 80hr live stream on eBay of me playing Freesat and I'll win a cheeseburger happy meal and a 8k OLED Freesat 👍