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How to fix the system fault yourself
How to fix the system fault yourself
UPDATE - The Sky engineer talked me through how he fixed the system fault, and said if it happens again I can try this myself. Interestingly, when I explained what I'd read online about the problem, he said "that sounds about right" and that they see the problem a fair bit. (NOTE - according to this site's stats, hundreds of disgruntled Sky customers find this site each day by searching Google for this problem, so you're nto alone)
WARNING - following this advice is totally at your discretion and anything which happens to your digibox as a result is your responsibility, not mine. You will lose all recorded programmes from your Sky+ Planner.
Firstly, call Sky* tech support and they will talk you through performing a system restore over the phone.
If the problem persists, unplug the digibox from the mains power. Press and hold the 'left' and 'right' navigation buttons on the front of the digibox whilst you plug it back into the mains. Continue holding the buttons in for about 20 seconds, and when the ring of light on the front comes on, press the 'select' button on the front of the digibox (between the left and right buttons you were holding). The Sky+ recording logo lights will spin backwards and, according to the Sky engineer, this will "clear the hard drive".
Once this is done, unplug the digibox from the mains power again and this time press and hold the 'back up' button whilst you plug it back into the mains power.