Then you are very lucky, just read other peoples posts whom have switched it off then tell us its not the solution

But why wouldn't you switch it off anyway?

SONY have already stated that there will be no more over the air upgrades so updates set to ON serves little or no purpose.

But perhaps more importantly with it set to ON it leaves you open to the possibility of the machine trying to download an upgrade being sent for another manufactures product either because the download is incorrect or because the HXD believes the update is for itself.

Would you connect to the WWW without a "firewall"?

Ummm yes.... there's millions of computers connected full-time or part-time to the internet without firewalls without any harm coming to them.

As anyone with an iota of technical knowledge knows, the majority of attacks come via email, which stupid people open and execute.

Only PCs with active server services are at risk. (Unless you're still using XP vanilla with no updates)

All I was trying to say was that just because some people who have switched off updates have had no further lock-ups does not prove that this was the solution. You would have to provide a 'control' group of people who did not switch off updates (like myself) continued to suffer lockups (which I did not).

Mine has just started locking up again over the last few days so I've done another channel scan.

Being as some of the channels are now in a different place I'm hoping that's it for another few months.

Sorry about this no-info posting but I just wanted to keep this thread alive for all the 710 / 910 owners out there.

Regards to all and hope you're free of lock-ups. I have been now for more than 6 months after switching off automatic updates. Thanks to those in this thread who offered help and advice, and turned a problematic device into a very good, reliable one.
tallboy.

I have also been free for ages but then again my 710 is now mainly gathering dust since I got Sky+ ... shame really.

I've also been free of lock ups for months ............but that's because my 710 is under the bed upstairs ........and I've bought a Panasonic........ completely reliable and half the price.

Anybody know what I could do to try and recoup the approx 400 quid I spent on the load of old scrap under the bed?

Regards and may your lives be lock up free - thank god I've moved on.

Sony won't be getting anymore of my money

I've been free of lockups, I use the machine solely for recording and archiving programmes to DVD.

I did have a problem when the machine was about 14 months old, the hard drive failed and I didn't want to spend another £100 on Sony repairing it. I replaced the hard drive myself for about £30 after finding 'how to do it' within these forums.

I then went and fell foul of the automatic update over the air problem - I rang Sony and complained, they collected and returned the unit within a few days with the latest firmware on it - and since then I have not had a problem

(I hope I don't regret this post)

Had my 710 for a good few years now - Only started freezing this year (2008). Found this forum yesterday!! Switched off the auto-update last night... will see what happens.

I thought the freezing might be because my HD is Soooo full. I know my computer doesn't function well when the HD is rammed with stuff. FYI about 6GB available.

I had the same response as others from the might SONY, 'No sir we've never heard of a problem like that before!'. Where do I get a Firmware update then? 'You should take your 710 to a SONY dealer...

BAD SONY! Still, read this forum with interest and have taken a few pointers. Tho to save me trawling every single page, where might I find info on formatting the HD without losing the BOOT sector software (or is this stored on a chip?)

Save for the occasional recording overrun, which I've always blamed on the network rather than the machine (no idea if that's right), I've always been pretty happy with my 710.

I've never really experienced lockups to the extent some users do, but then again, I never really record anything from five or its related channels.

I'd have to say that I've always been satisfied with the quality of the machine's recaording and output. I did have a slight issue with DVD sound playback for a while, but I resolved it by reading the manual and playing with the sound settings. I think that there was a thread about it at some stage.

My only real gripe is that the machine is occasionally a little bit slow in responding to the remote control.

Sony's support for the product has been pretty poor to say the least, but I'm still buying Sony because the quality of the product remains (in my opinion) superior to other brands.

Mine has been freeze free for quite a while now.

I found that if the EPG contains a channel that no longer exists or even if the name has changed then this can cause the lockups.

Everytime I spot this I use the option to totally rescan all the channels and this seems to do it for me.

The last major issue I had was when the EPG had "ABC" in it's memory but the channel had gone.

The other issue that bugs me occasionally is when the 04:00 fan spin up fails to stop at 04:09 and goes on until 07:00. I wonder why it does that, and what it's doing as I have turned off OTA updates ?

I just use the 10 second reset procedure and it's back to it's 10 minute 04:00 fire up.

Any idea on the 2nd hand value of the 710 machine ?

Probably not much. I'd have a hunt on ebay and see if people are selling them and how much they are getting for them.


I have always wondered about this. Mine seems to be active for quite a long time, but I'm not usually up at 4am to notice. I may try updating the channel list and restting to see if that makes any difference.

Probably not a lot with HDTV being the big thing now.

Mines been lock-up free for a good while now and is worth more to me than a cheap sale on E-bay. There's always gonna be room in our household for a second PVR even post HD when that finally becomes mainstream.

Hi all, I have found eBay very expensive for sky + boxes and would not recommend buying any second hand electrical goods in this field. My 910 has not locked up for ages now and I am still on the original version software, no upgrades. I will be keeping my Sony PVR when I change to HD and transfer my 910 to another TV.
John

Got shot of lockups in Feb 2008 by turning off updates. Power failure last week and loadsa lockups. Found that auto updates was back on. Switched updates off an expect to loose lockups again.
It works for me.