Thanks again for all your helpful comments. I had another look at the PVR this morning. The power lead looks oddly worn - could that have burnt out? There also seemed to be, apologies for the poor description, dried yellow gloop in various places - is that's something that's melted or was it there already? I don't think that the hard drive works any more, either.
I did consider selling it on eBay but the 9200t only seems to sell for £20-£35 - and that's if it's working. A faulty one currently visible in Completed Listings went for £1.20 (plus £10 postage)! So I was thinking it has to go in the electricals recycling, though I could probably auction the remote on its own - someone might want that.
