How To Upgrade Hard Drive For Ps4 Slim
- To begin, turn off your PS4 Slim, unplug it, and place it, facing away from you, on a table or other flat surface.
- On the right side, you should see an L-shaped plastic piece that covers the PS4’s back right corner.
- Slide it to the right to remove it, revealing the hard disc drive. Pull on it to remove it.
- The hard drive is held in the mounting bracket by four screws which you will need to remove with the screwdriver.
- Take out the old hard drive and replace it with the new one, and replace the screws.
- Put the hard drive back in the console and replace the L-shaped plastic piece.
Choosing The Right Ps4 Internal Hard Drive Replacement
Many PS4 users keep asking about the best hard drive upgrade for PS4, not knowing how to pick the right one. In fact, the answer to that question is not the same for everyone. As depending on several factors concerning your personal situation, the best hard drive for PS4 is determined.
For instance, if youre just a lightweight/mediocre player, not an enthusiast, you better get a good drive only. Leave the extreme power for power users. You can get an external hard drive instead for PS4 if the consoles performance pleases you.
As for enthusiasts who play graphics-intense, resource-demanding games, the most powerful drive suits them better. They even get a powerful external hard drive for their PS4 alongside an internal hard drive upgrade.
You can learn more about all aspects you need in this regard before making up your mind on a specific drive in the above list. Just choose the drive you feel it best suits your needs, and remember to make reliability a priority.
Why Upgrade Ps4 Hard Drive
Many PS4 users ask the question: should I upgrade PS4 hard drive in the first place? Is not just getting an external hard drive, or even external SSD for PS4 a much better option?
From an expert technical perspective, the answer is YES, you have to upgrade the PS4 internal HDD. The reasons for that answer vary from a user to another, but the main reason that everyone agrees on is that the stock hard drive of PS4 is just a piece of garbage. Not only that its small and doesnt offer enough storage capacity to a wide variety of users, but also its an outdated slow drive that will start generating errors after months of hours of regular daily use.
The only one that doesnt need to upgrade the PS4 HDD is the casual/lightweight user that doesnt play much, or doesnt have graphics-intense games to play for a long time. But even such a user may need to upgrade in order to avoid potential errors that may occur with that old hard drive.
So, what about getting an external HDD/SSD instead? is not that a good option?
Well, if youre serious about improving PS4 performance and enhancing your gaming experience, upgrading PS4 internal HDD is inevitable.
As for getting an external hard drive for PS4, mostly youll only gain additional storage space, thats all. Furthermore, you can read this quick comparison between PS4 external HDD vs internal to find out the pros and cons of each option.
You May Like: Making A Playstation Network Account
How To Upgrade Your Playstation 4 Hard Drive At Home Safely
While this does involve cracking open your PS4, Sony has its own official guide on the subject, so this has the companys implicit seal of approval. Installing an aftermarket hard drive in your PS4 specifically doesnt void your warranty, and the part of this where you actually yank out and replace hardware has been made as easy and painless a process as possible. Its not without its weird quirks, but its about as simple as you could hope for.
Heres what youll need before you start:
- A PlayStation 4, with a controller and a TV to hook it up to
- A compatible replacement hard drive: an internal SATA II drive thats 2.5 inches thick
- A nearby computer with a free USB slot and Internet access
- An external storage device
- A flash drive with at least 1 GB of space
- A Phillips-head precision screwdriver
Notably, if youre trying to use any external drives you already own for the purpose of backing up your saved games and other local files, the PS4 isnt compatible with NTFS file systems. In other words, if your backup drive is already formatted to work with Windows 10, your PS4 cant read it. Youre better off picking up a cheap 32+GB flash drive for the purposes of backing up your local files, as most of them come formatted for FAT32. Youll also want a second flash drive with at least 1 GB of free space for reinstalling your PS4s system software. Once youve got everything you need and youre ready to start, hook your PS4 up to the TV to start the file backup process.
Swapping Your Playstation’s Drive
As with any hard drive swap, adding an empty disk into a platform means reinstalling your operating system. Before you begin that process, though, you may want to back up your saved games or make sure they’re synced to PSN Plus. Your favorite titles naturally need to be reinstalled as well, and you can do that from discs or PSN. Sony doesnt limit the number of times you can grab a game from its network, fortunately.
Make sure you have a USB-based flash drive, to which you’ll copy the operating system install file. Sony simply grab it and make sure it’s in the directory PS4/Update/. Also, take note of the operating system version you’re running, since Sony won’t let you revert to a previous build.
The console maker posts two software update packages, including a full install that weighs in around 880 MB and a smaller update in the 315 MB range. You want the bigger file for a complete installation.
The physical drive swap is easy. All you need is a small Phillips screwdriver. Sony hides the PlayStation’s hard drive under the glossy black accent cover, which slides off with minimal effort. Once you remove it, there’s one screw that secures the drive cage. Kudos to Sony for adding the square, circle, triangle, and rectangle controller pattern on the screw.
- 1
Read Also: How To Link Your Ea Account To Ps4
How To Replace Or Upgrade Your Hard Drive On Ps4
Materials:
- USB Flash Drive
- 2.5 inch serial ATA hard disc drive
Directions:
1. Go to playstation.com, and find the most recent system software. The current page for this is here: or here: . Scroll down and look for this section:
Download the 700-800 MB system recovery/new install software. The most recent download is this one, if you’re having trouble finding it on your own.
2. Test your USB drive with your PS4 first. Make sure it plugs snugly into one of the USB ports on your PS4 — some drives are too fat and can’t be inserted all the way. If your drive works, move on to the next step.
3. Plug your USB drive into your computer. You can use a PC or a Mac, but you have to make sure the USB flash drive is formatted as FAT or FAT32 to avoid issues. Most flash drives come preformatted and should be ready to go, but if you want to be sure note that erasing and formatting your drive only takes a few seconds and the system may return an error with other formats. On a PC, right-click the drive and select Format from the menu. On Mac, use Disk Utility and erase and reformat using MS DOS and Master Boot Record scheme.
3. Create a folder titled PS4 on the flash drive. Create another folder titled UPDATE within that PS4 folder.
7. Remove the left side of the PS4 case by simply depressing it and sliding it to the side, as shown.
That’s it! Congrats.
Why Trust Our Journalism
Founded in 2004, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have 9 million users a month around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors code of practice to underpin these standards.
Also Check: Ps Move Calibration Mat
Your New Hard Drive Is Better Protected
Unlike an external hard drive, your PS4’s internal hard drive is better protected because it’s located inside your PS4.
This sounds obvious, but as long as your PS4which you’ve likely kept in a safe placeis in a danger-free zone, so is its internal hard drive.
An external hard drive, however, can undergo damage even if your PS4 is safe. For starters, you could drop it or something on it, spill water on it, or damage the wires. Not to mention, if you disconnect your PS4’s external hard drive incorrectly, you risk corrupting your game data.
Related: Ways to Safely Disconnect Your PS4’s External Storage Device
Replace The Ps4 Hard Drive
The hard drive is secured to the console by a single screw bearing the symbols found on the PlayStation controller. Remove the screw with your Phillips head screwdriver, but don’t lose it.
You should now be able to remove the hard drive by pulling on it. The actual hard drive casing is held together by two or four screws, which you should unscrew and set aside. Take out the old hard drive and insert the new one without touching the bottom of either drive to avoid damaging them. Make sure the metal pins are facing inward, and close the casing by re-securing the screws.
Don’t Miss: How Many Bookshelves For Max Enchant
Procedure 4 Install The Ps4 System Software On The New Hard Drive
Hard disks installed in PS4 need to be recognized and reformatted by PS4 itself. Then, you need to install the newest PS4 system update software.
Step 1. Visit the PS4 System Software Update page. Follow the instructions to download and install the update on a USB or an external device.
Step 2. Install the software, enter PS 4 Safe Mode by pressing and holding the Power button until you hear the second beep.
Step 3. Select “Initialize PS4 “, and press the “X” button.
Step 4. Plug the external storage device with the system update into a PS4 USB port. Click “OK” and press the “X” button.
Step 5. Choose “Next” and press the “X” button. The update file is copied to the PS4.
Step 6. Once the copy is complete, read the System Software License Agreement, select “Accept”, and press the “X” button. The system software is now installing onto the PS4.
Step 7. After the update is completed, the PS4 will restart. Then, press the PlayStation button on your controller and log in with your user profile.
Step 8. Sign in with your existing account on PSN or create a new one.
Step 9. Verify the system version by going to the “Settings > System > System Information” screen. Your system is now updated.
Preparations To Ps4 Hard Drive Upgrade
Before you are going to upgrade PS4 hard drive to a bigger one, figure out what you need.
- PS4 full-size system
- A computer connected to the Internet
- External storage device with at least 1GB of free space
- Officially supported replacement hard drive. Only the 2.5-inch internal type * and Serial ATA internal hard drives are officially supported with the PS4 system.
If you prefer to manually change the PS4 hard drive on your own without any clone or backup software, you may follow the below tips to do the PS4 hard drive replace work:
You May Like: Dark Souls Ps Now
Best Hard Drive For Ps4
Seagate FireCuda Gaming SSHD 2TB
If you want the best hard drive option for your PS4 right now, then you should seek out an SSHD. These drives combine platter-based storage with smaller, faster portions of flash memory, and they learn which files you use frequently and move them to the faster flash storage so they can be loaded faster. If you play the same games frequently, youll see a performance improvement.
The 2TB capacity means that youll get loads of extra space even if the games you install dont benefit from the flash memory portion of the drive, and itll certainly never be slower than the PS4s internal drives. Its not particularly expensive, either.
Ps4 6tb Hard Drive Upgrade
No PS4 fanboy would want to go for 6tb hard drive unless they have very exceptional needs and high storage requirements. Like you need it for storing heavyweight movie files, or, for some reasons, you want to install huge heaps of applications and games, then 6tb of storage space can meet your needs.
Just like the case with all capacities larger than 2tb, upgrading the internal hard drive of PS4 to 6tb requires that Data Bank add-on alongside a 3.5-inch desktop hard drive, which might be nuisance to some users who look for an easy and fast method.
There are also other PS4 HDD upgrade methods you might want to learn to see which one suits your needs the most. Please visit this article and learn about the different PS4 HDD upgrade methods and the pros and cons of each.
Adding 6tb of Extended Storage
Note that if storage is your main concern, and the performance improvement is marginal, try to connect a 6tb external hard drive to your PS4 instead of the internal hard drive replacement. This is the easiest and fastest way to expand PS4 system storage limit. But it might not come without troubles to some users. Thats because a 6tb external hard drive only comes as stationary drive , and it might trouble you with its large size and electrical requirement.
Read Also: How Many Bookshelves For An Enchanting Table
Procedure 2 Remove The Old Ps4 Internal Hard Drive
Step 1. Power off PS4 and unplug the AC power cord, and then disconnect the other cables from the system.
Step 2. Place both of your hands on top of the hard drive cover and slide it to the left. Lift the right side first when lifting and removing the cover.
Step 3. Remove the screw and pull the internal hard drive toward the front of the system to remove it
Step 4. Remove the four screws with a Phillips screwdriver from the sides of the hard drive case.
Using An External Drive For Ps4
If you want something more convenient , an external drive requires significantly less work, and you can still get faster load times with an external SSD. There are two kinds of external drives: portable and desktop . Virtually all portable hard drives work with all PS4 models, and if you want the added storage that comes with a desktop drive, many are compatible with PS4 as well. We’ve included a few recommendations here from popular brands like Seagate and Western Digital.
Also Check: Pull Ips On Ps4
Which Plate Would It Be A Good Idea For Me To Get
Before you begin supplanting your standard PS4 hard drive, you will require another one to supplant it. You have three primary choices:
- Hard plate drives are the customary alternative, and your PS4 presently has. It is the slowest of the three choices, yet additionally the least expensive per gigabyte.
- Strong state drives have no moving parts and utilize streak memory to store information, making them unquestionably quick. The primary disservice is their expense.
- Solid-State Hybrid Disks are a mix of the two. You can get speed helps and more space at no additional expense, similar to this $ 85 1TB SSHD.
The hard drive is perhaps the main piece of your game control center. All things considered, it is on it that every one of your information is put away from your record to games and saves to them. Any screen captures and recordings that you record on your control center stay there as well. We are certain that a couple of might want to one day be without all the collected advancement save games, games themselves, and different records.
When do you have to supplant a hard drive?
- The STB cant refresh the product and start the update.
- Brakes begin to show up in games, the image vanishes
- Tosses out of the game with a product mistake, the control center restarts
- An engraving shows up on the screen expressing that the set-top box cant discover the framework drive
- The set-top box doesnt turn on, a thump is heard in the space of the hard plate.
One: Find The Right Replacement
The first thing to do is to buy your replacement hard drive or SSD. The PS4 uses a 2.5-inch SATA format for hard disks and SSDs, and its quite an archaic design now its generally only used for more affordable drives.
Any drive you install into your PS4 needs to be under 9.5mm tall thanks to the size of the caddy that lives inside the PS4, which protects the drive and keeps it in place. This is no problem for SSDs, but it does prove to be a little limiting as many 4TB hard drives are a shade too chunky.
When looking for a new hard disk or SSD there are plenty of things to bear in mind click here to read our guide on the pros and cons of hard disks, SSDs and solid-state hybrid drives.
There are a few rules of thumb if youre in a rush. Hard disks are the more affordable options but even 7,200rpm drives wont have great performance at best youll get a slight speed boost over the consoles existing drive, at worst youll just equal it while improving capacity. A 1TB or 2TB hard disk will cost you around $60 or less than $80 .
An SSD will deliver a more significant improvement to loading times and game performance, especially on a PS4 Pro console, but SSDs are more expensive 1TB and 2TB models tend to cost around twice as much.
Don’t Miss: How To Connect Ps4 To Laptop Screen