Seagate Portable 5TB External Hard Drive HDD – USB 3.0 for PC, Mac, PS4, & Xbox - 1-Year Rescue Service (STGX5000400) 4.7 out of 5 stars 81,818 $99.99 $ 99. 99 $114.99 $114.99. Seagate Portable 5TB External Hard Drive HDD – USB 3.0 for PC, Mac, PS4, & Xbox - 1-Year Rescue Service (STGX5000400) 4.7 out of 5 stars 81,818 $99.99 $ 99. 99 $114.99 $114.99.
- Playstation External Storage
- Ps4 External Hd Format
- Ps4 External Hdd Installation
- Ps4 External Hdd Requirements
Summary :
When it comes to external hard drives for your PS4, there are two types to choose from: hard drives (HDDs) and solid-state drives (SSDs). An HDD contains a disc that stores data and spins in order to read that data. The faster it spins, the harder your drive has to. If PS4 external hard drive stopped working, perhaps there are some problems with the hard drive itself or something wrong with the PS4 system. Further reading: If you are using PS4 USB drive as extended storage and it is not recognized by your PS4, you can read this guide to get some solutions.
What is the best external hard drive for PS4? This post will introduce several external hard drives for PS4, and then display 3 ways to format the external hard drive to enlarge storage when the original storage of PlayStation 4 is not enough. Certainly, you can also upgrade your PS4 hard drive to a larger one with MiniTool Partition Wiazrd.
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Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February, 2013, PS4 (PlayStation 4) is an eighth-generation home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment.
This successor places more emphasis on social interaction and integration with other devices and services, including the ability to play games off-console on PlayStation Vita, and the ability to stream gameplay online or to friends.
However, as a game lover, you may find that the storage space of PlayStation 4 is not enough to store more games. To overcome the limited PS4 hard drive size, you may try removing some games from it, but it is not a helpful solution. The more helpful way is to enlarge the storage space by upgrading the PS4 internal hard drive or connecting an external hard drive with this game console.
In this article, I would like to recommend some best external hard drives for PS4 and tell you how format such hard drive to FAT32 with ease. As for upgrading PS4 internal hard drive, you can refer to the following recommended article.
This post shows you how to upgrade your hard drive without reinstalling the program and would not bring any damages to the original data.
Actually, it is incredibly easy to plug the external hard drive into PS4. After adding an external hard drive as the extended storage for PS4, you can download something from PSN or install a new game from a disc, and it will go directly onto the external hard drive.
Suggested Best External Hard Drives for PS4
Which external hard drive is compatible with PS4? There are some suggested best external hard drives for you, namely Toshiba CANVIO Basics, WD Black My Passport Portable External Hard Drive and Seagate Backup Plus Slim Portable Hard Drive External.
Toshiba CANVIO Basics is great value for money, and very durable for everyday use. Choosing it as PS4 external hard drive will double the storage for less money.
WD Black My Passport Portable External Hard Drive is USB 3.0 compatible. What's more, it only requires a quick reformat the first time its buyers use it. This hard drive also comes in small size and sturdy construction.
Seagate Backup Plus Slim Portable Hard Drive External is relatively inexpensive, for the 5TB is $109.99. If you have some requirements for appearance of external hard drive, it is a good choice to select this HDD featuring appearance of beauty as the PS4 external storage.
Let's see the following form to know more information about each best external hard drive for PS4.
Toshiba CANVIO Basics | WD Black My Passport Portable External Hard Drive | Seagate Backup Plus Slim Portable Hard Drive External | |
Storage Type | HDD | HDD | HDD |
Capacity | 500GB, 1/2/3/4TB | 1/2/3/4TB | 1/2/4/4/5TB |
Interface | Image compressor bmp. USB 2.0 for the one with 500GB; USB2.0/USB 3.0 for the one with 1/2/3/4TB | USB 3.0 | USB 3.0 |
Item Dimensions | 4.3 x 3.1 x 0.55 in | 4.33 x 3.21 x 0.85 in | 4.33 x 3.21 x 0.85 in |
Item Weight | 5.28 ounces | 0.54 lb | 5.61 ounces |
Others Feature | Sleek profile design with a matte, smudge-resistance finish; Easy to use with no software to install. | Auto backup with included WD Backup software; Password protection with hardware encryption; Trusted drive built with WD reliability; | USB powered - no power supply necessary; Make image smaller mb. Works interchangeably on Windows and Mac computers without having to reformat; Many colors available, such as black, blue, red and silver. |
Price | $49.99-$123.31 | $49.99-$99.94 | $49.99-$109.99 |
The best external hard drive for PS4 blends price with performance, and the size of its storage space. For heavy PS4 users, it is highly recommended to select 2TB - 4TB dive, which will give them space to download and store 40-60 games, depending on size. Certainly, you can also pick up a 'PS4 external hard drive 8TB' to download more games.
When you get a new external hard drive for PS4, what you need to do is formatting it before connecting it with PS4.
After finishing all the preparatory work, it's time for you to format the external hard drive for PlayStation 4. And the following content shows detailed tutorials on how to format external hard drive for PS4.
Please note that PS4 external hard drive should be formatted to FAT32, because this file system enjoys a better compatibility than NTFS. (click FAT32 vs NTFS to learn about more information)
Furthermore, it is highly recommended to use the first way to format the external hard drive for PlayStation 4, because the other two ways come in some limits on the size of partition of FAT32 which will be formatted.
Way 1: Format PS4 External Hard Drive via MiniTool Partition Wizard
MiniTool Partition Wizard is a multifunctional tool which can help you manage partitions easily and safely, including formatting disk quickly.
Please follow the steps below to format best external hard drive for PS4 via MiniTool Partition Wizard.
Step 1: Plug the new external hard dive into a computer at first.
Step 2: Download MiniTool Partition Wizard Free by clicking the offered button and launch it to get its main interface.
Step 3: Right-click the partition on the external hard drive you want to format and click Format. Or select the partition on the external hard drive and then choose Format Partition from the left panel directly.
Step 4: Select FAT32 as the file system of the partition on the external hard drive and click OK to confirm these changes.
Step 5: Click Apply after going back the main interface of MiniTool Partition Wizard Free to execute all changes.
Way 2: Format PS4 External Hard Drive via Disk Management
Disk Management built in Windows is also a good utility to help you format disk. To format an external hard drive for PS4, please refer to the follwoing steps.
Step 1: Connect the external hard drive with Windows computer.
Step 2: Press Windows and R on the keyboard simultaneously to get the following picture. And then input diskmgmt.msc and then click OK.
Step 3: Get the interface of Disk Management and select the partition on the external hard drive you want to format.
Step 4: Right-click the partition on the disk and then click Format.
Step 5: Select File System FAT32 in the new pop-up window for the external hard drive and click OK.
Way 3: Format PS4 External Hard Drive via CMD
Ypou can alos use Command Prompt built in Windows to format a hard disk, but this way is not so convinient as the two former ways as you need to type some commands.
Step 1: Connect the external hard drive for PlayStation 4 with Windows computer in advance.
Step 2: Press Windows and R on keyboard simultaneously to access the Run window.
Step 3: Input cmd and click OK to get a black pop-up window.
Step 4: Input diskpart in the black pop-up window in the black window and click Enteron keyboard. And click Yes.
Step 5: Then you shhould input the following commands and click Enter on keyboard after each inputing.
- select disk# (# refers to the number of the disk you want to format)
- list partition
- select partition # ( # refers to the partition number)
- format fs=fat32
Step 6: After inputinga all mentioned commands, you should wait for some seconds until the external hard drive has been formatted to FAT32.
It is extremely possible that the second and third way fail to format external hard drive for PS4, because you can't format a partition with FAT32 file system in Windows unless you employ third-party software, like MiniTool Partition Wizard. Therefore, the first way is the best choice when you plan to format one external hard drive for PS4.
This article aims to fix the issue when the Command Prompt keeps popping up on Windows 10. If you encounter this issue, find the solutions in this article.
Have you get a formatted FAT32 PlayStation 4 external hard drive successfully by following the above ways? If the two answers are both Yes, you can connect the hard drive with their PS4 right now.
Please note that you should make sure that the console is powered off before you remove the PS4 external hard drive. Otherwise, data loss or corruption may occur. To safely remove the external storage, you should follow the path: Settings > Devices > USB Storage Devices > Stop Using This Extended Storage.
We Want Your Voice
Hope that PS4 owners can enjoy a better game experience after knowing how to format the best external hard drive for PS4. If there is any problem or question, you can contact us via [email protected] or leave a message below this article.
Playstation External Storage
Best External Hard Drive for PS4 FAQ
To back up PS4 to external hard drive, you should make sure that the FAT or exFAT-formatted external storage has at least double the storage space the PS4 hard drive has. If you do not have enough space, you can choose not to back up the application data (download or reinstall them when you restore the data on the system with the backup you're creating).
Here is the simple tutorial on backing up PS4 to external hard drive.
- Sync your Trophies first by clicking Trophies > OPTIONS > Sync Trophies With PSN (the reason is that these files are not included in the backup data).
- Connect the external storage device.
- Follow the path: Settings > System > Back Up and Restore > Back Up > confirm which data you would like to back up > customize the name of the backup > Back up > X > safely remove the external storage.
The answer is Yes. When you use the external SSD as an externed storage where you store games and applications and run them from there, you will enjoy a much higher level of speed that classical external hard drivers cannot offer.
To learn about more differences between SSD vs HDD vs SSHD, please click here.
After finishing all the preparatory work, it's time for you to format the external hard drive for PlayStation 4. And the following content shows detailed tutorials on how to format external hard drive for PS4.
Please note that PS4 external hard drive should be formatted to FAT32, because this file system enjoys a better compatibility than NTFS. (click FAT32 vs NTFS to learn about more information)
Furthermore, it is highly recommended to use the first way to format the external hard drive for PlayStation 4, because the other two ways come in some limits on the size of partition of FAT32 which will be formatted.
Way 1: Format PS4 External Hard Drive via MiniTool Partition Wizard
MiniTool Partition Wizard is a multifunctional tool which can help you manage partitions easily and safely, including formatting disk quickly.
Please follow the steps below to format best external hard drive for PS4 via MiniTool Partition Wizard.
Step 1: Plug the new external hard dive into a computer at first.
Step 2: Download MiniTool Partition Wizard Free by clicking the offered button and launch it to get its main interface.
Step 3: Right-click the partition on the external hard drive you want to format and click Format. Or select the partition on the external hard drive and then choose Format Partition from the left panel directly.
Step 4: Select FAT32 as the file system of the partition on the external hard drive and click OK to confirm these changes.
Step 5: Click Apply after going back the main interface of MiniTool Partition Wizard Free to execute all changes.
Way 2: Format PS4 External Hard Drive via Disk Management
Disk Management built in Windows is also a good utility to help you format disk. To format an external hard drive for PS4, please refer to the follwoing steps.
Step 1: Connect the external hard drive with Windows computer.
Step 2: Press Windows and R on the keyboard simultaneously to get the following picture. And then input diskmgmt.msc and then click OK.
Step 3: Get the interface of Disk Management and select the partition on the external hard drive you want to format.
Step 4: Right-click the partition on the disk and then click Format.
Step 5: Select File System FAT32 in the new pop-up window for the external hard drive and click OK.
Way 3: Format PS4 External Hard Drive via CMD
Ypou can alos use Command Prompt built in Windows to format a hard disk, but this way is not so convinient as the two former ways as you need to type some commands.
Step 1: Connect the external hard drive for PlayStation 4 with Windows computer in advance.
Step 2: Press Windows and R on keyboard simultaneously to access the Run window.
Step 3: Input cmd and click OK to get a black pop-up window.
Step 4: Input diskpart in the black pop-up window in the black window and click Enteron keyboard. And click Yes.
Step 5: Then you shhould input the following commands and click Enter on keyboard after each inputing.
- select disk# (# refers to the number of the disk you want to format)
- list partition
- select partition # ( # refers to the partition number)
- format fs=fat32
Step 6: After inputinga all mentioned commands, you should wait for some seconds until the external hard drive has been formatted to FAT32.
It is extremely possible that the second and third way fail to format external hard drive for PS4, because you can't format a partition with FAT32 file system in Windows unless you employ third-party software, like MiniTool Partition Wizard. Therefore, the first way is the best choice when you plan to format one external hard drive for PS4.
This article aims to fix the issue when the Command Prompt keeps popping up on Windows 10. If you encounter this issue, find the solutions in this article.
Have you get a formatted FAT32 PlayStation 4 external hard drive successfully by following the above ways? If the two answers are both Yes, you can connect the hard drive with their PS4 right now.
Please note that you should make sure that the console is powered off before you remove the PS4 external hard drive. Otherwise, data loss or corruption may occur. To safely remove the external storage, you should follow the path: Settings > Devices > USB Storage Devices > Stop Using This Extended Storage.
We Want Your Voice
Hope that PS4 owners can enjoy a better game experience after knowing how to format the best external hard drive for PS4. If there is any problem or question, you can contact us via [email protected] or leave a message below this article.
Playstation External Storage
Best External Hard Drive for PS4 FAQ
To back up PS4 to external hard drive, you should make sure that the FAT or exFAT-formatted external storage has at least double the storage space the PS4 hard drive has. If you do not have enough space, you can choose not to back up the application data (download or reinstall them when you restore the data on the system with the backup you're creating).
Here is the simple tutorial on backing up PS4 to external hard drive.
- Sync your Trophies first by clicking Trophies > OPTIONS > Sync Trophies With PSN (the reason is that these files are not included in the backup data).
- Connect the external storage device.
- Follow the path: Settings > System > Back Up and Restore > Back Up > confirm which data you would like to back up > customize the name of the backup > Back up > X > safely remove the external storage.
The answer is Yes. When you use the external SSD as an externed storage where you store games and applications and run them from there, you will enjoy a much higher level of speed that classical external hard drivers cannot offer.
To learn about more differences between SSD vs HDD vs SSHD, please click here.
Yes, you can transfer a game from one PS4 to another. But there is something important you should pay attention to.
- Transferring data from a PS4 system to another will erase any data from the PS4 system you are transferring the data.
- You should make sure the latest system software installed on both PS4 systems. To update PS4 system software, refer to the tutorial.
- Besides the games you can transfer, you can also transfer all existing users and settings and saved data (screenshots and video clips).
- Do not power off any PS4 during data transferring.
To get the detailed tutorial on transferring data from one PS4 to another, please read the post.
Dec 16, 2020 • Filed to: USB Recovery • Proven solutions
As we are very much aware of the easiness to use removable disk drives like external hard drives or USB flash drives, but still in some situations, you may find difficulty in connecting your external drive to PS4. This may have ended up in the PS4 external hard drive not recognized or stopped working. In some cases, the user might get an alert message saying that 'The USB storage device is not connected'. In some cases, there won't be any messages when the PS4 system stops responding to the external HDD connected to it.
This article will help you in understanding the reasons why PS4 External Hard Drive isn't working, ways to fix the connectivity issues/errors. Also, you will learn how to recover the lost data from PS4 External Hard Drive after fixing the error.
Part 1: PS4 can't connect with External Hard Drive. Fixed!
Before we dive into the core reasons, it is better to review some basic aspects that could point to the real core issues.
- Is it like your PS4 external HDD wasn't even working from the very beginning?
- Is it like one day suddenly, your PS4 external HDD stopped working and no longer recognized/showing up?
If you want to find answers to the above questions, then you are in the right place.
Scenario 1: External Hard drive isn't working with the PS4 from the beginning
- Connect your External HDD to your PC and check for any damages. If it is working there perfectly fine, check the other point(s) and make sure whether it needed to be replaced at this point itself.
- As the PS4 system doesn't recognize wireless external hard drives, make sure PS4 external hard drive has a wired connection.
- Cross verify that your external hard drive is compatible with PS4 standards.
- You need to cross-check whether the external HDD is connected directly to the PS4 via one of its USB ports which apply to hub USB external hard drives also.
- You need to check whether the drive was previously formatted for external storage. PS4 will only recognize one external storage drive at a time
- Last but not least, you need to check whether you are running the older version of PS4 system software. If yes, update the same to its latest version and recheck the issue whether it is fixed or not.
- It is advisable to use another USB port which may act as a resolution, sometimes.
Scenario 2: A working PS4 suddenly stops reading external hard drives
In this case, initially, you need to confirm that it hasn't been defective. To understand it, simply connect it to a PC or another PS4. You can confirm that you need a replacement if it didn't show up on other devices too. If the issue is with your PS4, then the external derive will get recognized in other systems.
In this scenario, you need to perform the following steps first:
Step 1: You need to turn off the PS4.
Step 2: Now switch off the electricity for a minute.
Step 3: Unplug the external hard drive.
Step 4: Turn on the PS4 so that it runs without an external hard drive.
Step 5: Now turn off PS4 again.
Step 6: Then connect the external hard drive to it while it's in off mode.
Step 7: Now again turn on the PS4 (with the external HDD connected to it)
If the above steps didn't work for you, try out any of the below alternatives.
- Rebuild the PS4 database
- Initialize PS4
Rebuilding the PS4 database simply means cleaning the disc drive by scanning the drive and creating a new database of all contents. Through the process, you're essentially organizing your database of content and maintaining your PS4 to ensure it performs at its best. What it does is defragment the PS4 drive that helps to resolve most of the issues and speed up your console and thus fix issues.
To rebuild the PS4 database, follow the below steps:
To kick off the process, you need to start with the Safe Mode. Safe Mode that allows the user to boot up your PS4 and access a variety of options to troubleshoot issues with your console. You must be conscious that there are chances of losing game data if things go wrong. Make sure you stick with the below steps:
- Turn off your PS4 using the power button on the front side of the console.
- Hold down the power button and listen out for two beeps which will take approximately seven seconds.
- You need to make sure that the PS4 controller is perfectly connected via USB cable. You will see some options when you turn on the same.
- You will see the option to Rebuild Database with the Safe Mode menu.
- You have to choose Option 5 and press 'X' to initiate the Rebuild Database process.
- Do not turn the console off during this process as the screen may go black and it will take some hours to rebuild the database depends on the amount of data you have.
- You can see that the database has been cleaned once it gets restarted automatically after a couple of hours. If the steps are performed correctly, there won't be any data loss. What it does is it reorganizes your files and cleans up your memory.
Initialize PS4
The most important thing you need to know is that once you complete this process, it will wipe the console's hard drive and remove its system software. Therefore, it is advisable to backup any data such as images, videos, etc. either to an external device or to the cloud environment. You need to have a PlayStation Plus account if you are planning to perform the backup via a cloud environment. Also, make sure you download the full package of PS4 system software to an external storage device before starting the initializing process.
Step 1: Start with switching off the power button on the PS4 to make sure that you have access to the Safe Mode. You can see that the power indicator will blink a few times and then turns off.
Step 2: Press and hold the power button for 7-8 seconds until you hear two beep sounds
Step 3: With the provided USB, you must connect the DualShock4 controller and press the PS button
Step 4: To complete the process, you have to select option 7 [Initialize PS4 (Reinstall System Software)
Step 5: You have to update to the latest PS4 system software version as soon as the initialization process gets completed. Never try to install any other game/app currently.
Step 6: Now you can connect the external hard drive to PS4 and see whether it is working or not
Part 2: How to Recover Lost Data from PS4 External Hard Drive after Fixing the Error?
Losing data has forever been a distressing matter. Recoverit Data Recovery for PC has turned out to be a one-point solution for the recovery of various types of data in various storage gadgets. If you have lost your valuable data from PS4 External Hard Drive, you don't have to fear that you are not going to see it ever again.
There is a way to restore the same. Use Recoverit Data Recovery, which is one of the most super cool and the safest data recovery tool available in the market right now. It is completely safe and reliable. Some of its prominent features are:
Recoverit Data Recovery - The Best File Recovery Software
Ps4 External Hd Format
- The latest all-new Recoverit 8.5 helps you to recover your entire lost file at ease. You are getting unlimited data recovery provision. Think about how good it is!
- You can instantly repair the corrupted files and make it all look as it is before.
- It helps you to restore all types of files and file systems that you wanted to get back. Eg: NTFS, FAT, HFS+,
- One of its most highlighted features is that this tool possesses one of the highest data recovery success rate in the whole industry
- The user-friendliness is another main aspect where you have to simply scan the disk after launching this tool to restore your files. It's as simple as that.
Now just follow these steps and retrieve all your lost data.
Step 1: Launch Recoverit on your PC.
Step 2: After the installation process, connect the PS4 External Hard Drive to the PC. You need to make sure that the PS4 External Hard Drive is properly recognized.
Step 3: Select the PS4 External Hard Drive. To retrieve lost or deleted files from the removable storage media, please select a target location and simply click the 'Start' button to initiate the process.
Step 4: Once the scanning gets completed, you can preview the files from the scanning result. Click 'Recover' and save them into another safe location.
Conclusion
That's how the lost data from PS4 External Hard Drive can be recovered. We expect you will perform all the above-outlined steps as per told and thus solves your concerns about PS4 External Hard Drive, USB storage issues, etc.
Ps4 External Hdd Installation
USB Topic
Ps4 External Hdd Requirements
- Recover USB Drive
- Format USB Drive
- Fix/Repair USB Drive
- Know USB Drive