Exfat External Hard Drive Ps4

How to format an external hard drive for PS4

Yous'll demand to format an external hard drive for PS4 earlier you use it equally extended or backup storage. We show you how to get started...

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Wondering how to format an external hard bulldoze for PS4? We've got y'all covered. If you lot're needing more space to store games, and so an external HDD (hard disk drive) or SSD (solid land bulldoze) is an accented must.

While information technology may sound like a tricky job, you'll be pleased to learn that regardless of whether you lot have the Sony PS4 (Slim), the PS4 Pro or merely your regular PS4, it'due south never been easier or more affordable to add an external drive to your games console.

And the benefits of doing and then are huge! Non only does learning how to format an external hard drive for PS4 allow you to keep more games on your console, you'll too be able to create a backup which will allow you to preserve all that important gaming data.

Regardless of what you're wanting to use the external drive for, the best PS4 external hard drives 2022 are super easy to fix and merely as easy to apply, and don't worry if you've never done it before, that's what were here to help you with.

If you have a smaller budget or you'd like to prioritize space or speed, you'll exist happy to learn that there are a wide range of external hd and external SSD products bachelor.

As e'er, there are some technical considerations to comport in heed. 1 of the most important things is to make certain that your external hard bulldoze or the best SSD that you've purchased is formatted properly, considering y'all won't be able to use it without this step.

Sony makes it easy to handle this office of the process, and it's simple to practise on Windows and Mac Os X too. Below, we talk y'all through exactly how to format an external difficult bulldoze for PS4. Let's take a await...

Format your external HDD or SSD on your PS4

Formatting screen — (Image credit: Sony)

If you lot want to format an external difficult drive for PS4, the process couldn't be much simpler. This is because the PS4 uses its own encrypted file system when using a hard drive or SSD as extended storage.

All you lot've got to do is plug your drive into the console, caput to the Settings carte du jour, open up Devices, and and then USB Storage Devices. Selection the choice to Format the drive as extended storage, and the console will take intendance of the whole procedure.

As ever, you lot do need to remember to employ a USB 3.0 product with a capacity between 250GB and 8TB, otherwise the process won't piece of work. But that'southward it.

If yous desire to employ an external drive to store console backups the process is only a little more complex. This is considering the PS4 doesn't encrypt and format the unabridged drive when making backups – information technology leaves your difficult disk or SSD free to be used for other tasks if you've got the space.

Y'all'll need to brand certain your difficult deejay, SSD or USB drive is formatted using the FAT32 or exFAT file systems – the PS4 doesn't back up the NTFS file system. Nosotros recommend exFAT, considering it supports files that are over 4GB in size.

If your external hard disk or SSD is already using an appropriate file system and then yous can plug it into the PS4, head to the Arrangement menu, open up the Back up and Restore section and choose what you'd like to preserve. If you lot need to format the drive, you can practice that on the PS4 too – head to Settings, Devices and USB Storage Devices, choose your drive, and then click the Options button. This will reveal a menu where y'all can format the bulldoze every bit exFAT so it can exist used for backups.

Back Up and Restore screen — (Prototype credit: Sony)

If yous don't want to use your PS4 or if your drive is already plugged into some other automobile, then it's also possible to format information technology using your Windows or Mac Bone 10 auto.

Format your external HDD or SSD on your Windows PC or laptop

Desktop screen — (Image credit: Microsoft)

There are a couple of like shooting fish in a barrel methods for bulldoze formatting on Windows, and they don't change much – these instructions are for Windows ten, just they should be applicative for the last few versions of Microsoft'due south operating organization.

The easiest method involves plugging the drive into your PC or laptop and opening the File Explorer – the screen where you can navigate contempo files and key folders. If you click on the This PC shortcut, you'll hopefully meet your external drive connected equally a hard disk, right alongside your system's main difficult drive or SSD. If you see information technology, right-click, select Format, so choose the exFAT pick and showtime the process. That's the only thing yous'll need to really alter unless you want to rename the drive, and using the Quick Format setting is fine.

If you don't see your external drive in the File Explorer, information technology'due south likely using a file organisation that the PC can't read – like the PS4's own, encrypted Extended Storage organisation. If this is the instance, keep the bulldoze plugged in, right click on the This PC shortcut in the File Director and click Manage. Once this new window has opened, head to the Disk Management section.

File explorer screen — (Prototype credit: Microsoft)

You should encounter your drive at the lesser of the window – it'll exist the i in black, rather than navy blue, and it'll be described as Unallocated. Right-click it, choose the option to Initialise the drive, and click through the box that appears. You don't accept to change anything.

One time that's done, right-click the striped surface area and select New Unproblematic Volume. This launches more dialogue boxes – you can click through until y'all run across an option for File System. Pick exFAT, click Next, so click End. Your drive will now exist ready for your PS4.

Comport in heed that sometimes y'all will exist able to right-click the drive and select the New Elementary Volume choice straight away. If the bulldoze lets you lot, do that – you lot'll be safe skipping the Initialise portion of the process.

Format your external HDD or SSD on your OS X machine

Disk utility screen — (Image credit: Apple)

If you need to use an OS 10 machine to format your external drive, head to Disk Utility. You can notice this by opening a Finder window, heading to Applications, and then the Utilities section.

Utilities screen — (Image credit: Apple)

In Disk Utility, select your external drive from the listing on the left-hand side and click on the Erase option along the top of the Disk Utility window. In the new window that appears, simply choose exFAT as your file format and click the Erase push.

Disk utilities screen — (Image credit: Apple)

You can besides rename the bulldoze here if you'd like. If a window appears and asks if you'd similar to employ the new book with Time Machine, click Don't Apply. And that'due south it – you lot've merely learned how to format an external difficult drive for PS4 and your external drive is now ready for your PS4.

Mike has worked as a technology journalist for more than a decade and has written for virtually of the UK'southward big engineering science titles alongside numerous global outlets. He loves PCs, laptops and any new hardware, and covers everything from the latest business trends to high-end gaming gear.