How to Free Up Storage Drive Space on PlayStation 4
Whether a new device, or a drive you've been using for a while, it can be frustrating if your PlayStation 4 has issues with your external drive.
This guide will walk you through checks and fixes to help get your drive working properly.
? What kind of problems are you having with your external drive?
Connect to a Tech ProWhether a new device, or a drive you've been using for a while, it can be frustrating if your PlayStation 4 has issues with your external drive.
This guide will walk you through checks and fixes to help get your drive working properly.
Clicking this button will open a new guide that will provide you with steps to resolve your issue.
The PlayStation 4 has very specific requirements for external hard drives.
Check the information that came with your drive when you purchased it, and compare it to the list below.
| USB Interface Type | USB 3.0 or Later Your external storage device must be a USB 3.0 or later device, or it won't be fast enough for the PlayStation 4 to use. |
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| Capacity | 250 GB - 8 TB External drives come in many sizes. Given the size of many games, Sony set up the PlayStation 4 to only allow drives 250 GB or larger. |
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These are hardware requirements, and can't be solved through settings.
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| Format | exFAT Your external drive must be formatted as exFAT. This is different than the default format provided by Windows and MacOS by default. |
| Partitions | Single Partition Your external drive must have only 1 partition. |
| Enctryption | No Encryption Your PlayStation 4 won't work with an encrypted external storage drive. |
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The Initialization option on your PlayStation 4 will make sure the drive is setup properly.
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- Press the PS logo button on your controller.
- Connect your external drive to your PlayStation 4.
- Select Notifications.
- Select your drive from the list.
- Select Format as Extended Storage.
- Select Next.
- You'll be reminded all data on the drive will be lost. Select Format.
- A final conformation will appear. Select Yes.
- The drive will format, this can take a few minutes.
- After formatting, your PlayStation 4 will set it as the default device to store data to. Select OK to continue.
The drive you have isn't compatible with your PlayStation 4. You will need to purchase a different drive to act as an external storage device for your PlayStation 4.
| USB Interface Type | USB 3.0 or Later Your external storage device must be a USB 3.0 or later device, or it won't be fast enough for the PlayStation 4 to use. |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 250 GB - 8 TB External drives come in many sizes. Given the size of many games, Sony set up the PlayStation 4 to only allow drives 250 GB or larger. |
- Press the PS logo button on your controller.
- Select Settings.
- Select Storage.
- Select System Storage.
- Select a category, in most cases this will be Applications.
- Press the Options button on your controller.
- Select Move to Extended Storage.
- Place a check mark next to the games and apps you wish to have on your external disk, then select Move.
- Select OK to start moving your apps and games.
- A progress bar will open showing the progress of the file move.
