But in order for the computer and drive to communicate with one another, the drive has to be formatted with the correct file system. Your PS4 doesn’t support NTFS and only supports the other two file systems i.e. The PS4 drive will not show up in the File Explorer and it displays weird partitions in Disk Management like the following picture: The reason is that the PS4 drive uses a format not recognized by Windows. The first of several formatting details which we'll cover over the next several steps is the volume … Even worst when I plug the drive into my Windows 10 PC, it's no longer accessible in file explorer to be reformed. If this is the case, keep the drive plugged in, right click on the This PC shortcut in the File Manager and click Manage. Play Music Files on Your PS4 Your drive will now be ready for your PS4. If you see it, right-click, select Format, and then choose the exFAT option and start the process. Connect the PS4 hard drive to the computer (e.g. I swapped out the SSD from my laptop and into my PS4 and I wanted to put the 500GB Hard drive from my PS4 in my laptop, I hooked the drive up to my main rig to format but I'm running into a problem. Click the "Start" button then "My Computer", you should see your new external hard drive. Select FAT32 as the format and select ok. Click “Apply” or “Proceed”. 7. This is a step by step process on how to format an external hard drive for PS4 on PC. The process of formatting the external hard drive for PS4 is very easy and can be done in a very few steps. Finally, you will create a new partition and the new partition will appear in the File Explorer. Step 2: After the installation process, connect the PS4 External Hard Drive to the PC. Step 3: Right-click on each of the partition blocks and choose Delete Volume to delete all the existing partitions on the drive. Choose a format under File System. Thank you for signing up to TechRadar. You will receive a verification email shortly. All the drives connected to the computer will be listed in the lower half of the Disk Management window. By default, Windows computers will choose NTFS (New Technology File System) for you because that’s the native Microsoft filing system. You should see your drive at the bottom of the window – it’ll be the one in black, rather than navy blue, and it’ll be described as Unallocated. Step 2: Right-click the Unallocated space and choose Create. This will reveal a menu where you can format the drive as exFAT so it can be used for backups. In this part, I will show you how to use these features to make the PS4 drive appear in Windows again. Then, follow the wizard to create a new partition. Please deactivate your ad blocker in order to see our subscription offer, (Image: © Peter Kotoff / Shutterstock.com), Format your external HDD or SSD on your PS4, Format your external HDD or SSD on your Windows PC or laptop, Format your external HDD or SSD on your OS X machine. Please refer to the following steps: Step 1: Press "Windows + R" keys simultaneously to open Run dialogue. Open Partition Assistant. Two Ways to Reformat PS4 Drive for Windows PC, PS4 Drive Can't Be Recognized by Windows PC, Reformat PS4 Drive for PC with Disk Management, Reformat PS4 Drive for PC with MiniTool Partition Wizard, How to Format External Hard Drive for PS4 Safely - MiniTool, PS4 Can't Read USB Flash Drive, How Can I Fix It? To format your PS4’s external hard disk to a different file system, all you need to do is plug your drive into your computer (Windows PC, Mac) and perform the formatting through the operating system’s disk utility. We recommend exFAT, because it supports files that are over 4GB in size. It’s also important to note that once you’ve formatted your external HDD to this specific PS4 format, you can only use it for PS4 games and apps – you won’t be able to store screenshots and video clips, saved data, Themes or any other types of media, documents, pictures on it, without re-formatting to its original state. Simply follow the prompts by clicking the “Next” button. You’ll need to make sure your hard disk, SSD or USB drive is formatted using the FAT32 or exFAT file systems – the PS4 doesn’t support the NTFS file system. MiniTool Partition Wizard is a professional partition management tool. A PC can read and manage files stored inside a PS4 hard drive, but the PS4 hard drive will need to be converted into a FAT format first (either exFAT or FAT32), it initially will not recognize the HDD before being formatted. This article explains about file systems and provides instruction to format a drive on Windows and Mac. In the new window that appears, simply choose exFAT as your file format and click the Erase button. Happily, both of these useful methods are easy to implement and easy to live with, and you can deploy a wide range of external hard disk and external SSD products – ideal if you’re working to a budget or if you’d like to prioritize space or speed when expanding your PS4, PS4 Slim or PS4 Pro. There was a problem. (They have to be in a folder, otherwise your PS4 won’t see them.) Then, some of you may be reluctant to waste the old PS4 disk and want to use it on your PC. Step 3: Select the PS4 External Hard Drive. Step 2: Identify the PS4 drive in the Disk Management. On Mac: Plug your hard drive into your computer. Follow the wizard or just keep clicking Next button to progress through. If you need to format the drive, you can do that on the PS4 too – head to Settings, Devices and USB Storage Devices, choose your drive, and then click the Options button. Instead, formatting is used to get the hard drive to a state in which it can be used by the computer, which requires all written data to be erased from the drive. If you’re using a Windows computer to format an external hard drive for PS4 or any other storage device for that matter such as a USB flash drive, SD card, or even an internal drive, you’ll get three options: NTFS, exFAT, and FAT32. As a fresh man in IT field, she is curious about computer knowledge and learns it crazily. This tool will format your external hard drive so that it can be used with your PC. Formatting an External Hard Drive for PS4. © Right-click on the external hard drive and click Format. All you’ve got to do is plug your drive into the console, head to the Settings menu, open Devices, and then USB Storage Devices. If you need to use an OS X machine to format your external drive, head to Disk Utility. This is because the PS4 uses its own encrypted file system when using a hard drive or SSD as extended storage. Disk Management is a useful Windows built-in tool, which allows you to delete volume, format volume, create volume, etc. Here you’ll learn the method for formatting … If you want to make changes, such as assigning a letter to the drive or formatting it to a file system other than NTFS, you can do so. You’ll only need a computer (desktop or laptop, doesn’t matter) then format it from there. Then, type "diskmamt.msc" into the Run dialogue box and hit Enter key to open Disk Management. Now glory … We’ll explain this method using Microsoft Windows 8 operating system. GameStop's PS5 restock sells out, but there's some very good news, Where to buy PS5: all the latest restock updates, WhatsApp's new privacy policy requires you to share data with Facebook, Apple's privacy labels reveals Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger's hunger for user data, Make Cyberpunk 2077 play much, much better with just two super simple fixes, Cyberpunk 2077 loses over 75% of players on Steam. PS4 can't read USB storage drive when plugging a USB flash drive to PlayStation 4? When you start formatting your external hard drive with a computer you get a choice to choose the file system you want. Finally, you will see one large Unallocated block. Connect the drive to one of the USB 3.0 ports. Launch it and go to its main interface. This is because the PS4 doesn’t encrypt and format the entire drive when making backups – it leaves your hard disk or SSD free to be used for other tasks if you’ve got the space. Bear in mind that sometimes you will be able to right-click the drive and select the New Simple Volume option straight away. Please refresh the page and try again. Way 2: Format PS4 External Hard Drive via Disk Management. If your external hard disk or SSD is already using an appropriate file system then you can plug it into the PS4, head to the System menu, open the Back Up and Restore section and choose what you’d like to preserve. If the Disk Management fails to reformat the PS4 drive, you can use the next method, which is more convenient. The easiest method involves plugging the drive into your PC or laptop and opening the File Explorer – the screen where you can navigate recent files and key folders. Pick the option to Format the drive as extended storage, and the console will take care of the whole process. If you don’t want to use your PS4 or if your drive is already plugged into another machine, then it’s also possible to format it using your Windows or Mac OS X machine. Please remember to transfer all the files saved on the external hard drive to another place before disk formatting. And that’s it – your external drive is ready for your PS4. (2 Cases). The PS4 has two ports on the front of the console; the Pro has two on the front and a third on the rear. Access Disk Management by pressing Windows + R simultaneously, inputting diskmgmt.msc and hitting “Enter”. You can follow the question or vote as helpful, but you cannot reply to this thread. Then, right-click the PS4 drive and choose Delete All Partitions. If you click on the This PC shortcut, you’ll hopefully see your external drive connected as a hard disk, right alongside your system’s main hard drive or SSD. Format PS4-compatible Hard Drive to work with PC again how to format my external seagate hard drive (have been used with my PS4 System) to use it with my PC again? 2. Also when I go to Disk Management, the only option I have is to convert to a Dynamic Disk... ---forums.tomshardware.com. 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