As I had finally filled my PS4's ~500 GB hard drive, it was time for an upgrade. I decided to go with a SSD in the hope that load times would improve for some of my games.
Before you start
Required parts and tools to upgrade a hard drive in a PS4 slim:- New SSD/HDD
- I used a 2TB Crucial MX500 2.5" SSD that I picked up for around $100
- USB hard drive big enough to backup all your applications and save files
- Should be FAT or exFAT formatted
- I used a 1 TB 5400 RPM hard drive
- USB Flash drive at least 1 GB of size for the PS4 firmware
- Screwdriver
- Micro USB cable and PS4 controller (must be wired for installing system software)
- Your PSN sign in information
Prep work
First, I had to format the 1 TB USB hard drive. I formatted it in Linux by following these steps:
- /dev/sdd for me
- remove all existing partitions using parted
- add a single partition
- sudo parted -a optimal /dev/sdd mkpart primary 0% 100%
- format it to exFAT
- sudo mkfs.exfat /dev/sdd1
- Safely remove hardware:
- sudo eject /dev/sdd
- sudo udisksctl power-off -b /dev/sdd
Second, I prepared the USB flash drive with firmware using these steps:
- Download the PS4 console reinstallation file
- https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps4/system-software/
- Create a PS4 folder on the top level
- Create a UPDATE folder in the PS4 folder
- Place the PS4UPDATE.PUP file in the PS4/UPDATE/ path
Backing up your data
Then have the PS4 create a backup:- Note: took roughly 1.5 hours for me
- Sync all trophies with Playstation Network
- Plug the USB hard drive into the PS4
- Settings -> System -> Backup and Restore
- Select Backup
- Set the filename
- Start the backup
- Note: PS4 will restart and then begin the backup
Once the backup is complete, turn off the PS4 and unplug the USB hard drive.
Physical Replacement
To replace the hard drive I followed these steps:
- Note: all pictures have bottom facing up
- Slide the cover off
- Remove the single screw holding drive sled in place
- Pull on ribbon to remove the drive sled
- Remove 4 screws holding the HDD in the sled
- Fasten SSD in place with the 4 screws
- Slide drive sled back into place
- Secure drive sled with the single screw
- Slide the cover back on
Software installation and restore
Install the system software:
- Plug the USB flash drive into the PS4
- Turn the PS4 on in safe mode by holding the power button until you hear a second set of beeps
- Plug in the controller using the USB cable
- Initialize PS4 (Reinstall System Software)
Then have the PS4 restore the backup:
- Note: took roughly 1.5 hours for me
- Plug the USB hard drive into the PS4
- Turn on the PS4
- Settings -> System -> Backup and Restore
- Select Restore PS4
- Pick the backup file
- Confirm
- Note: PS4 will restart and then begin restoring the backup
After completing, restart the PS4 and remove the USB hard drive.
You will need to sign into the Playstation Network again as the process will have logged you out.
Appendix
PS4 HDD upgrade sources:- https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps4-upgrade-hdd/
- https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps4/system-software/
- https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps4-back-up-and-restore-with-external-storage/
Formatting hard drive sources:
- https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/38164/create-partition-aligned-using-parted
- https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/551030/why-does-parted-need-a-filesystem-type-when-creating-a-partition-and-how-does-i
- https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/35508/eject-usb-drives-eject-command
