Upgrade Sony PS4 Hard Drive to Bigger Drive without Reinstallation

How to Upgrade Sony PS4 Hard Drive Without Reinstallation

"Hey there, do you know how to upgrade or change the Sony PS4 hard drive to a bigger one? My hard drive is merely full and I'm thinking to upgrade it to a bigger drive so to save more games on it. But I don't want to reinstall any files or re-download any game packs. Do you know how to solve the problem?"

Are you having a similar problem in your PS4 hard drive? Don't worry when your game player hard drive is becoming full and here in this article, we'll provide you an easy and simple method to guide you to replace and upgrade Sony PS4 hard drive to a bigger one without reinstallation. And of course, no game files or data will lose.

Procedures	Step-by-step Guide
1. Back Up PS4 Files	Go to your PS4 Home screen, and insert the external storage device into one of the PS4 USB ports...Full steps
2. Remove Old PS4 Drive	Power off PS4 and unplug the AC power cord, and then disconnect the other cables...Full steps
3. Upgrade the PS4 HDD	Replace the new hard drive in the bracket for the PS4 system's hard drive...Full steps
4. Install the PS4 System Software	Visit the PS4 System Software Update page. Follow the instructions to download and install the update...Full steps
5. Restore the PS4 Backups	Go to "Settings > System > Back Up and Restore". Select the "Restore PS4" option...Full steps

Preparations to PS4 Hard Drive Upgrade

Before you are going to upgrade PS4 hard drive to a bigger one, figure out what you need.

PS4 full-size system
Phillips screwdriver
A computer connected to the Internet
External storage device with at least 1GB of free space
Officially supported replacement hard drive. Only the 2.5-inch internal type (9.5mm or slimmer)* and Serial ATA (Parallel ATA is not supported) internal hard drives are officially supported with the PS4 system.

If you prefer to manually change the PS4 hard drive on your own without any clone or backup software, you may follow the below tips to do the PS4 hard drive replace work:

Procedure 1. Back Up Game Files Saved on PS4 Hard Drive

If you're a PlayStation Plus subscriber, you have the option to back up your saved data to online storage for your account on PlayStation Network. You can save up to 100GB of game save data and up to 1000 saved data items. If you want to back up your entire PS4 with an external device, follow the steps below:

It is of vital importance to sync your Trophies since they're not included in the backup data.

Go to "Trophies", press the "Options" button, and select "Sync Trophies With PSN". Then, follow the steps to back up PS4 data before starting to replace the hard drive with a bigger one.

Step 1. Go to your PS4 Home screen, and insert the external storage device into one of the PS4 USB ports.

Step 2. Go to "Settings > System > Back Up and Restore > Back Up. Confirm the data you are going to back up.

Tip

If you choose not to back up Applications, you'll need to download or reinstall them when you eventually restore the data on the system with the backup you're creating.

You are advised to back up Saved Data to avoid losing any game progress during the hard drive replacement.

A progress bar will show the current status of the backup. You can cancel this at any time.

Step 3. Customize the name of the backup. When done, highlight "Back Up" and press the "X" button.

Step 4. Remove the external storage device from the PS4 system.

If you need to view any captures, you can go to Settings > System Storage Management > Capture Gallery, and this will allow you to see everything you've recorded.
You can press Options and Copy to USB Storage Device or click the Share button to upload pictures to Facebook for safekeeping.
Your videos can also be saved to USB or Facebook or even YouTube with the same steps.

Procedure 2. Remove the Old PS4 Internal Hard Drive

Step 1. Power off PS4 and unplug the AC power cord, and then disconnect the other cables from the system.

Step 2. Place both of your hands on top of the hard drive cover and slide it to the left. Lift the right side first when lifting and removing the cover.

Step 3. Remove the screw and pull the internal hard drive toward the front of the system to remove it

Step 4. Remove the four screws with a Phillips screwdriver from the sides of the hard drive case.

Procedure 3. Install and Upgrade to the Bigger PS4 HDD

Step 1. Replace the new hard drive in the bracket for the PS4 system's hard drive.

Step 2. Attach it with the screws (four places). Do not over-tighten the screws.

Step 3. Attach the new internal hard drive to the system using the screw. Be sure to insert the hard drive in the hard drive bay fully.

Procedure 4. Install the PS4 System Software on the New Hard Drive

Hard disks installed in PS4 need to be recognized and reformatted by PS4 itself. Then, you need to install the newest PS4 system update software.

Step 1. Visit the PS4 System Software Update page. Follow the instructions to download and install the update on a USB or an external device(1GB free space).

Step 2. Install the software, enter PS 4 Safe Mode by pressing and holding the Power button until you hear the second beep.

Step 3. Select "Initialize PS4 (Reinstall System Software)", and press the "X" button.

Step 4. Plug the external storage device with the system update into a PS4 USB port. Click "OK" and press the "X" button.

Step 5. Choose "Next" and press the "X" button. The update file is copied to the PS4.

Step 6. Once the copy is complete, read the System Software License Agreement, select "Accept", and press the "X" button. The system software is now installing onto the PS4.

Step 7. After the update is completed, the PS4 will restart. Then, press the PlayStation button on your controller and log in with your user profile.

Step 8. Sign in with your existing account on PSN or create a new one.

Step 9. Verify the system version by going to the "Settings > System > System Information" screen. Your system is now updated.

Procedure 5. Restore the PS4 Backups from an External Device

You can restore saved data from an external device or a USB storage device to the PlayStation 4 system by performing the following steps.

Step 1. Connect a USB storage device or external hard drive to the system.

Step 2. Go to "Settings > System > Back Up and Restore".

Step 3. Select the "Restore PS4" option and the backup file you'd like to restore.

You'll see a screen that tells you that the system will restart and initialize whether or not the backup process is completed. Then, select "Yes".

If you want to restore saved data from online storage, sign in to PlayStation Network and go to "settings > Application Saved Data Management > Saved Data in Online Storage > Download to System Storage" to restore wanted data.

Can you switch hard drives on ps4?

Replacing or upgrading the internal HDD in a PS4 or PS4 Pro is a simple process to switch the PS4 drive. When replacing the hard drive, you can use a standard SATA II hard drive or use an SSD no thicker than 9.5mm.

How do I transfer games from one ps4 hard drive to another?

1. Backup Game Files Saved on PS4 Hard Drive

2. Remove the Old PS4 Internal Hard Drive

3. Install and Upgrade to the Bigger PS4 HDD

4. Install the PS4 System Software on the New Hard Drive

5. Restore the PS4 Backups from an External Device

How to fix corrupted database error on PS4?

While using PS4, you may continuously encounter PS4 data or database corrupted issue. You can cope with this error with two solutions:

1. Fix PS4 Corrupted Database

2. Fix PS4 Corrupted Data

Refer to the full guide on how to fix the corrupted PS4 Database or data.

How to fix the PS4 fails to turn on?

To get ps4 to turn on, follow the tips below:

Replace the power supply
Replace the power cable
Connect the console to a wall outlet
Fix the power button
Clear the dust in your PS4
Insert a disk into your PS4
Rebuild the PS4 database
Get specialized manual services

Extra Tips - Upgrade Hard Drive to a Bigger One Easily

If you are looking for a powerful and effective tool to change or upgrade your system hard drive or second hard drive to a new HDD/SSD, Qiling Disk Copy can satisfy your needs with powerful features.

Tip

Since the PS4 hard drive can't be recognized by Windows 10/8/7, Qiling Disk Copy can't adjust or clone the partition on the PS4 disk. This software can only be used to clone hard drives that can be recognized by Windows OS.

Recommended: Upgrade HDD/SSD with the Disk Cloning Tool

Qiling Disk Copy allows you to clone and upgrade the hard drive to a new disk without any complex operations. And it's fully compatible with all Windows systems. This disk cloning software can even help to update and clone a hard drive to a bigger HDD/SSD. Try to upgrade your disk with the below guidelines now:

Free Download

Step 1: Download, install and run Qiling Disk Copy on your PC.

Step 2. Choose "Disk/Partition clone" in the tool page to start.

Step 3. Select the smaller hard drive as the source disk. Click Next to continue.

Step 4. Select the bigger hard drive where you want to clone/copy the old disk and click Next to continue.

Note: The destination disk should be at least the same big or even larger than the source disk if you want to copy or clone the source hard disk.

Step 5: Check and edit the disk layout.

If your destination disk is an SSD drive, do remember to tick "Optimize for SSD" option if the target is SSD.

Step 6: Click "Proceed" to start the hard drive cloning process.

A warning message tells you that the data on the destination disk will be overwritten. Click "OK" to continue if you do not have important data on the destination disk.