How to Clone PS4 Hard Drive to SSD Without Losing Data
If you are a PS4 user, you must understand how suffering it is to find out the hard drive is running out of space as the sizes of games increase while the drive storage space remains the same. The best solution is to upgrade the PS4 hard drive to an SSD for larger capacity and higher performance. No one wants to spend a long time reinstalling the games, so you will need to clone the PS4 hard drive to SSD. Qiling will teach you how to realize that with specific and easy-understanding tutorials.
Preparations Before Cloning PS4 Hard Drive to SSD
Before going through the step-by-step tutorial, you need to read and know what you will need during the clone process. Check the necessary preparation for cloning the PS4 hard drive to an SSD:
- A PS4 Console: The first thing needed is a healthy PS4 console containing the original hard drive.
- A SATA 2.5-inch SSD: The PS4 is not compatible with all kinds of SSD in the market since it only supports an SSD with a SATA cable. Look carefully when you choose the best external hard drive for PS4.
- A Windows Computer with cloning software: A Windows computer can download the necessary software to clone your PS4 hard drive data to a new SSD. Installing cloning utilities like Qiling Disk Master is essential for seamlessly transferring your settings and data to the upgraded storage.
- Compatible Screwdrivers: You may need to prepare a Phillips head and flat-head screwdrivers to help you safely and accurately remove the PS4's faceplate.
Ensure all of these items are ready, and then you can refer to the comprehensive guide in the next section to clone the PS4 hard drive to SSD.
📖Read Also: Transfer PS4 Save Data and Games to PS5, Get More Storage on PS4
How to Clone PS4 Hard Drive to SSD
To perform a PS4 SSD upgrade, you need to clone the data from the HDD to the SSD.Cloning the PS4 hard drive to an SSD can free you from reinstalling games, increase the capacity, and enhance the performance. Thus, this section will further introduce the detailed steps to clone the PS4 hard drive to an SSD.
- Warning
- Before starting this cloning procedure, you must back up all your PS4 hard drive data to a separate external hard drive for data safe.
Phase 1. Remove the PS4 Hard Drive From the Console
Unplug all the cables on the PS4 console and ensure the PS4 faces up.
Step 1. Remove the cover of the PS4 console.
Hold the PS4 console firmly and use your thumbs to push the glossy side of the top cover until it pops to the side.
Step 2. Remove the hard drive bracket.
- Remove the 6.5 mm screw that holds the hard drive mount to the enclosure with a Phillips screwdriver.
- Take the hard drive bracket out of the enclosure gently since the internal hard drive is fragile.
Step 3. Take out the PS4 hard drive.
- Each of the right and left has two screws. Unscrew them from the hard drive tray.
- Remove the PS4 hard drive from the tray and insert it into your computer.
Phase 2. Connect and Format the SSD
To make the SSD compatible with your PS4, you should format this external hard drive for PS4. Qiling Disk Master is an ideal hard drive format tool that allows you to format the SSD without complicated procedures. Furthermore, it can efficiently format your external hard drive to any file system on all Windows systems.
Here is the easy and simplified guide:
Step 1. Launch Qiling Disk Master, right-click the partition on your external hard drive/USB/SD card which you want to format and choose the "Format" option.
Step 2. Assign a new partition label, file system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3/EXT4/exFAT), and cluster size to the selected partition.
Step 3. Click the "Proceed" button to start formatting your external hard drive/USB/SD card.
Step 4. In the Warning window, click "Yes" to continue.
Phase 3. Clone the PS4 hard drive to an SSD
Cloning the PS4 hard drive is a red-handed task for all PS4 users, and it's time to seek professional assistance from the cloning expert - Qiling Disk Master. This software can empower users to clone system/data disks and perform various other features without the risk of data loss.
Refer to this comprehensive tutorial to clone the PS4 hard drive to an SSD with Qiling Disk Master:
Step 1. Select the source disk.
- Click the "Clone" from the left menu. Select the "Clone OS Disk" or "Clone Data Disk" and click "Next".
- Choose the source disk and click "Next".
Step 2. Select the target disk.
- Choose the wanted HDD/SSD as your destination and click "Next" to continue.
- Read Warning message and confirm "Yes" button.
Step 3. View the disk layout and edit the target disk partition size.
Then click "Continue" when the program warns it will wipe out all data on the target disk. (If you have valuable data on the target disk, back up it in advance.)
You can select "Autofit the disk", "Clone as the source" or "Edit disk layout" to customize your disk layout. (Select the last one if you want to leave more space for C drive.)
Step 4. Click "Start" to start the disk cloning process.
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Why Need to Clone PS4 Hard Drive to SSD
After exploring how to clone the PS4 hard drive to an SSD, we will discuss why we need to do it in this part. Here are the main reasons:
Gain a Bigger Capacity: The available free space on the PlayStation 4 can be used up quickly due to the large game installations and upgrades. Many users are repeating delete and redownload. The effective way is to upgrade the PS4 hard drive by cloning its data on another SSD with a larger capacity and higher performance.
Enhance the hard drive's performance: Beyond the game installations, many junk files are in the hard drive over time. These fragmentations can lead to slower read and write times, extended loading screens, and diminished gaming performance. You can clean a disk and improve its performance or upgrade the old PS4 hard drive to a bigger and better one.
Conclusion
If you want to keep your saved data and settings after upgrading the PS4 hard drive, try to clone the PS4 hard drive to an SSD. This article introduced every detailed step of the cloning process with pictures, from removing the PS4 hard drive to cloning it to an SSD. Whether you need to format an SSD or Clone disk, Qiling Disk Master covers you with its fantastic features. Download Qiling Disk Master and let it immediately upgrade your PS4 storage device and enhance your gaming experience.
FAQs About How to Clone PS4 Hard Drive to SSD
This section covers some common questions about cloning the PS4 hard drive to an SSD, and you can check their answers to learn more information:
1. Can I clone the PS4 hard drive to an external drive?
Yes, you can clone the PS4 hard drive to an external drive like an SSD without a doubt. First, take out the original hard drive of your PS4 and connect the PS4 hard drive and the target external drive to your computer. Use reliable clone software to clone the PS4 hard drive to an external one.
2. Can I use an SSD for storage on PS4?
Of course. You can upgrade the PS4 hard drive to a better SSD or connect the SSD to the PS4 console as the second storage device. To improve the performance of the PS4, many users will upgrade the PS4 hard drive after they run out of space.
3. What is the maximum size of SSD for PS4?
The largest classical internal hard drive that meet the PS4 standards comes with a 2TB storage capacity, whereas if you want to upgrade your PS4 internal storage capacity to 8TB, you may retort to an SSD.
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