Ps4 won t format external hard drive

Has the external hard drive you've connected to your PS4 stopped working? Here's how to fix your PS4 External Hard Drive.

If you find your PS4 external hard drive not working or recognised by your console, it's undoubtedly a cause for concern. This is especially true if you've been using it to save all your game progress, and suddenly find yourself faced with the prospect of being forced to start from scratch all over again.

While the PS5 isn't perfect, with the PS5 frozen console and PS5 Rest Mode issues being pretty huge issues for the next-gen console, it does have some advantages over the PS4 - mainly, storage.

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Of course, as the PS5 does have its own fair share of storage issues to, ranging from the PS5 cloud storage problem to the PS5 data transfer error. But for now, here are our top tips, to try to fix your extended storage on your PlayStation.

How to fix PS4 External Hard Drive Not Working

There is a wide range of suggested solutions circulating online relating to the PS4 external hard drive not working. We'll assume you've tried it in a different USB port, in case it's a port issue. And make sure you haven't connected a second external storage device, as your PS4 will only recognise one at a time.

Before doing anything, make sure your hard drive is actually compatible. It needs a minimum of 250 GB and a maximum of 8TB capacity. It also needs to be USB 3.0 or later. Providing your HDD meets these criteria, here are our top tips.

Our first suggested fix is a variation on the basic turn-it-off-and-on-again premise:

• Turn off and unplug your console. Leave it for a few minutes.
• Restart your PS4 without the external hard drive connected.
• Switch it back off. Reconnect your external hard drive.
• Switch your PS4 back on.

Another option well worth trying is to make sure that your PS4 software is fully up to date. To check this:

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• Power on the system and go to Settings.
• Select the System Software Update option.
• If your system is up to date, it will say "The latest version of the system software is already installed".
• Otherwise, if it finds an available update, click the Next or Update button to start downloading the update.
• On completion of the update downloading, you will receive a notification.
• Click on the Notifications link denoted by i.
• Navigate to Downloads and identify the software update.
• Select the file.
• Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the system update.

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These are two of the easiest and most common solutions to this issue. But we aren't done yet. If you've tried these, and had no luck, there is more to do.

Read More: How To Fix The Blinking Blue Light On PS4

Other PS4 External Hard Drive fixes

If the above solutions weren't successful, we need to start ruling out other issues.

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• Start by testing the external hard drive on another device, to identify whether or not it might have become corrupted. If it isn't working on another PS4 or on your PC, then it might be time to consider replacing it.
• Sometimes the error requires you to format the HDD again, to see if that resolves it. This is particularly common if you encounter error codes CE-30022-7 or CE-30006-9. To format the device:
  • Go to Settings > Devices > USB Storage Devices.
  • Select the USB storage device to format and choose Format as Extended Storage.

Your next option is to consider rebuilding the PS4 database. This is essentially scanning the drive and defragmenting it. To do this, Sony suggests the following:

• Put your PS4 into Safe Mode
• Turn off your console by holding the power button for three seconds. The power indicator will blink for a few moments before turning off.
• Once the console is off, press and hold the power button again. Release it after you hear the second beep — one beep will sound when you first press, and another seven seconds later.
• Connect the controller with the USB cable and press the PS button on the controller.
• Once in Safe Mode, choose Option 5 - Rebuild Database

These are your best options for readying the external hard drive problem. If none of these work, then you may need to contact PlayStation Support for additional help.

• Read More: PS5 Frozen Console: How To Restart PS5 If Frozen And Won't Turn Off

The PS5 does support the PS4 external hard drives too, if you're worried about these issues transferring over. Check out the PS5 USB port setup to see how this all works. Alternatively, check out if the PS5 supports crossplay with the PS4.

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