Sony’s PlayStation 5 has a fancy SSD, but unless you can afford a $500 console—or the $700 Pro version—you’re stuck with agonizingly slow loading times on the PS4. However, all is not lost. I decided to upgrade my console’s hard drive to an SSD in order to breathe new life into my aging gaming machine.
The 5400 RPM hard drive that comes with the PS4 and PS4 Pro is painfully slow; an SSD could decrease load times by 10 to 20 seconds, though every game is different. You don’t have to worry too much about choosing the fastest possible SSD, but it’ll need to be a 2.5-inch model—not the M.2 SSDs “gumsticks” that have become popular in PCs. I used a Western Digital Blue model (recently rebranded as Optimus), which offers great performance for the price.
Swapping the drive itself is simple—all I needed was a screwdriver. You will, however, have to back up all your data first, reinstall the PS4 operating system on the new drive, and then restore your data. For that, you’ll need a USB drive or two. If done right, the whole process should only take 15 minutes or so. I’ll take you through how I did it.
Step 1: Back Up Your Game Saves
Since you’ll be starting fresh with a clean drive, I recommend backing up all your data before picking up the screwdriver. For this, you’ll need a USB drive. Insert it into the console, open Settings > System > Back Up and Restore, then select Back Up PS4. You want to back up saved data, since that includes your game saves, but you can also back up applications, like Netflix, if you want to avoid re-downloading them all.
PlayStation Plus subscribers can ditch the USB drive and back up to the cloud. Head to Settings > Application Saved Data Management > Saved Data in System Storage and select Upload to Online Storage. Any trophies you have acquired will not be included. If you care enough to preserve these, head to the Trophies section of the PS4 menu, press Options on your controller, and select Sync Trophies with PSN.
Once the backup process is finished, shut down the PS4 completely by going to Power > Power Options > Turn Off PS4—you don’t want to be in Rest Mode. Wait for the light to stop blinking to ensure it’s completely off, then unplug the power cable before continuing.
(Credit: PCMag / Sony)
Step 2: Replace the Drive
Sony made replacing the hard drive super easy (far easier than the process of adding a second SSD to the PS5), however, the exact process differs depending on which version of the PS4 you own. Here are the instructions for each model:
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Original PlayStation 4: Slide the glossy panel on the top of the unit to the left until it comes off completely. Unscrew the screw closest to you on the left, then pull the hard drive cage toward you. Unscrew the four screws holding the drive in place and replace it with your SSD.
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PlayStation 4 Slim: Turn the unit around. To the right of the ports, there’s a black piece of plastic with text on it—apply some pressure and slide it to the right to remove it. Remove the large screw underneath, then slide the drive cage out the side of the PS4 using the black ribbon. Unscrew the four screws holding the drive in place and replace it with your SSD.
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PlayStation 4 Pro: Turn the unit around and look for the hard drive cover to the right of the ports. Find the notch on the side and use your finger to swing it open—it’s kind of like a little door. (I had to apply a decent amount of force to get it open.) Remove the screw that lives under it and slide out the hard drive cage. Unscrew the four screws holding the drive in place and replace it with your SSD.
Once you put your SSD into the console, close it all up and plug it back in. Before you turn it on, though, you’ll need to head to your computer.
(Credit: Whitson Gordon)
Step 3: Reinstall the PS4 Software
The new drive is in the console but doesn’t have the operating system installed. On your computer, insert a USB drive (not the one you’re using for your PS4 backup). Right-click the drive in File Explorer/Finder and choose Format, with FAT32 as your file system. Create a folder on the drive named PS4, and inside that folder create another folder called UPDATE.
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Next, open Sony’s support page and scroll down to How to reinstall the PS4 console system software section. Click PS4 console reinstallation file to download the console’s system software. You can also open the Reinstall PS4 system software drop-down to view Sony’s instructions. Save the file in the UPDATE folder you created earlier. Don’t rename the file—it needs to be named PS4UPDATE.PUP to work.
Eject the flash drive and head back to your PS4. You’ll need to plug in a controller with a USB cable, then press and hold the power button until you hear the second beep (about seven seconds). This will bring you into Safe Mode. Select Initialize PS4 (Reinstall System Software), and press X. Insert your USB drive with the update file and press OK. Once it finds the update, choose Next to install the PS4 software on your new drive. When the process is finished, your PS4 will reboot and drop you at the initial setup screen.
(Credit: PCMag / Sony)
Step 4: Restore Your Data and Reinstall Your Games
You’ll need to log into your PlayStation account again, as if you were setting up a new PS4 for the first time. Before continuing, though, you should now restore the data you previously backed up. If you had to manually back up the data on a USB drive, insert it into the console, then head to Settings > System > Back Up and Restore > Restore PS4. If you used PS Plus, open Settings > Application Saved Data Management > Saved Data in Online Storage > Download to System Storage.
You then need to re-download and/or re-install your games, but once that’s done, you should be able to hop back in like you never left—and with shorter loading times getting you in to play as fast as possible.
(Credit: PCMag / Sony)
About Our Expert
Whitson Gordon
Contributing Writer
Experience
Whitson Gordon is a writer, gamer, and tech nerd who has been building PCs for 10 years. He eats potato chips with chopsticks so he doesn’t get grease on his mechanical keyboard.
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