Additional memory can greatly increase the usability of various hardware – including the console. The PlayStation 5 offers USB ports to which you can connect an external drive, for example.
To get the most out of an external drive that you use to expand the functionality of your PlayStation 5, there are a few things to keep in mind. One of them is to properly format the device – the file system must be compatible with the console
Currently, the most common solution for personal computers is the NTFS system developed by Microsoft. However, information saved in this way will not be readable for the PlayStation – in this case, it is necessary to use FAT32 or exFAT format. However, we do not need to know the details of the implementation, and the entire formatting process can be carried out from the console.
It is worth remembering to delete or move any data currently on the drive before connecting the device to the console. Formatting involves clearing the device – if we store important information on it, we need to temporarily reposition it.
First, you need to connect the external drive to the USB port of the console. The next step is to go to the settings menu, and more specifically, to the options for storage. Here we can use the “Format as extended storage” function.
The main advantages of such a formatted drive include the ability to transfer games from the PS4 to the PS5, as well as the use of the media as the default location for newly installed games prepared for the PlayStation 4. In the settings you will find appropriate options for each of these tasks. An additional advantage of the external drive is trouble-free deletion of its contents – we can also do this from the settings.
It is also worth remembering that the external drive can only work on the principle of backward compatibility. This means that in this way we can easily run games from the previous edition of the console, but the titles available only on the new product from Sony must be located in the internal drive. This has to do with the specification of the drive in the PS5 – it is an extremely fast SSD with dedicated solutions that cannot be found in external drives. New titles must therefore be located in the memory of the console.
The external drive can also be used to transfer and play movies. Although games on the media will not be supported by other hardware, video files are usually saved in standard formats. Thus, we can easily access our favorite cinema titles from both the console and the computer.
To realize the full potential of the additional device, it must meet the technical requirements of the PS5 design. First, the external drive must be equipped with a USB 3.0 or higher standard port, and its capacity can be up to 8 TB. There is no hard limit on the minimum capacity, but if you want to install games from PS4, you will need at least 250 GB.
It is worth remembering that Sony does not guarantee that all external media will work seamlessly with the console. Most equipment of this type, however, uses very similar technologies, so problems with connection and data transfer are very rare. External media can significantly increase the comfort of using the console, making even more fun and providing additional space for interesting titles.
The market abounds with devices that can significantly increase the amount of space available for games and applications. These include, for example, products from brands such as Seagate and Western Digital. It is worth ensuring that the equipment comes from a proven manufacturer – this way you can avoid problems with data loss or distortion. An obligatory element of the specification is a USB port in version at least 3.0
Before connecting the drive to the console, make sure that you have moved all the relevant data to a safe place – if you need to format the medium, the information on the drive will be erased.
