The latest generation consoles allow you to load games on hard drives. In addition, services such as Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus provide several free games that you can download every month. But with the latest games that weigh 50GB or more, the 500GB hard drive of Xbox One or PlayStation 4 starts to fill up very quickly. In this case it would be useful to know how to connect external hard disk to the Xbox PS3 and PS4. The PlayStation 3 or the Xbox 360 are a little better, where games usually weigh less than 10GB. But it is true that the hard disks on these consoles are less capacious, so the problem is still present. Since it is also possible to keep music and movies on the console, the hard disk fills up very quickly, so it is advisable to expand ps4 memory and other consoles. Fortunately, players can connect an external HDD to the console’s USB port and then make room on the internal disk. One thing you need to remember is that the hard drive needs to be formatted to be able to use it on consoles. This means that every file on the disc will be erased before you can use it for the first time on the Playstation or Xbox.
If there are any important data on the disc, be sure to save them before continuing with one of the steps below. Formatting a disk is an irreversible step and can take hours, depending on the size of the disk. In this guide we see how to connect external hard drive to Xbox and Playstation on which to copy the games.
How to connect external hard disk to PS3 and PS4 xboxes
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 supports an external memory up to 32GB, which must be formatted in FAT32. For this reason, it is recommended to use a USB flash drive instead of an external hard drive with the Xbox 360. While 32GB does not seem like many, this dimension will allow you to save at least three complete games on a pendrive together with the rescues.
The only thing you need to do is make sure that the storage unit you are using is formatted in FAT32 format. Normally the console takes care of formatting external memories for you. This will automatically use the FAT32 file system. The problem is that formatting is not always successful. You can try running this procedure automatically on your Xbox 360. In this case, you can skip to step 7. If it does not work, resume reading from step 1.
Formatting pendrive or hard disk
1. Connect the pendrive to a Windows PC and go to My Computer.
2. Right-click on the disk icon and select Properties. Under the name of the disk, the type of file must be indicated. If it is FAT32, then you can skip to step 7. Otherwise, you need to format the unit. This will erase all data on the drive, and then back up all the data you want to keep.
3. The fastest way to convert the file system to FAT32 is to use the command prompt. First, press the Windows + R key at the same time to display the Run dialog.
4. Type cmd, and click OK.
5. In the window that opens, type the following text, excluding the quotation marks: “format/FS: FAT32 X:“. You will need to change X: with the assigned letter of the unit.
You can see the unit name in the My Computer window. Do not be wrong to type the letter, because once the command is confirmed, the process is not reversible.
6. After entering the command, press enter. To be sure, double-check the name of the unit you entered in the command before pressing the Enter key. This completes the process, and now you can check the disk filesystem as described in step 2. If it is FAT32 then you can proceed with the guide.
Configuration of the outdoor unit
7. To use the pendrive, simply eject it from your computer and connect it to the Xbox 360.
8. Go to System Settings> Storage> USB Storage> Configure Now. This process takes a minute and then you can store games, demos and save games on this unit.
You can also follow steps 1-6 to format an external hard disk in FAT32, which can then be used with the Xbox 360. You can save movies and music to your hard drive and play them on your Xbox 360 automatically. This is useful if you use the console as a music player. However, you can not use more than 32 GB to save the games.
PlayStation 3
Unlike the Xbox 360, it is not possible to save PS3 games on an external unit. But I suggest you connect external hard drive to store all the music, movies and TV shows you want to watch. Instead, the games will remain on the internal hard disk of your console.
The PS3 is only compatible with FAT32 units, so you’ll need to follow steps 1-6 described in the Xbox 360 section. After that, you’ll need to do something else to use the unit with the console.
1. After converting the FAT32 drive, return to My Computer on the PC and open the drive.
2. Create the following folders: MUSIC, PHOTO, VIDEO and GAME. Now you can fill all the folders (except GAME) with the multimedia content you want to see on the PS3.
Even if you can not play from your external hard drive, you can back up your games to your hard drive; this means that if you delete a game, you do not have to re-download the data.
To back up a game:
1. After connecting the hard drive to the PS3, go to Settings> System Settings> Backup Utility> Backup.
2. Select Confirm. Then select USB Drive. The entire PS3 will be backed up to the hard drive. This process will take some time. Once this is done, it is not yet possible to play from the external hard drive, but if you need to make room on the console, you can delete the old PS3 games, to move them back again at a later time.
3. To recover the games from the backup, start the PS3. Then go to the Game> Utility of the saved data
4. Select the external hard disk. Scroll through the list to find the game you want to import. Press the triangle button on the controller, then select Copy. This will copy the backup to the PS3 and the game can be used again.
Xbox One
The latest consoles are much more computer-like. Connecting external hard drive to Xbox One is also relatively simple. With the Xbox One, there is only one condition: the HDD must support USB 3.0, and must be at least 256 GB in size. If you are thinking of connecting external hard drive to Xbox One just to store media files and not your games, then there is no storage limit or USB 3.0 requirement.
1. To use it, simply connect the hard drive to the Xbox One. You will be asked if you want to format the hard drive.
2. You must choose Yes to use the HDD. This process is automatic and will take some time. That’s all. Once this is done, it can be used to save games and other content.
PlayStation 4
The PS4 allows you to save games on your external hard drive from the March 2017 firmware update. You can also connect an external HDD to the PS4 and use it to store all your movies and TV shows. You can copy videos from the PS4 to your hard drive, so you can save all your gameplay movies without worrying about filling up your console’s memory. Since the PS4 supports USB 3.0, if you use an external hard drive with USB 3.0, data transfer is much faster. But it is also compatible with older HDDs.
In order to install PS4 games on an external hard disk, the disk must be USB 3.0 and at least 250GB capacity. It must also be formatted in FAT32 format (the second paragraph explains how to do it). Satisfied with these requirements, now simply connect the hard disk to the PS4 and go to Settings -> Devices -> USB Storage Devices. Finally you have to select your hard disk and click on Format as extended storage memory. From this moment on you can use the external hard disk to install the PS4 games.
We hope this guide on how to connect external hard drive to Xbox PS3 and PS4 has helped you recover some space on the console. If you have suggestions and tricks to share with other readers, write them down through comments.