If you have amassed plenty of videos, music and pictures on your computer over the years then why not stick it all on an external hard drive and hook it up to your PS3. Easier, and much quicker, than streaming files over your home network this is an ideal solution for users with massive hard drive needs.
With the advances in the PS3 software, many video types can now be played and nearly all music and picture formats are also available.
So what do you need?
A nice big external hard drive (in theory any size up to around 2000 Gb is possible) although most people will opt for something between 250 and 500 Gb.
Let’s sort it out!
The perfect external HD for the PS3 is the fantastic 500Gb Seagate.
It has a sleek black outer casing, and a super fast 7200 rpm drive for quick file access.
(Available for only £79.99)
Or 750Gb for £89.99
Next up we need to format your drive so that the PS3 will recognise it. We need to format the hard drive to utilise the FAT32 file system. First problem is that we can’t do this using the normal Windows format facility. Windows can only format FAT32 drives up to 32Gb.
You will need to download a program such as Swissknife (Download from here). This is a free download and can format your massive external hard drive in the FAT32 file system.
When you have formatted your external drive you will need to create 4 folders so that the PS3 can recognise where you put your files.
Name these four folders:
Photo
Video
Music
Game
You can then fill these folders with your pictures, videos and music – make sure you put the files in the right folder and then after you have disconnected the drive from your PC it’s time to hook it up to your PS3.
Enjoy!
i already have a external hardrive with lots of songs and movies if i do this methoud will the information be lost
Andrew, if you’re external HD is not FAT32 then unfortunately you will have to format it which will indeed result in the loss of your data. You could transfer your files from your external HD temporarily to either your PC and/or burn them on to re-writable DVD’s before you format the external HD.
i got a Philips 500gb hdd from argos for £80 i think or less so i can format this too FAT32 and have all 500gb or do i have to split it?
Swissknife dosen’t work on vista for me any one having this too?
i have an external 40gb drive but windows does not let me format it as FAT32. It is a very old drive, could this be the reason? is there any way 2 get this old drive to FAT32 format, because it would really help me transfer things from pc to ps3
Swissknife works for me on Windows Vista. Please make sure you downloaded the latest version.
Could you use a portable external HDD? i.e. one which is powered by the PS3 via USB. Would this have any negative effects on the console?
Does the PS3 recognize more than on partition on the USB Ext HDD. Im having trouble seeing the files on the second partition.
Guys,
I just did it. Iomega external 2.5″HD 250G FAT32 default firmated from the fabric. Everything works greate like described. But twow buts:
1)create PICTURE instead of PHOTO.
2)PS3 does recognize only one DIRectory down the topic tree.
E.g. Music\Artist\….mp3 is OK
but Music\Artist\Album\…mp3 NOT
so to split a albums you have to do something like this Music\Artist_Album1\…mp3
Serge
Are you sure you are clicking ‘display all’ to see multiple trees?
i am attempting this with a drive from a laptop in which i bought a portable case for. it was already a fat32 and ps3 would not recognize it with single usb and/or the power usb plugged in. but i’ll let you all know what happens after this.
i have 2.5 60 gigs i took out of the ps3 and put in a 320 the 320 no pro in the ps3. but the 60 i put in the 2.5 drive did fat32 useing swissknife and put the folders in. when to ps3 , didn’t see it so i got a power cord and try that too, because i though that usb was not powerful to do .so what can i do next ? or will it work better on a 3.5 then a 2.5 . because most online help use 3.5 not 2.5. thanks man….
Try http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/index.htm?fat32format.htm
I couldn’t get swissknife to work for me, but this only took a matter of minutes and did the job perfectly.
ive done all of this already but its only letting me partition 196GB of the 750GB i have available, if anyone knows how i can do this to use the full 750GB please please! email me on billym06@hotmail.co.uk
the problem with this is that the file size limit of fat 32 is 4GB – so you cant copy big video files over!
I think using EXT as a partition type may work though.
will it play back blue ray files
does anyone know if an external drive will be able to store files saved using the new ‘Play TV’ add on for PS3? In other words you could end up with a HDD TV box cable of storing up to 2TB! thats alot of TV!
FAT32 don’t show-up on swissknife….only NTFS & FAT16???
what am I doin wrong!!
will you be able to save game data on the external hardrive not save data GAME DATA??
Right guys….this is it..get your self a western digital(WD) external drives, they come aready with FAT32 format, as simple as that no hussle!
i got the 500Gb Seagate shown as i thought it would be easier to format and get working quickly but when eever i try and format it using the above free download it keeps coming up that there is a read/write error. can someone please tell me where im going wrong????
The REAL problem with that is that FAT32 is a very old file system, and can only store files up to 4GB in size.
Cannot believe PS3 does not recognize my NTFS 320GB Western Digital. Damn Sony. Why choosing an old format…
Can’t understand why you lot are using external programs to format the hard drive in Fat32. Format in windows does it !!!! Doh !!!
Because, Jools, in Windows you are limited to a drive size of 32GB. Doh!
Jools – Windows can only format FAT32 drives up to 32Gb.
NTFS is owned by Microsoft and that means there will be licensing issues if used by other vendors. That is why Linux does not support NTFS. FAT32 can be used freely.
I read somewhere that this has to be a SATA drive and not IDE. Can anyone confirm please.
I have a question:
1. When you formated the HDD, can you transfer a file from windows PS bigger than 4 gig to the external HDD?
2. Lets say you managed to transfer 8 gig file (hd movie for ps3), can you play a hd movie of 8 gig on the ps3?
Jools – Windows will only Format 32GB FAT32.
Can you not just use the PS3 to format the external Hard drive? It does it for The 8GB memory Sticks!
how to play hd video files on my ps3 i have formatet my drive to fat 32 but can’t put mij 7.5GB files on it because it only accepts a max of 4 gb. how do i have to do it?
best regards
roy
I formatted a 1TB external hard drive using SwissKnife however I was left with only 429GB after the formatting, how do I get the full 1TB to format?
the same problem happened to me, can anyone tell us if it is possible to get the full storage space back?
did all the format stuff, it works, but can u save game data utility on external hdd? if not can u make the ehdd the primary drive rather than as an attachment
I had the same problem as you.
I had a 650Gb drive with large HD videos in NTFS format but PS3 didn’t recognise it.
I used Swisknife but the largest partition it would create was 100Gb so Like you I had lost 550Gb.
The only way I recovered it was plugging it into my laptop Windows XP and using the ‘Manage’ option on the ‘My Computer’ icon.
Once it launches the new panel select ‘Disc Management’ – this will show all the space on your portable Hard drive, including the lost space as ‘Free Space’. Then you have to format this free space as NTFS to get it back.
Unfortunately this NTFS partition won’t be recognised by your PS3.
To play my large HD files I have to reformat them to under 4Gb.
The space is filling up & I know have to decide what to do with the NTFS parition – divide it into further 100Gb FAT32 or try something else.
Any ideas anyone?
Notintheleast
Formatting in the FAT format stores data in different size chunks/blocks(clusters) than the windows NTFS format. Windows NTFS is far more efficient as it can use a large array of cluster size. FAT doesnt have the same flexibility as NTFS, hence why you are losing some HD space.
i had same problem i formatted 640gb to fat32 and left with 94gb if anyone knows how to fix this email me at gee_bones@hotmail.com
I had the same problem. I was able to do the format with the partition magic trial version. Using partition magic, I was able to delete the existing NTFS partition, and create a FAT32 partition. I did loose the data in the process.
me too. it says it can format a 2 tb partition, but my 1 tb external drive is only showing 429 gb.
wtf?
why not just share media between you pc and the ps3. My ps3 sees all the shared video files from my computer.
i have formatet my drive to fat 32 but can’t put 7.5GB files on it because it only accepts a max of 4 gb. how do i have to do it?
guys with storage issues.
this is the main problem with FAT32, due to cluster sizes you lose a considerable amount of space.
Anybody who has problems on vista, make sure that it is the latest version.
Im having the same problem as Prasheel. My 2.5 WD 250g is partitioned into 2 drives but my PS3 can’t see the second drive. Can the PS3 read both or will it need to be one single drive. If so, will it read the entire drive or will it only recognise some of it as in Steve’s case?
Can I save game files on an external hdd ?
Because my memory is full on my 40gb ps3 -_-’ ..
thnks
i used Paragon Partition to format my 1TB Ext HDD and it works fine.
i have 2 questions though.
1. my ps3 can’t see any second level subfolders i.e Video/Series/ only files visible. is that normal? will i have to move all my movies 1 folder up for ps3 to see it?
2. if i’m copying for instance movies >4gb do my ps3 with the ext hdd conected and folders Picture, Video etc created will the info go the ext hdd or ps3 itself?
dont think it ever shows as 1TB, not definite on this though, think it will only show up to a certain size, theres more space on there than that though. Format with partition magic on vista.
If you are trying to format a large external HDD like 1TB, do not use Swissknife as it will only format 429GB which is just a waste. Use FAT32formatter, its so much easier to use and it will do the entire Harddrive, it may take a couple of hours to do the full format (not quick format) but it does it all, unlike the piece of crap that is Swissknife.
http://tokiwa.qee.jp/EN/Fat32Formatter/index.html
So I have an external with 25 GB of space left and I needed to back up my precious again. It wouldn’t let me so I figured no big, i’ll delete my old backup for it that took up 40 gigs. I delete it and it says to big for the recycle bin, do you want to permently delete it.
I say yes and then when its done it says my external has 65 or so gig now.
Plug it back into precious and it says NOPE you only have 25 gig. I went into my external again and looked for hidden files in case it didn’t completely delete the file and couldn’t find anything. Went to my system tools and it said I had quite a bit of crap in my recycle bin for it so I deleted it. Then I proceeded to delete another 20 gigs of music I didn’t need anymore and plugged it back into the precious. NO SIR, NOT HAPPENING, you only have 25 gig of available space.
My external says it has roughly 85 gigs of free space and my ps3 is only a 60 gig HD but it refuses to see that I have more then 25 gig available on it and will not BU now and i’ve done it twice before with this HD.
Next I totally wiped my HD and did a format on it again in FAT32 and now my ps3 will not even see it.
Any help anybody?
For those who are having trouble with storing a large capacity video, over 3.9 GB, get a programme called tsMuxer, use it to split the video into acceptable size. It can also be used to fix audio problems with HD sound formats so PS3 can play them, just google it, it’s free
By using a ripping program called DVD Fab 5 or DVD Fab Platinum you can customize any DVD, BR, or HD to PS3 recognizable format. This includes extracting unneeded audio files and subtitles or (just) the movie itself.
You can also compress it to whatever size necessary. Which can then be transfered to a USB flashdrive or your External and uploaded to your PS3.
Once again this works for files over 4gigs.
If you are familiar with torrents the torrent can still be found at sites such as mininova.org or h33t.net. Research torrents if you are unfamiliar with the process. You will need a torrent app such as BitTorrent.
This is the most efficient way to handle the problem. Unless you are familiar with multiple programming languages and and create your own algorythym to bypass the size issue.
Newbie,
I just brought a Maxtor black Armor USB external hdd WITH 320gb. I have partiton Manager 9.0. How am I suppose to make this drive work? I read somewhere that since it is password lock that the PS3 will not reconize it? Please help
I have 1500 GB drive and need to format it to FAT32 for PS3 but the drive is full and I don`t have space anywhere to copy data temp while I format the drive, any suggestions?
iam rubbish with this stuff i can’t use swissknife can anyone help
Here is how to format a 1tb HD using Swissknife. 1.Addministrative tools, Disk Management
2.Create 8mb partition first in FAT
3.Create rest of HD as 2nd partition approx 935gb in NTFS
4.Open Swissknife, go to new HD and format 935gb partition as FAT32 (use quick format).
5.Go back to Disc Management and delete 8mb partition and voila you will have the whole 935gb available under windows and on PS3.
this is not windows vista comp. read all the info before you start installing save you time READ !!
guys… ive a serious problem… i origionally used a different forum to explain how 2 format my hd… thou it failed to mention the 32gb limit and i used the windows format and now i cant even read the hd! can eny1 help!?!?!?!
i use USBExtreme.exe reformat large HDD for PS3.
We connected a 500gb Toshiba external Hard Drive to the PS3 formatted as FAT32, however it will only recognize the files copied to the specific folders and not the free space on the drive. Can anybody help. I have not yet seen anyone with this problem.
i have done above explained step by step. Put some test photo music and movie connected to ps3 did not worked on PS3.
turn to pc i have 19 folders with chines and evry diferent carakters folder name. shame on you PS3 FAT32 NTFS boolshit!. could’t you do plug and play things.
I would like to know if the games that are Copy Prohibited can be transfered using the External Hard Drive? I have 6 game that are C.P. and even though I have not played them in awhile I don’t want to start them all over agian, and I don’t want to switch the hard drives just to play the C.P. games.
Thanks for your help
Okay, so I’ve worked out a few of these issues. First, it doesn’t matter how many subfolders or what they are named, the PS3 will see them. Just hit triangle and select ‘view all’, they will show up! None of my files ever show when just selecting the hdd unless it’s been copied to the hdd by the PS3. Secondly, if you are using swissknife in vista right click on the program and select properties. Then, select the ‘compatibility’ tab. Check the box next to ‘run this program in compatibilty mode for Windows XP (service pack 2). Also check ‘run this program as an administrator’. Doing these 2 things will allow swissknife to work just fine. I’m running Vista 64bit and I run swissknife just fine.
1. Go to CNET and get EASEUS and install
2. Get your HD ready
3. Use EASEUS to partition the drive into on large segment YOU WILL LOSE ALL DATA ALREADY ON THE DRIVE!!!
4. Format the partition in FAT32
5. Use windows to create the 4 folders (Pictures,Music,Video,Game)
6. Add media to the appropriate folders
7. Plug the HD into the PS3 (PS3 will not power some HD fully; I had to use two-to-one USB adapter)
8. PS3 WILL find the device if you followed these directions, now you can backup files, listen to your music, watch videos, etc. I got it to work on the first try!
PS3 MEDIA SERVER.
I use this program on my main PC and stream all my video to my PS3 in the tv room.
If a movie file is not compatable with the PS3 it transcodes it in real time to a MPG-2. It will even keep the 5.1 suround and transcode RAR files.
Much easier to keep all my Externaal HD storage in one place out of site from the TV and I don’t have to transfer any files from one HD to another then carry it to my PS3. No making special PS3 folders…… PLUSS it makes all my movie files compatable with the PS3.
i wonder if any1 can help me pls?my ps3 has died n need 2 transfer 60gb of external hdd info on 2 another hdd(cos sony want my original hdd back in ps3 when i chop it in 4 a like 4 like swap)then be able 2 tranfer that info back in the new ps3 when i get it.i will be so gutted if i loose all music pics n game saves.any help would be greatly appreciated.thanx
hey thanks for this post it is helpfull i bought a seagate 1.TB
i have just bought a playtv box to use with my ps3 but i cant transfur the playtv files accross (it’s a FREAKIN hungry app) which is why i bought the hdd but the files dont show up on the ps3 so i cant move them
Help,
I have a 250GB external drive converted to fat32 by swissknife and have got about 235Gb of storage space. When i conect it to the ps3 it is recognized and i can copy data from the ps3 to it. I can see the data is on the external hard drive. When i play a game on ps3 the ps3 will not retreive the saved game data from the external hard drive?. i can however copy the data back onto the ps3 from the external drive and then the game i’m plying finds the old saved data? is this normal and why cant the saved data be found from the external drive.
I created the four folders on the extrenal drive ie.PHOTO GAME VIDEO MUSIC but the ps3 saved the data onto the external drive into a new folder titled PS3 and then a sub folder SAVEDATA i think which it created itself. Is the above normal or should the saved data be ready from the external drive when starting up a game.
Any help would be appreciated.
RJSTACEY@BTINTERNET.COM
In my opinion there are limits here. First of all what are you going to do with an external volume of 1TB or 500GB?
Songs? No, you are not a radio station to have such a library.
You could store some blue ray films (or let’s high quality films) but unfortunately … FAT32 supports only 4GB file size. And anything bigger than that cannot be stored, unless some file splitting is going to be applied which is unwanted as an extra processing needed. Anyone has got an idea?
hey, so if you have a 1tb external drive but then format it to FAT32 it will only reconize 32gbs worth of data? and i want to use my 1tb external drive to back up my ps3 so i can upgrade my internal drive but then want to use the 1tb on the computer but people are saying that it doesn’t work anymore but to fix this do you just have to format it again or what?
I have seen on different sites that you have to name the file “picture” not “photo” but I am not sure about this. (Not sure if you have already mentioned this before though?).
i just bought black armor 160gb hard drive..i’ve put some flicks on it and want to watch them on my ps3…how do i do this if i have to put in the password before black armor opens up its files/unlock the hard drive..can it be formatted any way like a gig stick/flash drive
I used EASUS partition manager TO format the entire portable drive 1 TB to fat 32 I decided later to split it into and it also resized it for me. For it to work on PS3 it must be FAT 32 not eXFAT32 or NTFS. Swiss knife didn’t work for me.
80g bportable drive
Hey i have a hitachi 1tb external hard drive and it is already formatted to fat32 ! but when i plug it into my ps3 it doesn’t appear as in the entire hard drive…it doesnt appear anywhere on my ps3 HELP?!
I Have Just Used Fat32 Formatter to format my 2TB HDD and it worked fine may want to try this
i did everything and now my pc cant recognise my portable hd and have no idea how to get it to work again
ok basicly i did exactly what it told me to do and now my 1T Samsung external disc is fucked just saying thanks alot
Just use a mac to format…simple. So long as you have one handy.
Windows XP formatted my 2terabyte WD external to 356Gb FAT32 and I can’t recover the lost space, any suggestions?
hey been reading what people hav sed to do this and most dont work
i gt hitachi 2tb hard drive
here is what does work
download aomei partition assistant home edition 3.0 which is free
then when the program is running your external hard drive should be listed under disk 2
right click on your external hard drive and select format
choose the option you want – for ps3 FAT32 and select ok
then on the top left a green tick will appear called apply and select that and then it should do
then insert folders onto your external hard drive using your pc and call them
picture, music, video and game in caps and you will b all done
gud luk hope it helps
did for me
Can any one tell me how to do this with apple
will this work with downloadable content such as the dragon age 2 dlc cause my playstation is mainly filled with dlc and game saves
I have a tb or 1000gb external harddrive formatted in Fat32. i already converted it because i use to use it on my xbox… but of course microsoft can’t get things right n i get the bad red ring.. i recently bought a PS3, but when i plug in my external harddrive, it doesn’t come up… why is this? it is an hp HDD 1TB external harddrive… please help!
PS3 in Caps or not
ok so i formatted my hd with my mac and my ps3 reads it and everything but when i go to copy data ie: music and saved game data the copying screen comes up and everything but it stays at 0%, and wont copy on to the hd. can someone please help????????????????????
I have a WD My Book Essentials 2T HD. When I plug it into the USB port on my PS3/160 it doesn’t even power on. Can any one help? Thanx
i have a 500gb external hard drive. i wonder if it is possible to save the game packs i have for cod black ops on it instead of the ps3 hard drive? because it is full and i dont eanna buy a new hard drive for my ps3 and i dont wanna uninstall and install the dlc i want to use each time? i got 3 of them but only got space for 2 of them. please help!
i got a 76gb ps3. i have buyed many dlc and game packs. but my ps3 hard drive is full. so i wonder if it is possible to download and install the game packs and dlc’s on my external harddrive. it is 500gb and is fat32. or do i need to buy a bigger hard drive for my ps3. please help
Can I use this method to store and play DLC games from PSN also? As I have the old 40Gb PS3 and don’t have any room for DLC.
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