How to Backup Your PS4 Games and Data

The PlayStation 4 (PS4) got the much-anticipated Yukimura update, also known as firmware 2.50, on Sunday. It’s crucial for a number of reasons, not the least of which is being able to back up your PS4’s entire contents, including game installations.

This will help if you need to reinstall the game. Some of them, like Grand Theft Auto V, weigh around 40GB. With the new update, if you decide to upgrade your PS4’s hard drive to something larger than the existing 500GB, you won’t have to redownload any digitally purchased games. It can also be useful if you’ve deleted a game to make room on your console and want to play it again.

You’ll need an external hard drive or USB pen drive to store existing data on the PS4. Follow the steps below to backup and restore your data:

1. Format a USB storage device

• Insert the USB hard drive into your Windows PC.
• right click, select Format.
• choose exFAT Format options.
• for Allocation unit size option, select the largest possible value listed in the drop-down menu.

• Connect a USB storage device to the system.
• From the Features screen, select set up > system > Backup restore .
• choose Backup PS4.
• Press X to add a checkmark to the checkbox to save application.
• Your PS4 will now reboot and transfer all data. Depending on the amount of data, it can take several hours, or even more than a day.

Once this is done, the game will be copied to your PS4 and you can play it again at any time.