Home >> Internet Games >> PlayStation 3

My PS3 Won't Recognize the External Hard Drive

If you have a new hard drive for your PS3 but the console won't recognize the drive, the most likely problem is that the hard drive has not been properly formatted. The majority of hard drives on the market come with NTFS format system, but the PS3 will recognize only hard drives that have been formatted using the FAT32 system. Reformatting hard drives is a basic task, but all of your data will be lost in the process, so backup those files.

Things You'll Need

Computer

Instructions

- 1
  Disconnect the hard drive from the PS3 and connect it to a computer. Go to "My Computer" to see which letter has been assigned to the drive. If there is information on the hard drive that you want to use with your PS3, back it up before proceeding, as the reformat process will delete all data from the drive.
- 2
  Click the "Start" button and click the "Run." option. When the "Run" window pops up, type "CMD" into the text box and press "Enter." A command prompt window will appear.
- 3
  Type the phrase, "format *: /FS:FAT32" into the window. Replace the "*" with the letter assigned to your hard drive. Press "Enter" and the computer will reformat the drive automatically.
- 4
  Disconnect the hard drive from the computer and reconnect it to your PS3; the PS3 should recognize the hard drive.

PlayStation 3