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How to add an External Hard Drive to a PS3

The Sony PlayStation 3 will not allow you to use just any hard drive for transferring, storing or using data like videos, music and photos; you have to use hard drives that have been formatted using the FAT32 format system. Fortunately, hard drives are easily reformatted and if you plan on dedicating a single hard drive for use with your PS3, the result is worth the effort. As long as you have a computer running Windows, adding an external hard drive to boost your PS3's storage capacity is easy.

Things You'll Need

Computer running Windows

Instructions

- 1
  Connect the external hard drive to your computer using its USB cable.
- 2
  Click on the "Start" button and select the "Run" option from the list. Type "CMD" in the text box and press "Enter" or click the "OK" button.
- 3
  Type "format (drive letter): /FS:FAT32" into the command window but replace (drive letter) with the letter that represents your external hard drive. If you are unsure of what it is, go to "My Computer" and find your external hard drive; the letter will be under the icon for the drive. Press "Enter" and Windows will format your hard drive into FAT32.
- 4
  Disconnect the hard drive from your computer and connect it to your PS3.

PlayStation 3