When was the last time you did a database rebuild on your PS4? If you don't know what that is or can't remember when you last did it, chances are it's been too long. Luckily the process is simple and safe, and while it will take longer if you haven't done it before (or ever), there's no harm in improving your console maintenance right now.
Following these steps will remove corrupted data and reorganize your files, enhancing your system's performance and ensuring you can keep playing all your PS4 games for as long as possible.
How to rebuild your PS4's database
Rebuilding your PS4's database is, fortunately, a simple process, and it's something you be doing on a semi-regular basis if you notice the console being extremely slow.
- Power off your PS4 and do not use rest mode.
- Hold the power button down until you hear two quick beeps. This will alert you that you have entered Safe Mode.
3. Connect your DualShock 4 controller to the USB-A slot in the front of the PS4.
4. Scroll down in the menu until you reach option 5, Rebuild Database.
5. Press the X button to start the rebuild.
A PS4 database rebuild may take minutes or hours, depending on how full your console is and how often you install and delete games. Rebuilding reorganizes your hard drive to make it easier and quicker for the system to access your files. A properly organized database can load data faster, decreasing the chances of having your game freeze or experiencing frame rate drops.
Database rebuilding is a relatively simple task that you should do every few months, but it is best to do it once a quarter. The more frequently you do it, the less time the process should take, at least in theory.
Is it dangerous to rebuild your PS4's database?
Database rebuilding sounds like cleaning — and cleaning sounds like getting rid of things — but the process shouldn't delete any data unless a file is corrupted. Corrupted files will be deleted, but you certainly weren't going to be able to use them even if they were still there. Outside of corrupted files, database rebuilding is not only perfectly safe, but it's also highly recommended. As your PS4 gets older and older, the chances that junk files need to be cleaned to improve performance increase dramatically.
Last-gen still works!
Sony's newest console, the PS5, is over 19 million consoles sold, but stock remains hard to find and the shortage is expected to continue well through 2023, so if you're staying with the PS4 for now, you need to take care of it to the best of your ability.
Fortunately, you'll still be getting new games from Sony over the next year or so, with titles like Horizon Forbidden West recently arriving on PS4 and PS5. Other first-party games are also on the way, so it's not like you're being cut off from new games just yet. With that in mind, as soon as you are able to buy a PS5, it's probably a good idea to do so.
You can always back up your system to an external hard drive or USB storage device before you perform a database rebuild if you're worried. You'll also be protected if you have auto-upload enabled on your PS4, which keeps up to 100GB of your gaming data safe in online storage, so you won't have to worry about your saves disappearing. Bear in mind, you will need to be subscribed to PlayStation Plus in order to use this feature.
