Hardware 8.5x PS4 Pro Safemode loop

BORTZ · Jul 28, 2021

I have a PS4 Pro that boots with the message
"Cannot start the PS4"

I have tried going through safemode and loading the most recent firmware (both versions) and when it gets to the part after "preparing to update" the playstation blackscreens and boots back to the "Cannot start the PS4". Any help?

godreborn · Jul 28, 2021

I would check the hdd. Maybe see what happens if you remove the hdd, then turn it on.

Hayato213 · Jul 28, 2021

Probably dying hard drive, try another drive.

BORTZ · Jul 29, 2021

Yeah a dropped a new firecude into the defunct ps4 and it came back to life. I wonder if i can revive the old drive.

godreborn said:
I would check the hdd. Maybe see what happens if you remove the hdd, then turn it on.

If you just remove the harddrive it stays in safemode and tell you the shut the system back off.

ZeroT21 · Jul 29, 2021

Most likely HDD failure

Hayato213 · Jul 29, 2021

BORTZ said:
Yeah a dropped a new firecude into the defunct ps4 and it came back to life. I wonder if i can revive the old drive.

Well plug in the HDD on to your computer, you should be able to see it under disk management if it still alive, if it is dead there isn't much you can do about the drive.

linuxares · Jul 29, 2021

Most common is harddrive failure. Just to change to a SSD

BORTZ · Jul 29, 2021

linuxares said:
Most common is harddrive failure. Just to change to a SSD

Ps4 can't take full advantage of an SSD that's a waste of money.

linuxares · Jul 29, 2021

BORTZ said:
Ps4 can't take full advantage of an SSD that's a waste of money.

I think the Pro uses SATA 3. So it should make a difference. I know the older ones use SATA 2.

KiiWii · Jul 29, 2021

linuxares said:
I think the Pro uses SATA 3. So it should make a difference. I know the older ones use SATA 2.

Minimal at best.

godreborn · Jul 29, 2021

I had a talk with @Hayato213 about this, because I was considering buying a ssd at one point. however, the ssd speeds are like 110-120 MB/s, which is about equivalent to the usb 3.0 speeds on the ps4, so technically speaking, you save a lot of money by just buying a usb 3.0 drive instead. I think the speed difference is around 10MBs/s.

Hayato213 · Jul 29, 2021

godreborn said:
I had a talk with @Hayato213 about this, because I was considering buying a ssd at one point. however, the ssd speeds are like 110-120 MB/s, which is about equivalent to the usb 3.0 speeds on the ps4, so technically speaking, you save a lot of money by just buying a usb 3.0 drive instead. I think the speed difference is around 10MBs/s.

That was reference to copying from USB 3.0 to SATA on a computer, you do get capped out around 140MB/s on USB 3.0. The video that KiiWii posted SSD does load a little bit faster than regular HDD.

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/...o-ssd-upgrade-does-sata-3-make-a-difference_9

godreborn · Jul 29, 2021

the problem with that test is it's between a standard hdd and a ssd. I mean a usb 3.0 versus a ssd. you may be throttled by the hard drive though, because external games are transferred to the internal hdd's mnt/sandbox/pfsmnt mounting point. this is true in all cases including disc games, so everything relies on the internal hdd to some degree, so such tests are unreliable, because the disc drive, external hdd, or internal hdd all could contribute to throttling the speed.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

what I don't know is if the mounting point is on the external drive when using an external hdd. I don't know if there's really a way to know, but I assume it's on the internal hdd, since the mounting location is the same for everything: games, dlc, themes, updates with the disc drive, external, and internal hdds.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

I think the mnt location is a mounting point like (usb000 on the ps3), so it doesn't technically exist. it's not a folder, but I think sandbox/pfsmnt are folders (probably on the internal hdd in all cases), but I don't know for sure.

BORTZ · Jul 29, 2021

Hence my purchase of a second hybrid drive.

godreborn · Jul 29, 2021

Sorry about the triple post, but this got me thinking about something. I posted my question in @KiiWii 's aio thread for @Leeful . Not sure if he'll know the answer.

BORTZ · Jul 30, 2021

So I was able to format the drive with Windows 10 into exFAT and the PS4 took it. So it lives again.
I don't know if this is normal but there were about 10 different sized partitions on it. I also had to delete every single one individually to get Windows to finally allow me to format it.

godreborn · Jul 31, 2021

BORTZ said:
So I was able to format the drive with Windows 10 into exFAT and the PS4 took it. So it lives again.
I don't know if this is normal but there were about 10 different sized partitions on it. I also had to delete every single one individually to get Windows to finally allow me to format it.

The ps4 hdd has 14 or 15 partitions. You could've formatted it with no file system, it doesn't matter.

Hardware 8.5x PS4 Pro Safemode loop

DO NOT SCREENSHOT

Welcome to the Machine

Newcomer

DO NOT SCREENSHOT

Well-Known Member

Newcomer

The inadequate, autocratic beast!

DO NOT SCREENSHOT

The inadequate, autocratic beast!

Editorial Team

Welcome to the Machine

Newcomer

Welcome to the Machine

DO NOT SCREENSHOT

Welcome to the Machine

DO NOT SCREENSHOT

Welcome to the Machine

Similar threads

Popular threads in this forum