Photo Recovery

How to Recover Lost or Deleted Game data from PS4 HDD?

Written By Sumona Chatterjee
Approved By Rohit Arora
Updated on 14 Jun, 2022
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Summary: You can lose your PS4 games data saved on hard drives or USB stick due to accidental deletion, sudden power cut, abrupt, system shutdown, etc. Learn 4 ways to recover data from PS4 hard drive, USB, and other media. The post shares the best PS4 data recovery software for various PS4 game data loss situations.

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You love gaming and treasure your PlayStation 4 (PS4). However, some severe situations like below can hamper your gaming experience:

Accidentally deleted PS4 game
Saved game data missing on PS4
Unable to recover data from PS4 hard drive

Don’t worry. This post guides you on how to recover lost or deleted PS4 game videos in such situations.

Sony’s PlayStation 4 is a trendsetter in the next-generation video games, but not free from its share of data loss situations. Loss of saved data on PS4, deleted PS4 game captures, deleted history of PS4, or missing video PS4 game files have affected gamers around the world.

The PlayStation data includes videos files of MKV, AVI, MP4, MPEG2, and AVCHD formats. You can lose all or some of these files due to a sudden power cut, connectivity loss with the server or poor internet connection. It is possible that while booting your computer, the server went down leading to loss of your favorite game files. Or else, you when you log in to your PSN ID on your console, which you have not accessed for months, and find all the saved game data missing. The data is neither present in ‘storage management’ and nor in PS4 Library. Sometimes in a bid to make space on the hard drive, you tend to accidentally delete some of the required game files.

However, there are solutions to this problem and you can enjoy playing your favorite games again.

How to recover deleted PS4 files?

PS4 backup facility such as PS Plus or external drive backup is always the most convenient method to restore lost files. But how would you restore saved PS4 games in absence of backup?

In such situations, an advanced PS4 recovery software comes to the rescue.

Here we have shared the 4 best methods to recover deleted or missing games from PS4 hard drive or USB storage drive.

Methods to recover deleted or lost PS4 game saves

Recover lost PS4 game saves from PS Plus Cloud storage
Re-download and reinstall from PlayStation store
Restore PS4 games saved data from USB storage device
Recover PS4 game files using a secure PS4 recovery software

Solution 1: Recover lost PS4 games from PS Plus Cloud storage

Recovery of PS4 game videos from online storage is possible if you are a PS Plus user. PS Plus enables auto-save of PS4 games to the Cloud. You can copy the lost game files from the Cloud and save them back to the system.

Step-by-step recoverPS4 files from Cloud Saves

Step 1: On your PlayStation Home Menu, go to Settings

Step 2: Click on Application Saved Data Management

Step 3: Click on Saved Data in Online Storage

Step 4: Click on Download to System Storage.

Step 5: Select saved games you want to recover from Download to System Storage and click Download.

Step 6: Download process begins. Once the download ends, save the games to the PS4 hard drive.

Solution 2: Re-download and reinstall from PlayStation store

There’s a provision to download your PS4 games again from the PlayStation store using the same account with which you had bought the games previously. Re-downloading the same games is usually free of cost.

Steps to recover deleted PS4 games by re-download

Sign into your PS4 local user account.
Go to PlayStation Store.
Select games you lost and want to recover.
Re-download the games and save on PS4 hard drive.

Solution 3: Restore PS4 games saved data from USB storage device

If you copy games data to a USB storage device of your PS4 as a backup, restore the deleted files from there.

Steps to restore PS4 game saves from USB storage:

On your PlayStation Home Menu, go to Settings.
Select System > Backup and Restore.
Connect the USB storage device that contains backup into the PS4 USB ports.
Select Restore PS4 and select your backup file.

A screen appears that tells your system will restart and initialize whether or not the backup process is completed. Select Yes/ Restore to continue.

The process will take time depending on the size of your backup file. Your PS4 backup data will be successfully restored on your system.

Solution 4: Recover games using PS4 files recovery software

If you are unable to restore the deleted video PS4 by the above methods, use a safe and secure Stellar Photo Recovery Software to recover PS4 games from hard drive or USB stick. The do-it-yourself PS4 recovery software is helpful in below situations:

Accidentally deleted PS4 files or captures.
Lost or missing saved game data on PS4 with no PS Plus backup.
To recover game files from a corrupt or dead PS4 hard drive and USB drive.
To restore lost games from formatted PS4 hard drive or USB.
To recover data after initializing PS4.

Note: Complete PS4 files recovery chances are less in this case but you may recover some games data.

Step-by-step process to recover data from PS4 hard drive/ USB drive using PS4 Recovery Software

Take out the hard drive of your PS4 and connect it to PC or Mac using USB cable.
Launch Stellar Photo Recovery Software.
Select the PS4 hard drive. Click Scan The scan results display – deleted files with date and time of capture. You can preview them also. If you don’t see the required PS4 data in the list, opt for Deep Scan option at the bottom.

Select the PS4 game files or captures, and click Recover.
In the dialog box, specify the location to save the games data. Click Save. All the files get saved at the specified location.

Note: Don’t save your data on the same PS4 drive from which you recovered the lost files. Select a different drive and make sure it has enough free space.

How to protect your PS4 game videos?

If you are investing so much of your time and money on PS4 games, it is wise to backup your game files to avoid any kind of data loss in future. So, regularly back up saved game videos to an external USB or hard drive.

You can also use PS Plus for Cloud storage of PS4 files. As a PlayStation Plus subscriber, you can save your games at cloud servers of Sony. The online storage can save up to 100GB of game save data of PS4 while it is 1 GB for PS3/Vita/TV.

Steps to auto-save your PS4 game files in PS Plus

Go to Settings >Application Saved Data Management > Saved Data in System Storage.
Click Upload to Online Storage.
Next, choosethe game, then choose the file and tap Upload. You PS4 game will be saved in Cloud.

There are chances while copying or saving your PS4 games, some files may get corrupt due to sudden power cut or server issue. Use Stellar Repair for Video to fix corrupt or damaged video files of your PS4 games.

Tip: Stop using PS4 hard drive when you find the game files are missing, to avoid any kind of overwriting. Remember, recovery of overwritten PS4 data is almost impossible.

Conclusion

Whenever you encounter missing PS4, never think they have been totally wiped out. Try the above methods to recover PS4 saved games data. The best solution is to use a backup. However, in absence of PS Plus or other backup solution, get trusted PS4 files Recovery Software that is capable of extracting all types of lost game files from PS4 hard drives and USB storage with original name, date and timestamp.

So recover, save and enjoy your PS4 games once again!

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About The Author

Sumona Chatterjee

Sumona is a tech blogger, avid photographer, & technogeek with vast experience in writing about media file recovery tips and tutorials. She has over 10 years of experience in media file recovery/media file repair technology. She is passionate about Photography, Creative Designing, Music, and Exploring lesser-known destinations.

40 comments

amelie boykin says:

December 7, 2020 at 7:09 pm

Its good to read your post, thank you for posting.

Reply
Sami says:

November 2, 2020 at 11:53 pm

Hi, I’m trying to recover video files from my PS4 Capture Gallery. They were not deleted, I just need to find them. I just scanned the HDD, a lot of files have been recovered, I just don’t know which one is the capture gallery files. Do you where exactly it would be in the hard drive (what file it is) and what the file type would be (e.g. mp4)?

Reply
1. Sumona Chatterjee says:
  
  November 4, 2020 at 5:37 am
  
  Hi Sami, Our software only recovers deleted files, you may use the Search feature on your system to find PS4 Capture Gallery files. Once the scanning process is completed, you can save files to your desired location and not in the same drive. I would suggest you to save files on a different drive.
  
  Reply
Dean Carder says:

March 27, 2020 at 2:24 am

I was editing a video in SHAREfactory app and thought I didn’t need the clips that I had anymore, so I deleted them and the video is gone from SHAREfactory. I saved my progress through editing and was wondering if I could get those videos back.

Reply
1. Sumona Chatterjee says:
  
  March 30, 2020 at 5:05 am
  
  Hi Dean
  As SHAREfactory Projects are saved internally to the app only, Backup & Restore is the only means of restoring a deleted Project file, Commentary, etc.But, any existing data present on a console at the time of performing Restore will be deleted and replaced with the Backup image.
  Thanks!
  
  Reply
Marshall Grundstrom says:

October 17, 2019 at 8:53 am

Hey, I was editing a video in share factory and thogj I didn’t need the clips that I had anymore so I deleted them and the video is gone from share factory I saved my progress through editing and was wondering if I could get those videos back

Reply
1. Shailendra Kumar says:
  
  October 17, 2019 at 9:33 am
  
  Hi Marshall, We would like to inform you that our software works on “what you see is what you can repair”. That means the files will be repaired in the same manner as you were able to see them in the preview window after the scanning is complete.
  
  Reply
Mark says:

May 21, 2019 at 12:11 pm

Hi Sumona,
I inserted the HDD from my broken ps4 (it would not turn on) into a new ps4. When I did this I had to format the ‘old’ HDD. Now all of my game saves are gone. If I connect the ps4 HDD to my laptop using a SATA cable and run your software, what am I looking for / what will the ps4 save game files look like? Thank, Mark

Reply
1. Sumona Chatterjee says:
  
  May 23, 2019 at 2:03 am
  
  Hi, Mark, you can use our software i.e. Stellar Photo Recovery Premium in order to recover videos of PS4 Games by our software. you can easily recover missing PS4 game videos from any external or internal hard drive. The do-it-yourself software recovers PS4 game videos lost due to deletion, corruption or formatting PS4 drives.
  
  Reply
Ross says:

May 16, 2019 at 5:39 pm

If I didn’t save a video clip that was being recorded can it be recovered using Stellar? I turned off my PS4 before pressing the share button to capture what I was recording I’ve downloaded both the Stellar software and the Remoteplay software and I can pull up the PS4 screen on my MacBook but how do I know what to scan I’m not seeing any apparent options like PS4 system cache or anything that looks like what I’d want to scan. How do I know what to scan in order to recover my video clip?

Reply
1. Sumona Chatterjee says:
  
  May 17, 2019 at 3:23 am
  
  Hi Ross, If the video clip not recorded in your computer or system our software won’t help you. I suggest you can select all drive & documents, videos with using our software if you don’t know where the video file location. Our software recover your video file and you can see the preview. Thanks!
  
  Reply
Josef says:

April 12, 2019 at 3:11 am

Does this software work only on PC? Can it recover internal data on the PlayStation system itself? Game Save data was overwritten from Cloud Storage, so I was wondering if this software can pull any possible earlier data or internal data that may have been saved at an earlier point in time?

Reply
1. Sumona Chatterjee says:
  
  April 12, 2019 at 3:17 am
  
  Hi Josef, Yes, our software work on PC/Computer/Laptop. No, it does not recover internal data on the PlayStation It recovers your accidentally deleted or lost data that you saved on your computer/laptop/PC/external hard drive. For more information, you can contact our support through email support[@]stellarinfo.com or call +1-877-778-6087.Thanks!
  
  Reply
Blake Phillips says:

April 11, 2019 at 11:28 pm

Hello, I am in desperate need of assistance. My power cut out which led to my capture gallery and game saves that were on my 4TB external hard drive becoming incapable of being repaired. My PS4 then told me to format the hard drive, not telling clearing up that it would wipe the saves. I know that it is possible to get them, but when I plug my hard drive into my laptop/computer it is not recognized as a device. What should I do?

Reply
1. Sumona Chatterjee says:
  
  April 12, 2019 at 2:54 am
  
  Hi, Blake, Please follow the given steps:
  
  1. Update your OS or drivers on your laptop/computer.
  2. Open Disk Management tool. Using Windows + R and type diskmgmt.msc command.
  3. Here you see your external drive listed in the disk management.
  4. If it’s doesn’t appear, It should show up here as removable.
  5. If you see jump down to the section “create a new volume and assign the drive letter”.
  
  In case the data lost or deleted you can try our software demo version and see the preview of your files.
  
  Reply
Dillon Chinn says:

March 14, 2019 at 12:27 am

I used the software, and brings up a bunch of files all same size and non-playable file types, what do I do?

Reply
1. Sumona Chatterjee says:
  
  March 14, 2019 at 3:13 am
  
  Hi Dillon, Kindly follow the underlying steps:
  
  1. Connect your storage media to your computer and run Stellar Photo Recovery software and click on Recover Photo, Audio & Video button.
  
  2. Select the media or the memory card from the list. You can select a specific region and specific file types for the scanning process by clicking on the Advanced Settings button.
  
  3. Click on the Scan Now button.
  
  4. The software starts scanning the media and shows you a preview of the files that you can recover successfully.
  
  5. Select the files which you want to recover and click on the Recover button to save the file on a different hard-drive.
  
  Reply
Julia says:

March 5, 2019 at 3:07 am

Hi. I recently lost ALL of my game saves on my PS4. Will this software be able to retrieve my saves?

Reply
1. Sumona Chatterjee says:
  
  March 5, 2019 at 3:26 am
  
  Hi Julia, If PS4 save files stored on hard drives, our software definitely works. I suggest you can try demo version of our software and see the preview of recovered file.
  
  Reply