upgrade to a larger sd
upgrade to a larger sd
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If you are currently running your system from an SD card and you've decided that you need to upgrade to a larger capacity card then you mainly need to remember a few rules for a successful upgrade.
Make 100% sure that your new SD card was purchased from a genuine store and not from Facebook marketplace, eBay, Wish, Temu, AliExpress or any other "cheap" retailer, otherwise you run the risk of purchasing a fake card.
The new SD card will need to be properly formatted first, otherwise your device may not be able to read the card and therefore wont boot. The quickest and most reliable way is using VitaDeploy (as explained below)
Make sure that you can see and copy ALL the hidden data thats on the old SD. By default your computer will usually be hiding several of the files and folder and therefore you wont have a complete backup.
Ideally to make things a little easier it is recommended to use a computer with an SD card reader to help with transferring the files directly from the current SD card to the new one after it is properly formatted.
However, it is possible to use various other methods, including using a smart phone and an FTP connection if you dont have access to a computer, the principle is the same but isnt properly explained here. It will also take quite a while due to the slow transfer speeds.
STEP 1 - Prepare the NEW SD card for the data files
Boot your system normally with the old SD card
Open VitaDeploy
Select 'Miscellaneous'
Select 'Format a storage device'
Then STOP.! - Do NOT go any further yet or you might accidently delete all your data.!
Remove the current SD card from the SD2Vita and Swap it for the new SD card.
(If you see a message about rebooting, just press no)
Once the NEW SD card is inserted, wait a few seconds to give the card chance to read and then select 'Format target storage'
If the format fails then try it again, if it fails again then maybe format the card on another device first and try again here.
Hopefully you will have now successfully formatted the new SD card.
After a successful format, remove the NEW SD card and reinsert the OLD SD card and close the VitaDeploy app.
If your system freezes or has issues then just reboot.
STEP 2 - Preparing to transfer
With the OLD SD card in your device, open VitaShell and press the 'start' button to open the VitaShell settings.
Make sure that USB device is set to 'sd2vita' and NOT 'memory card' otherwise you will be accessing the wrong files.
Make sure that select button is set to 'USB' (unless for some reason you need to use FTP such as using a PSTV or a phone)
Press the 'start' button again to save and close the settings menu
Insert the USB cable if its not already and then press the 'select' button to activate the connection
Note for ftp users
(press here)
Note for ftp users
(press here)
If you have chosen to use the FTP transfer option then you will need to use FTP 'Client' software (NOT Server) on your phone or computer to connect to the vita/pstv.
You will need to use the information your device is showing to connect the devices together.
e.g, you will see something like,
ftp://192.168.1.123:1337
This is broken down to...
host address : 192.168.1.123
port number : 1337
both the username and the password are just left blank
Once connected you will see the various partitions. the only one you are interested in using is UX0:
the FTP client should see ALL the files and folders on the SD card without any additional changes so from here you can skip to 'Step 3 - Transferring'
Your Vita should now show up as a drive letter in 'My Computer' and you will be able to see some (but not all) of the data files.
This is because that by default, Windows has hidden several of the folders for safety and security.
You need to access 'Folder options' which in Windows 10 and 11 is done by pressing ... and then 'Options'
In 'Folder options', goto the 'View' tab
Look In the Advance settings section, and make sure that you have :
☑️ 'Show hidden files, folders and drives' (CHECKED)
⬜ 'Hide protected operating system files' (UNCHECKED)
Press OK and you should now see all the files and folders that are currently stored on the current SD card..
TIP : People often miss the UNTICK
'Hide protected operating system files'
STEP 3 - Transferring
STEP 3 - Transferring
At this point you should see around 15 or more Files and Folders that are on your old SD including the 'app' folder.
It doesnt matter if you are either accessing the SD card as a drive letter (if your connected by USB), or viewing it inside the ux0: folder on your FTP client (if your accessing the files using an FTP connection).
Either way you will see the same 15 or more folders. similar to this example.
Insert the NEW SD card into your card reader and this should show up as another drive letter..
You can now simply copy and paste ALL the files and folders from the old SD onto the new SD. This can take quite a while depending on the size of your current SD but also the fact that transfer speeds are extremely slow.
Once the copy process has completed, disconnect your device and turn it full off. Remove the old SD and swap it for the new SD and turn the system on.
If all went as planned and your SD is genuine, in working order and you properly formatted it as explained, and you copied the data properly then your system should boot without issues.
If your having issues then you can always put the old sd back in and try again from the start. if your still having issues the its possible that your SD card could be fake or faulty, or you could have dammaged the pins inside the SD2Vita adaptor.
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