A PS5 error that forces users to “repair your external drive” has reportedly bricked YouTuber ACG’s console, with the YouTube content creator claiming that “storage rebuild issues” were the culprit behind the console no longer working. Other reports suggest that entering the console into rest mode while playing games like Spider-Man: Miles Morales is also causing issues.
Jeremy Penter, known as ACG on YouTube, tweeted that his console was “100% dead” yesterday. Describing the issues resulting in the error, ACG said that he was “having the storage rebuild issues others reported” but that his escalated to the point where he was receiving full errors, network issues, and reboots. According to ACG, he was working with Sony in order to troubleshoot the issues, before it “died completely.”
P.1. At this time my PS5 is 100% dead. I was having the storage rebuild issues others reported but mine escalated to full errors and network issues/boot. Sony and I were working through troubleshooting when it died completely. So at this time I will be moving content around…
— ACG (@JeremyPenter) November 10, 2020
ACG later stated that Sony had sent him a new PS5 unit following his troubles with the first, though others have experienced similar issues, even if they haven’t resulting in the console being bricked.
PS5 ‘repair your external drive’ error causes issues
Giant Bomb’s Jeff Gerstmann has reported that putting Spider-Man: Miles Morales into rest mode crashes his entire PS5, forcing a “repair your external drive” process upon start-up. The PS5 then reportedly ends up facing a black screen, with Gerstmann stating that he would have to press the power button to force it into rest mode before it gives him a “file an error” report, before booting normally.
Also every time I've had the PS5 go through that external drive repair sequence, it ends up on a black screen. I have to hit the power button on the console itself to force it into rest mode, then it comes back up and asks me to file an error report, then boots normally.
— Jeff Gerstmann (@jeffgerstmann) November 11, 2020
Unlike ACG, Gerstmann’s PS5 hasn’t bricked, though he claims that the flaw has still been present each time he has tried to put the console into rest mode while playing Miles Morales.
While Sony helped ACG with his issue, the company has yet to address the issue publicly, and it is currently unclear how widespread this problem is. With the PS5 launching today, if this problem isn’t limited to a small number of units, there will likely be more reports on social media of issues with the hardware.
Hardware and software issues with newly released consoles is par for the course, though these PS5 issues appear to have more legitimacy than some of the reports surrounding the Xbox Series X’s alleged teething issues. Yesterday, Microsoft was forced to tell XSX owners to refrain from blowing vape smoke into their new hardware, after videos of the console “smoking” went viral. This followed a similarly odd and debunked story where console owners were “floating ping pong balls” atop the hardware’s vent.
