What Does Rebuild Database Do On PlayStation Consoles?

It's Saturday night. Your crazy week has finally come to an end, and you're on deck to get some well-deserved downtime on your PlayStation console. So you put on your headphones, sink into your bean bag, and load up your favorite game. But instead of the typical home screen, you're greeted with an error code — the app couldn't launch due to a missing data file.

While you won't often encounter errors like this, they're bound to happen sometimes. Your PlayStation console, after all, is far from a perfect system. When you do get an error like this, your first course of action might be to simply restart your PS4 or PS5 console. However, there are instances where a basic reboot won't solve your game issue. In such cases, what you need to do is use PlayStation's Rebuild Database functionality. But what exactly is this PS4 and PS5 feature, and is it safe to use?

Rebuild Database is one of PlayStation's Safe Mode options, which are available on PS4 and PS5 consoles. What it does is analyze the contents of your console's storage space, delete corrupted files, and then use the rest to make a fresh, newly organized database. When you rebuild your database, all your usable data remains intact — only the corrupted ones are removed from your system. This means you won't have to worry about your saved games and data, and you can get right back to your gaming session as soon as the rebuild process finishes.

The Rebuild Database functionality is often used as a way to troubleshoot a variety of issues. For instance, if you're trying to fix corrupted and inaccessible data on your PS4 or PS5 or you see a "Hard Disk Drive is corrupt" error when you boot the system, Rebuild Database can resolve it. It can also come in handy when a system feature is running into issues, a deleted game's icon still shows up on your Home screen, or the system freezes during a software update or at any random time. Some users also rebuild their databases to get rid of freezes during FPS games and make navigating the system menus a bit smoother.

If you need to rebuild the database on your PlayStation console, follow these steps:

1. Turn off your PS5 or PS4 if it's powered on. Long press on the power button until you hear the second beep (the first beep goes off immediately after you press the button). Alternatively, power off the console from the login screen by pushing the PS button on your controller (on PS4) or clicking the power icon on the bottom of the screen (on PS5) and then selecting Turn Off PS4/PS5. Wait for the system to shut down completely before proceeding.
2. Power up your console in Safe Mode by pressing on the power button (which will make it beep once) and holding it for about five seconds. Then, let go after it beeps a second time.
3. Plug in your wireless controller to the console with a USB cable.
4. Push the PS button on your controller. This should display the Safe Mode menu. If nothing happens, connect your USB cable again or try a different cable.
5. Navigate to and select Rebuild Database:
6. On PS4, simply click the down button repeatedly until you get to 5. Rebuild Database. Hit the X button on your controller to select it.
7. On PS5, first go to 6. Clear Cache and Rebuild Database and then select 2. Rebuild Database.
8. Select OK and press the X button again to proceed.

The console will restart, and you should see a "Rebuilding database" progress bar on your screen with an estimated time until the process is done. This can take somewhere between a few minutes to several hours, depending on how big your current data is. Once the rebuild is complete, your PS4 or PS5 will reboot and bring you to the login screen.