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Install to the M.2: PS5 Bazzite Deck

PS5 Bazzite Deck moves the system you are running onto the M.2, bootc and Legacy alike. Nothing is reinstalled: your games, settings and files come along, and the system starts exactly as you left it. On bootc the USB drive also keeps /boot, which holds the kernels of all installed versions.

First install the drive and run m2_init. Then, on the PS5 in a terminal (password ps5):

  1. Move the system:

    sudo ps5-m2-install

    It shows what it copies and asks you to type yes; everything on the M.2's Linux partition is erased. The copy takes 10 to 30 minutes and shows its progress. At the end it checks that cmdline.txt (and on bootc every boot entry) starts the M.2.

    On v2.5.1 and older, which don't have the command yet, or ship a version that stops with would change RO state, run the current one straight from the repository instead:

    curl -fsSLo /tmp/ps5-m2-install https://raw.githubusercontent.com/VivaLaVent/ps5-bazzite-deck/main/tools/ps5-m2-install.sh && sudo bash /tmp/ps5-m2-install

    For --back later, run the same with --back at the end.

  2. Power off and start with the loader. The system now starts from the M.2: findmnt / shows an nvme partition as its source. The first start can show a grey or black screen: power off once more and use the loader again.

To go back to the USB system: sudo ps5-m2-install --back (or the download line above with --back), then power off and start with the loader. The copy on the M.2 stays; running sudo ps5-m2-install again from the USB system replaces it.

Updates work as before: on bootc with sudo bootc upgrade, on Legacy with the update command from the release notes. Keep the USB drive plugged in for both.