Open Trophy

Open Trophy

Open Trophy

How Can I Copy or Backup My PS3 Trophies and Game Saves?

With the PlayStation 3 this becomes much easier. Not only can we make swift backups to various storage media, it’s also easy to share, or download savefiles using the internet.

Method 1: Full Backup

Of course there’s no easier way to secure your save-files than by doing a full fledged back-up.

One of the downsides is that it really is a one-click-backup, meaning you can’t select specific parts or use it for anything other than to put it back later, which then erases all the other content.

Doing it is pretty simple though. Just make sure you’ve got a flash drive, external hard disk or one of the supported memory cards at hand. Make sure you’ve got enough room on it before you try backing up your entire HD film collection.

If you want to do a more specific backup, or learn how to place downloaded savefiles on your PlayStation 3, check Method 2 below.

Navigate to Settings -> System Settings
Scroll down and select Backup Utility and choose Backup.
You will see two warnings, one will tell you that you can’t backup Trophies, the other one is a regular affirmation form. Confirm both times.
Next, you’ll be prompted for the destination. You can use any flash drive or external hard disk, just make sure you’ve got enough space available.
Wait for the process to finish, and you’re done. Once you’ve put the backup somewhere safe, you can sleep soundly.

Note: If you want to restore the backup, go back to Settings -> System Settings -> Backup Utility and select “restore”. Once you’ve told your PlayStation where to look, your files will magically fall into place, but know that all the other files on the PlayStation 3 will be deleted!

Method 2: Manual Backup

If you want to have a bigger say in the backup process, you can always try doing it manually. The method described below will work for all files (videos and pictures alike), but we’re going to look specifically at the save files.

The process is pretty simple. Just insert your storage drive and follow the steps below.

Go to Game -> Saved Data Utility. This is where all your saves are stored.
Browse to the right savegame and press triangle ( ). And select Copy in the newly opened sidebar.
You’ll be prompted for the destination. Any external storage drive will do (like a USB stick or a memory card), save games aren’t so very big. Additionally, you can also transfer the save game to another user account.
Wait for the copying to finish, and you’re done!

Note: These savegames can be easily transfered from and to other media. You can store them on your PC, mail them to friends, and so on. The posibilities are endless.

Putting The PS3 Game Saves Back In Place

If you want to copy a savegame to your PlayStation 3, you’ll need to do the following:

Go to Game -> Saved Data Utility.
Way at the top you’ll see your storage drives. Click on the one you need.
Just like before, select the desired savegame and press triangle ( ). Then select Copy in the sidebar and choose to copy to your PlayStation 3’s hard drive.
Wait for it to finish copying, and you’re done!

Please do remember that,

You need to use the following hierarchy:
(Storage: e.g. X:)PS3SAVEDATA*name* (files here)

This *name* is specific for each savegame. Just use the folders that exist in the downloaded archive. Also

Full back up should do the job for everything except the trophies. Your trophy collection can’t be backed up in the traditional way (would open too much doors for cheating), instead you need to synchronize them with the server before removing your hard drive and back again after installing the new one.

To do this, you need an active internet connection and a PSN account. If you don’t have one, make one now. Then go to Game -> Trophy Collection and press triangle. Choose ‘Synchronise with Server’. If you use the same PSN account on both playstations, there shouldn’t be any problem. Trophy achievements are automatically synced with Sony’s server.

(Author Simon Slangen)

For more info on PS3s visit, http://howtofixps3.blogspot.com

For easy to use downloadable ps3 repair guide to fix yellow and red lights, visit here

About the Author

Tom Parks works for Microsoft. He is currently researching on PC optimization and system security. He is also an avid gamer and owns xbox, PS3, Nintendo Wii, Dsi and PSP