Information technology'south important to proceed your relieve game data protected. A corrupted hard bulldoze, adventitious overwrite or deletion, or fifty-fifty a glitch in your game could destroy hours of progress.

On the PlayStation 3, you take several options for bankroll up and importing saved data. Here'southward how to protect your PS3 game saves.

Earlier You Back Up

You tin can support your PS3 saves to local media, such as a flash bulldoze, external hard bulldoze, or SD card. PlayStation Plus subscribers tin can also back upwards save data to the PS Plus deject. Visit the PlayStation Plus homepage to sign up if needed.

If you're bankroll upward locally, make sure y'all take an advisable drive ready. Any flash drive or external difficult drive will piece of work, as long as it's formatted in FAT32. Other formats, such as NTFS, do not work with the PS3. Since FAT32 has a maximum partition size of 2TB, you shouldn't employ a bulldoze larger than that -- though you shouldn't need nearly that much space.

Note that you can't install games on an external bulldoze. If you lot need more than storage space for games, you'll need to delete some or upgrade your PS3's hard drive. Bankroll upwardly games isn't necessary anyway, as you tin can always re-download them from the PlayStation Shop.

Formatting Your Drive as FAT32

Warning: Formatting your drive will permanently erase everything on information technology. Make certain to copy any of import files to another location before proceeding!

To format your drive as FAT32, offset connect it to your PC.

On Windows, open up a File Explorer window and navigate to This PC. Wait for your bulldoze; it will likely take the name of its manufacturer. Correct-click information technology and choose Format...

In the Format dialogue, make certain File system says FAT32. Everything else yous tin can go out as the default. Experience free to change the Volume label (which is its name) for easy identification.

how to back up and import playstation 3 game saves

On a Mac, printing Command + Space to open up Spotlight and search for Deejay Utility. Launch it, then select your external bulldoze from the left sidebar. Cull Erase at the top of the window, enter a proper noun, and make sure Format says MS-DOS (FAT).

Select Primary Kicking Record for the Scheme and click Erase. When information technology's done, you'll have a FAT32-ready drive.

how to back up and import playstation 3 game saves
Prototype Credit: ADMFactory

How to Brand a Total PS3 System Backup

  1. Connect your drive to your PS3 using any available USB port.
  2. On the PS3 dwelling house screen, navigate to Settings > Arrangement Settings.
  3. Select Backup Utility.
  4. Y'all'll encounter iii options: Back Upward, Restore, and Delete Backup Data. Select Back up.
  5. Ostend the fill-in functioning, select the device y'all want to support to, and then wait for the backup to stop.
how to back up and import playstation 3 game saves

This backs up all the data on your PS3 with a few exceptions. It won't transfer any content protected by DRM, or PS1/PS2 games. Certain PS3 games also don't let you back up their saved data.

Make sure your drive has enough space to back up everything earlier y'all get-go. While PS3 saves don't take up much infinite, games, movies, and music can take upwardly a good corporeality. You can see how much infinite you're using by navigating to Settings > Organization Settings > System Information.

how to back up and import playstation 3 game saves

Restoring a Total Backup

When you demand to restore your PS3 fill-in, perform the following steps:

  1. Connect the bulldoze containing your full backup.
  2. On the PS3 habitation screen, navigate to Settings > System Settings.
  3. Select Backup Utility.
  4. You'll see 3 options: Support, Restore, and Delete Backup Information. Select Restore.
  5. Confirm the restore operation, select the device you lot want to restore from, and look for the performance to complete.
how to back up and import playstation 3 game saves

All the same, know that doing this will delete everything on your system in the procedure. Because you can't selection exactly what to back up, it'south a good idea to make a full system backup and reserve it for emergencies.

Backing Up Individual PS3 Saves

For a more fine-tuned backup, you can choose individual saves. This works with any information on your PS3 (including pictures and videos), just here'due south how to dorsum upward individual save game data:

  1. Insert your USB storage device into your PS3.
  2. Navigate to Game > Saved Data Utility (PS3).
  3. Press the Triangle push and select Copy Multiple.
  4. Check all the games you lot desire to support saved data for, so press OK.
  5. Choose your USB drive every bit destination device, then wait for the copy operation to complete.
how to back up and import playstation 3 game saves

Game saves are commonly only a few megabytes, so you should exist able to back up your nigh of import saves even on a small flash bulldoze.

Back Up to the PlayStation Plus Cloud

If you're a PlayStation Plus subscriber, y'all can too use the above method to support your saves to the cloud. Follow the same steps, but choose Online Storage as the fill-in destination instead of an external device.

For convenience, you tin as well have your PS3 automatically upload your saved games to the cloud. To do so, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to Settings > Organization Settings.
  2. Choose Automatic Update > On.
  3. Select a time menstruum you'd like your PS3 to automatically turn on to perform background tasks.
  4. Then, specify everything you'd like it to perform automatically. Make certain to at least check Upload saved information to online storage and Sync trophy information with the server.
  5. Your PS3 will now plough on automatically at the fourth dimension you set and back up your saves to the cloud.
how to back up and import playstation 3 game saves

Restore Private Saves From a USB Bulldoze or PS Plus

To restore saved data from your external drive or PS Plus cloud, practise the post-obit:

  1. Plug in the external device containing your saves.
  2. Head to Game > Saved Data Utility (PS3).
  3. Press Triangle and select Copy Multiple.
  4. Select Online Storage or your USB device name, depending on where you want to copy from.
  5. Check all the saves yous want to restore, so click OK.
how to back up and import playstation 3 game saves

If the PS3 detects whatever conflicts, yous'll have to decide whether yous want to overwrite the local save or non.

Backing Upward Your Trophies

The concluding step in bankroll upward your PS3 save data is syncing your Trophies. While you lot can earn Trophies even if you're playing offline, you need to sync them to your account to keep them safe.

If yous're a PS Plus member, encounter the above section on how to sync your Trophies automatically. You tin also sync them manually using the below steps:

  1. Navigate to PlayStation Network > Bays Collection.
  2. Press Triangle and select Sync with Server.
  3. Look a moment, and your Trophies volition sync, completing the backup.
how to back up and import playstation 3 game saves

If you lot don't sync your Trophies and your PS3 dies, you'd lose any Trophies that you lot didn't sync. And since Trophies tin now earn you coin, that would be a real shame.

All Backed Up

Now y'all know how to back up your PS3 save data to an external hard drive, flash drive, or cloud storage. It's not hard, and only takes a few minutes to make certain your investments are protected. You don't need to have a huge hard drive or fifty-fifty a PS Plus subscription, so accept some time now to prevent frustration later!

Did you know that y'all can have reward of the PS3's saved data features to import other people's saved games? This tin can let you skip parts of games and get ahead.

How practice you back upwards your PS3 saves? What PS3 games have you lot played recently? Share with us by leaving a comment!

Image Credit: ginasanders/Depositphotos | Oinkstah/Wikimedia Commons

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