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How to back-up PlayStation 3 save games

You've likely amassed a whole heap of unlocked game modes, vehicles, weapons and more in your games; but what happens if your hard drive dies?

Craig Simms Special to CNET News
Craig was sucked into the endless vortex of tech at an early age, only to be spat back out babbling things like "phase-locked-loop crystal oscillators!". Mostly this receives a pat on the head from the listener, followed closely by a question about what laptop they should buy.
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Craig Simms
2 min read

You've likely amassed a whole heap of unlocked game modes, vehicles, weapons and more in your games; but what happens if your hard drive dies?

The PlayStation 3 offers three different ways to backup your games.

Backing up to the cloud

You must be a PlayStation Plus member to use this feature.

Firstly, sign in to your PSN account.

On the Cross Media Bar (XMB), move the selection to Game and then move down to Saved Data Utility (PS3). Select it, then move down to the game you want to backup the saves for. Press triangle on your controller, then select the Copy option. Choose Online Storage, and your game will be backed up to the cloud.

Backing up to USB

Firstly, sign in to your PSN account, then insert your USB storage device, whether flash drive or hard drive.

Note that the USB storage device will need to be formatted with FAT32 for the PlayStation to be able to use it, although, unlike the Xbox 360, your stick will not be wiped on first use.

Navigate to Game on the XMB, then move down to Saved Data Utility (PS3). Select it, then move down to the game you want to backup the saves for. Press triangle on your controller and select the Copy option. Choose USB Device, and your game will be backed up to your external drive.

Perform a complete backup

Unlike the Xbox 360, you're able to backup and restore most of your PlayStation 3 hard drive.

Firstly, sign in to your PSN account, then insert your USB storage device, whether flash drive or hard drive.

Then in the XMB, navigate to and select System Settings. Navigate to and select Backup Utility, and then choose Back Up. Say Yes to the prompt, then select USB Device. The backup will begin. Restoring is just as easy — head to Backup Utility, choose Restore and then pick the date of your backup.

Your trophies won't be backed up

Trophies aren't included in your backup — they're tied to your PSN account, and generally saved online.

If you've been playing offline (or haven't yet set up a PSN account), you'll need to get your PlayStation online to back-up your trophies.

To make sure they're safe, log in to your PSN account, go to Game in the XMB, browse down to Trophy Collection, then press the triangle button and select Sync with Server.