Data Backup Digest

Data storage is not fool proof – far from it. This applies to your games consoles too. With the Playstation 3, it may be necessary to back up your data from time to time. You should do it as a precaution, just in case the data gets corrupted. This could happen during something like a system update, although it is not likely. Whatever the case, it is always good to have a second copy of your data. This will save a lot of potential headaches down the line and make restoring all your data much easier.
The first method is to do a full back up. This will back up everything in a single operation. The downside to this is that you cannot select specific folders that you want to include/exclude. As such, if you have a lot of large files on the drive (like films, for example), then make sure that the storage device you are backing up to has the capacity to support it. You can back up your data to a USB memory stick, memory card or any other storage device that attaches via USB.
To perform a full backup, go to Settings, then System Settings, then Backup Utility and finally Backup. You will be given two warnings, one of which will tell you that you can’t back up your trophies (this data is stored on the Playstation servers and is assigned to your PSN ID). You will then be asked where you want to back up to.
If you want to restore the data, simply follow the same instructions above, replacing ‘Backup’ with ‘Restore’. However, bear in mind that doing so will wipe all current data on the Playstation and replace it with your backup. It will not put your files on in addition to the current ones, they will be instead of.
It is also possible to back up specific data that is stored on your Playstation 3. To do this, navigate to the file type that you want to back up – let’s take game save files as an example. Navigate to Game, then Saved Data Utility. This shows your entire save files. Go to the specific save file that you want to back up, press triangle on the controller and then select Copy on the sidebar. You will be asked where you want to back up to, so select your external storage device.
There are some things to bear in mind when backing up Playstation 3 data. First of all, if using an external drive then it needs to be formatted in the FAT32 file system. Also, some of the data that you back up can be used on other systems. This applies to things like save data, music files or internet bookmarks. This means that you could transfer the data to your computer and view it there.
Hopefully this guide has helped you in backing up the data stored on your Playstation 3. Remember to do it fairly regularly, just in case the worst happens, and to have a storage device big enough to hold all your data.