PS3 restore backup restores no data

Question

My PS3's blu-ray drive died recently, so I performed a backup with the Backup Utility and sent my console in for repair.

About a week later I received a replacement PS3 from Sony and have attempted to restore using my backup. But, the backup utility has restored NO DATA!

I have tried logging in to PSN and attempting the restore again, but the end result is the same.

I'm aware that some data cannot be restored, especially since Sony has replaced my original PS3 with a refurbished one, but surely I should see something restored! What am I doing wrong?

Asked by YellowMegaMan

Answer

Rather than try to work out what happened or how to fix the restore process, I just started fresh with my new PS3.

I can't stress how useful the PSN+ cloud service is, since without it you can pretty much redownload everything except your own saved games.

The PSN+ cloud service does not back up saved games from PS1, PS2 or minis though, so be sure and copy those from your old system to a USB device while you still can.

Answered by YellowMegaMan

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Steam Backup - exact copy of game directory?

Question

i have to reinstall my system and want new clean install. I have everything backed up except steam. I do not have any data i need here except or one game.

The Elder Scrolls Morrowind. I tried many mods over the years and ended with my own favourite mix. I also edited config file, replaced some texture files etc.

My question is. If i use steam backup feature and create backup of my morrowind, does it preserve everything inside morrowind folder - mods, saves, modified ini files etc? So when i restore from backup coild i use my own modified version the way i left it when making backup? thank you.

Asked by Vojtech Ruzicka

Answer

No, Steam backup will not pick up any files that aren't part of the vanilla game. I've just tested this. The good news is that you don't need to use Steam backup at all, just move the entire steamapps directory to a different drive, then copy it back after you've installed Steam on the new OS. It will pick up all of your games automatically.

Answered by kotekzot

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How can I back up a saved game on Nintendo DS?

Question

My wife and I share a single Nintendo DS. Many DS games permit only a single slot; one example is Etrian Odyssey.

I would like to be able to back up my Level 18 Etrian Odyssey party so that my wife can try the game without my losing the many hours I have put in. I have heard there is a device called "R4" or "R4DS" which might make this possible, but I can't figure out which device to buy or how to set it up.

How can I back up a Nintendo DS saved game onto an external flash card, then later restore?

Asked by Norman Ramsey

Answer

A few devices exist specifically for the purpose of dumping these things, such as the NDS Backup Adapter Plus - I don't have any experience with that particular device, but as I understand it, you just put the game into the adapter, and connect the adapter to your PC. This is likely to be the easiest way to do this, but looking around, it seems like it might also be a little more expensive.

Alternatively, if you have a DS Phat or DS Lite with Wifi (DSi or 3DS will not work), you can use a flash cart to do this in a completely legitimate way: You can use a homebrew program to dump and restore saves onto official cartridges. I've personally had good success with Savsender.

You use this program to send the save data to your computer; if everything goes well, your wife can safely delete your saved game, and start a new one. When you want to get back to your own file, you dump your wife's save to a different file (assuming she wants to keep playing her file, otherwise you can skip this step), and restore your own. For a more detailed guide, follow this tutorial.

It's not completely fool-proof: it may occasionally misdetect the save size, in which case you only get a part of your save. Various online databases have the save size available, in case you want to verify the results. In the case of Etrian Odyssey, it uses 64KB for save data (65536 bytes).

There are a few games out there which are known to not work with this program: Pokémon HeartGold, SoulSilver, Black and White are wired differently, and can't be dumped using this process. Additionally, it may not support save sizes greater than 512KB (The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, WarioWare: DIY and Art Academy are the only non-Japanese titles I'm aware of; Japan had a few more games like this) - I haven't actually tried dumping any of those myself, so I don't know if they're detected correctly. If you want to dump any of those, you are probably best off with the adapter.

Answered by Michael Madsen

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Backup and reassign of protected save games from on PS3 HDD to another

Question

My PS3 died with YLOD two days ago. I haven't been able to power it on since.

I'd like to be able to backup and reassign the saved games, including the protected saves, to a new PS3's HDD.

Is there any software available which can, via a PC, extract saved game data from a PS3 hard disk and reassign it to a different PS3 hard disk?

Asked by YellowMegaMan

Answer

I think you're out of luck. As another answer states, you can only restore encrypted game saves to the same physical PS3. See this answer for more details (including a number you can use to call Sony about repair).

If you were a member of PlayStation Plus, it would allow you to store up to 150 MB of game saves on Sony's servers, which would be accessible via your PSN ID. However, this doesn't really help you since your console is dead.

Answered by splattered bits

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How do I save/backup Halo (Combat Evolved) configuration and player saved checkpoints?

Question

So yes, if you read the title it IS Halo: Combat evolved, got it a few months ago.

It's time now to re-install and re-organize everything on my machine, so that would mean whacking everything very soon. I need to save my player checkpoints. I mean, I don't want to lose the checkpoints I've passed.

I have Win7 x64 and I see this path has something like savedgames :

C:\Users\<user>\Documents\My Games\Halo

Is this only it? Do I only need to copy this folder or are there others?

Regards.

Asked by gideon

Answer

Yes, that is the only folder you need to copy to back up your saved games (I've done this before). Be sure to patch Halo after re-install before copying back the save data, as I believe the patch causes the game to overwrite that folder.

Answered by Matthew Read

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How to take backup of your Xbox 360 games?

Question

I am really concerned that my Xbox Kinnect CDs will get damaged from overuse. Installing the games to HDD is not an option because I have the 4GB version and there isn't much of space left in it. So what are my options? Can I just copy the disk to a blank DVD?

Answer

It is not possible to play copies of games on a legit, unmodified 360 - they will just not be recognized by the system. Of course, you can always modchip your console, but this is not free, is considered illegal, voids your warranty and may result in Xbox Live ban.

However, I would not worry too much - original DVDs are pretty sturdy and don't break easily, also the 360 DVD drive isn't very vulnerable, unless heavily used to play copies of games (burned DVDs wear the drive significantly faster). There is one exception, however - never move a console while turned on/playing. The 360's DVD drive is known to scratch DVDs when moved during reading the data from disk.

In your case though I would recommend buying an official, standalone 250 GB Xbox 360 S hard disk drive and installing games on it. Not only does it allow for faster loading times, but it also reduces stress put on disks and drive. Also buying games on Live and launching straight from HDD would surely resolve disk problems.

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Official list of games with locked savegames

Question

On PS3, some savegames are locked, meaning that you cannot backup them and move them to another console. They can only be transfered on a new PS3 system through the online PS+ program facility ($$) or by transferring data from the old system to the new one through provided system tool on the console.
(Problem with latter case is that you have to have both consoles up and running at that time, which is not the case if you buy a new one cause the first one crashed, or if you sell the old one to be able to buy the new one).

I then wanted to know if there is a somewhat official and up-to-date (maintained) list of games fitting this category so that I can know if I'm concerned or not and if my external HDD backup is enough or not in case my console crashes.

I've seen some lists here and there on the web but don't know how accurate they are.

Answer

PS3trophies.org Seems to be maintaining a community sourced list, which currently contains over 200 titles, and lists other information that might be of importance.

It can be found in a topic on their forums

It believe that this is the most comprehensive list you can get.

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Backup / Transfer data to new computer

Question

I am upgrading to a new computer and would like to retain settings / saves and my hall of fame.

What folder locations should I backup and later restore?

Are there any gotchas?

Edit: Windows 7

Answer

All user data is stored in My Documents > My Games > Sid Meier's Civilization 5. Copying this folder to the equivalent location on your new computer after installing the game will transfer your saves. You should double check everything has transferred correctly before getting rid of your old computer though!

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Back-Up PS3 Saves?

Question

Is there a way to back-up your saved games on the PS3 in case they are overwritten?

Answer

To back up the save from a particular game there is an easier way than backing up your entire hard drive. Just use a thumb drive in the USB slot, and go to the "Saved Data Utility (PS3)" item in the PS3 menu (it's above "Trophy Collection"). Then select a save file and press triangle, then select copy. You should see the thumb drive listed as a destination.

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How do I backup my Borderlands Character?

Question

I need to reinstall my operating system. How do I back up my progress and character in Borderlands?

Answer

Backup your save files and place them back in the same location. They are in

My Documents >> My Games >> Borderlands >> SaveData

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What back up options exist for NES cartridges?

Question

My beloved NES cartridges are getting pretty old, and recently some of them have been functioning sporadically.

Do you know of other backup alternatives other than RetroZone's PowerPak? It's pretty expensive. Is it the only alternative?

Answer

Another strategy would be to find copies of the cartridge.

Try looking in local pawnshops. They usually have lots of old cartridges for next to nothing. You might have to look for awhile if you're looking for specific games.

You can also ask at a GameStop if they have any suggestions for where to look.

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How to recover game data from a bricked Xbox 360?

Question

So a few days ago my Xbox 360 finally conked out completely. It's a 2006 model that I had already sent in for repairs (from an RRoD) a few years ago, so there's no more warranty on it today.

Symptoms look fairly fatal to me: after crashing during an MTG2012 session, it rebooted into a red screen. Now every time I turn it on, I see visual artifacts. Sometimes it starts playing the boot animation, just to crash after 2 or 3 seconds. That means I cannot even boot into the dashboard anymore.

Question is: what about my game data? I only really care about saved games to be honest. I don't have a lot of games, but the few ones I play are RPGs, some of them (Oblivion, Fallout, etc.) I spent a hundred hours or more on a single character. Is there any way to recover the game save data? I know the hard drive is detachable, but the new Xbox Slim does not support these (oh yeah, I bought the Slim today).

Answer

You need to get a Hard Drive Transfer cable which will copy everything, including your save games, onto the 360 slim (assuming there is enough room on it). You don't need the bricked 360, just it's hard drive and the new slim xbox. You can also do this with just a USB drive, but will take longer depending on how much you've got to transfer.

If you've purchased a new Xbox 360 console, you can transfer everything (games, videos, music, saved games, gamertags, and even your hard-won achievements) to your new console!

There are two options available for moving your precious information. You can either use the Xbox 360 Hard Drive Transfer Kit to move everything to your new console, or connect a USB thumb drive if you only have a small amount of content such as your gamertag and saved games.

As you'll only use it once, my advice would be to buy one off ebay where you can then sell it again after you've used it for near enough what you paid for it.

As for the xbox itself, it sounds like it's overheated and the graphics card has started to warp and come off the motherboard. This problem can usually be fixed by clamping the card back down via a bit of DIY and a few bolts. If you don't fancy doing it, there's usually a few people on ebay that do this themselves and would be willing to offer you some cash for it ;)

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Is it possible to back up a PS3 via a network share?

Question

Is it possible to use the Sony built in PS3 backup utility to do it's backups over a network share, or is it only possible through a direct attached USB storage medium?

Answer

No it's not possible. It's only possible through USB.

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PS3 backup restore

Question

If I restore a backup will it totally replace my current system to duplicate the backup archive or merge with my existing data?

Answer

It will totally replace your current system with the version from the backup archive, except for the trophies that are not stored in the backup (the only way to backup them is to create a PSN account and to synchronize them with the server).

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