need an awnser.

ok, first of all i looked for this awnser via google, yahoo and even msn but i couldnt find the awnser i need.

anyway, the os/file system on my ps3 has become corrupted and i need to reformat. however i have a lot of things (pics, music, videos and most importantly saves). i havent made a backup in a while primarily because i lack an external hard drive big enough, however i dont want to lose that data. im considering getting a sata to usb cable and copying the files to my computer but before i do i want to know if its even possible to back up my data and then put it back on my ps3 this way. i realise that if the file system is corrupted there may not be much i can recover, if anything at all. but what im asking is are there any security measures in place tha would prevent me from trying or just any reason why its not possible?

so, if anything COULD be saved is it possible to do this or will it not work? i dont want to spend the money if its not going to work but if it will id like to at least try.

Actually...no, you're out of luck. To pull directly from the hdd, all content must be either backed up using the back up utility, or pull it off via manually transfering to external media through the XMB. You could get an adapter for the computer, but it won't be able to access the drive since it's encrypted. You could clone the drive, but you would just be duplicating the problem onto another drive, and still be stuck at square one. Now, with all that said...if all you're looking at is a corrupt file system, the PS3 can repair that automatically without formatting the hdd. Make sure your console is off with the red standby light, and press down on the power button until you hear it beep a few times and turn off. Remove your finger, and do the same thing again, only after the third beep, instead of turning off you will see a recovery console on your screen. Select repair file structure, and it should fix your problem, if that was indeed the issue.

Wait, so you want to remove your HDD, put it into an enclosure, and hook it up to your PC for backup and then restore it afterwards? I'm pretty sure that's possible. In theory, the HDD is just full of 1's and 0's, which means you're simply moving those 1's and 0's around. If you could get software which lets you properly load up PS3 data and stuff, then it should be possible to store and restore data onto a HDD with an enclosure attached. Only problem is, if you want to back up your entire HDD like this and the problem is within the HDD, then you're screwed unless you buy an external HDD and do a traditional full system back up (assuming you have and want to keep copyright-protected saves).hazelnutman

Don't provide false hope. No such software exists, nor will it ever...legally. Sony has taken great measures to assure the content and hardware included in the PS3 is secure. Look what happened to our OtherOS. Sony saw it as a potential danger to the console's security, and removed the feature completely.

[QUOTE="hazelnutman"]Wait, so you want to remove your HDD, put it into an enclosure, and hook it up to your PC for backup and then restore it afterwards? I'm pretty sure that's possible. In theory, the HDD is just full of 1's and 0's, which means you're simply moving those 1's and 0's around. If you could get software which lets you properly load up PS3 data and stuff, then it should be possible to store and restore data onto a HDD with an enclosure attached. Only problem is, if you want to back up your entire HDD like this and the problem is within the HDD, then you're screwed unless you buy an external HDD and do a traditional full system back up (assuming you have and want to keep copyright-protected saves).zidace

Don't provide false hope. No such software exists, nor will it ever...legally. Sony has taken great measures to assure the content and hardware included in the PS3 is secure. Look what happened to our OtherOS. Sony saw it as a potential danger to the console's security, and removed the feature completely.

Well, it was in theory anyways. I did say "If you could get software..." and never confirmed such a thing existed. As for providing false hope, maybe I'm unintentionally trolling people now. ;)

In this situation, I guess all you can do is get an external HDD, TC. They're not that expensive if you're looking to just backup your PS3 data.

You can try to use PS3's utilities BEFORE removing the HDD. Turn off your PS3 and then press (and keep pressing) the switch until you hear TWO BEEPS. Then let go and the PS3 will go to an emergency menu where you can select the "repair PS3 database" or something like that.

Keep in mind that, RIGHT NOW, your data is completely lost so, this COULD help you. You can NOT asume it will.

Other thing... If you take your HDD from your PS3, even if you put it again in the same PS3, the machine will have to reformat it before it can be used so, taking away the disk means DATA LOSS.

Good luck.

F.

thanks, but ive tried the repair utilities, it keeps repeating itself over and over again, so i do NEED to reformat.

in any case thanks for the help. i figured it would be encrypted or something else like that, but if there was a chance i could back up my data id have to try.