Backup & Restore Playstation 4 System

The 2.50 update for PlayStation 4 added a system backup/restore option for the system.

What you will need

You will need a flash drive that is large enough for the save file you want to copy. As of this writing, this flash drive must be formatted as FAT (including FAT32) or exFAT. Source: http://manuals.playstation.net/document/en/ps4/settings/data_system.html

Due to how the PS4 is designed, your flash drive might not physically fit into one of the USB ports on the front of the system. It's a good idea to have a USB extension cable that you can easily plug into the system.

You can use a USB hub instead of an extension cable. However, backups took an exceptionally long time when I used an AmazonBasics USB 3.0 hub

PlayStation 4 System Backup

Make sure that your system is on.

Before starting the backup process, the system may warn you that the backup does not save Trophies. You should sync your Trophies before backing up.

Syncing Trophies

Your PlayStation 4 system must be connected to the Internet to sync trophies.

1. Go to the Home menu ('PlayStation' button on your controller)
2. Press up until you see the row of icons that starts with Notifications (the symbol where a speech balloon has a lower-case 'i' in it)
3. Select Trophies - look for the big trophy symbol
4. Press X to enter the Trophies screen
5. Wait for trophies to sync - there should be an indicator at the upper-right of the screen that will let you know when sync completes

If you get to the Trophies screen and do not see the 'syncing' notification, it means that your information is already synced.

If you go to the Trophies screen and see an error saying "[Connect to the Internet] is turned off. (NW-31246-6)", it means that your PlayStation 4 is not connected to the Internet and cannot sync trophies.

System Backup

After you sync Trophies, it is time to actually backup your system.

1. Go to the Home menu ('PlayStation' button on your controller)
2. Press up until you see the row of icons that starts with Notifications (the symbol where a speech balloon has a lower-case 'i' in it)
3. Select Settings - it's the icon to the immediate left of the power symbol
4. Press X to enter settings
5. Scroll down and go to 'System'
6. Go to 'Back Up and Restore'
7. Go to 'Back Up PS4'
• At this step, you can uncheck the optional 'Applications' item
8. Go to 'Next'
9. Go to 'Back Up'

After Step 9, your PlayStation 4 will restart twice. After the second restart, all of your data should be backed-up.

System Restore

The 'Back Up and Restore' screen has an option, "Restore PS4", to restore backed-up data.

Where Is My Data?

The backup process creates a 'PS4' folder in the root of your flash drive. Your PS4 data is located at:

PS4\EXPORT\BACKUP

Backup PlayStation 4 Saves to Flash Drive

You can backup saves for your PlayStation 4 games to a flash drive.

These instructions are based on version 2.50 and may be different for future versions.

What you will need

You will need a flash drive that is large enough for the save file you want to copy. As of this writing, this flash drive must be formatted as FAT (including FAT32) or exFAT. Source: http://manuals.playstation.net/document/en/ps4/settings/data_system.html

Due to how the PS4 is designed, your flash drive might not physically fit into one of the USB ports on the front of the system. It's a good idea to have a USB extension cable that you can easily plug into the system.

You can use a USB hub instead of an extension cable. However, backups took an exceptionally long time when I used an AmazonBasics USB 3.0 hub

Backup Individual PS4 Saves

Make sure that your system is on.

1. Connect your flash drive to one of the front ports of your PlayStation 4
• Unlike most devices, you must firmly insert your flash drive into the system or else it will not be fully inserted
2. Go to the Home menu ('PlayStation' button on your controller)
3. Press up until you see the row of icons that starts with Notifications (the symbol where a speech balloon has a lower-case 'i' in it)
4. Select Settings - it's the icon to the immediate left of the power symbol
5. Press X to enter settings
6. Go to Application Saved Data Management
7. Go to Saved Data in System Storage
8. Go to Copy to USB Storage Device
• If you see an error about not having a USB storage device connected, you might not have it fully inserted into your system
9. Select the game you want to backup
10. Select the save file (or Select All to select all of them)
11. Select 'Copy'
• You may be prompted to overwrite an existing save file on the flash drive
12. When finished, remove the flash drive from the PlayStation 4

Where Are My Saves?

The backup process creates a 'PS4' folder in the root of your flash drive. Your PS4 saves are located at:

PS4\SAVEDATA\

The first folder in the save directory might be the system's folder. This might allow multiple saves from the same game but different systems to be backed up to the same flash drive, but I haven't tested this because I only have access to a single PS4.

Folders for individual game saves can be found under that first folder.

Backup Entire System

A previous version of the article mentioned that the PlayStation 4 lacked a backup utility. A recent system update added this functionality. You can read more about it here:

Backup & Restore Playstation 4 System

April 17, 2015 update: instructions updated for PS4 version 2.50
April 20, 2015 update: added link to system backup article

Backup 3DS Saves (From SD Card)

Here's how to backup Nintendo 3DS, 3DS XL, or 2DS* save games that are already on the system's SD Card.

What is on the SD Card?

For digital 3DS games:

• Save games
• Updates
• DLC
• Miscellaneous data (such as replays)
• The downloaded game itself

For non-digital 3DS games:

• Updates
• DLC

It will not contain save games for DSi games.

What You Will Need

You will need an SD Card reader for your computer. Most recent readers will support any kind of SD Card. When in doubt, look for one that mentions "SDHC" on the packaging because those will read newer SD Cards.

Copying Files From the 3DS's SD Card

A PC (or Mac) can read files from the 3DS's SD Card.

1. Turn off your 3DS
1. Not necessary, but suggested as a precaution
2. On the left-hand side of the 3DS, there is a door labeled 'SD Card.' Open the door using the little notch at the top to put your fingernail in
3. Remove the SD Card from your 3DS by pressing on it
4. Insert the SD Card into your computer's SD Card reader
5. Copy all files on the SD card and paste them somewhere you can remember (such as your desktop)

* I do not currently own a Nintendo 3DS XL or 2DS, but I'm sure that the backup process is the same for those systems because all three use SD Cards.

Backup Wii U Saves To Flash Drive

You can backup saves for Wii U games to flash drives. There are some caveats:

• The Wii U must reformat your flash drive
• (To my knowledge) PCs and Macs cannot read save files from the flash drive

Let's get started!

Connect your flash drive to your Nintendo Wii U before turning the system on. This is an absolute requirement and your system will give you a warning message if you plug-in your drive after system startup.

Also, do not disconnect the flash drive while your Wii U system is on. You'll see a nasty, scary error message telling you to restart the system.

Formatting Flash Drive for Use with Wii U

After you turn-on the system with your flash drive already connected, you might see a screen that says:

"You have connected a USB storage device that has not been set up for use with this console. Do you want to format the device so that it can be used with this console?"

There are two buttons that appear underneath this message. Selecting Format will erase all data that is currently on the device.

To format the flash drive, select 'Format.' On the next screen, select 'Format' again.

Your flash drive can now be used with your Wii U system.

Copying Saves from Wii U to Flash Drive

From the main Wii U menu:

1. Select 'System Settings' (wrench icon)
2. Go right by one screen (you can press the ZR button) and select 'Data Management'
3. Select 'Copy/Move/Delete Data'
4. Select 'System Memory'
5. Press the X button on you gamepad -or- press the 'Copy/Move' button on your screen
6. Select software titles by moving over to one and either pressing the A button on your gamepad -or- by pressing the on-screen button associated with that game
7. Press the Y button on your gamepad -or- press the 'Copy' button at the top of the screen
8. Select 'Copy'

After you're done, turn-off the Wii U and unplug your flash drive.

Copying Saves from Flash Drive to Wii U

From the main Wii U menu:

1. Select 'System Settings' (wrench icon)
2. Go right by one screen (you can press the ZR button) and select 'Data Management'
3. Select 'Copy/Move/Delete Data'
4. Select 'USB Storage Device 1' (or 'USB Storage Device 2')
5. Press the X button on you gamepad -or- press the 'Copy/Move' button on your screen
6. Select software titles by moving over to one and either pressing the A button on your gamepad -or- by pressing the on-screen button associated with that game
7. Press the Y button on your gamepad -or- press the 'Copy' button at the top of the screen
8. Select 'Copy'

After you're done, turn-off the Wii U and unplug your flash drive.

Overwriting Data

 After Step 7 of each process, you might get a screen that says the following:

"Data for the same software is already present in the system memory. Do you want to overwrite it?"

The message might be a little different to indicate that data is already on a USB storage device. This is normal, but you should pay close attention to the fine text that mentions data loss.

PCs Cannot Read Wii U Saves

If you plug-in your Wii U-formatted flash drive into a PC or Mac, you will be prompted to format the drive. The Wii U seems to use a proprietary file system: Windows will see the Wii U flash drive as having a RAW partition as large as the device.

You can still copy saves from the drive, but it's a much more complicated process that involves disk imaging. It's a bit beyond the scope of these simple tutorials.