Folder structure

Reference for the folder structure used on a removable USB storage device (flash drive, external hard-drive). The correct structure is essential when copying certain files to the PS3.

  • MUSIC
    • Album Name (when copying whole album to drive)
      • Song title 01.mp3
      • Song title 02.mp3
    • Song from another album.mp3 (when copy individual songs)
  • PICTURE
    • CIMG1387.JPG
  • PS3
    • EXPORT
      • BACKUP (created via PS3 backup feature)
        • 200911131808 (date backup was performed, format=YYYYMMDDHHMM)
          • archive.dat
          • archive_00.dat
          • archive_[XX].dat
          • archive2.dat
          • archive2_00.dat
          • archive2_[XX].dat
      • PSV (PS1/PS2 game saves)
        • BESLES-544543032.PSV
    • SAVEDATA (PS3 game saves)
      • BCES00001_PROFILE
        • ICON0.PNG
        • PARAM.PFD
        • PARAM.SFO
        • PROFILE.SAV
      • BCES00078-GAMEAUTOSAVE
        • ICON0.PNG
        • ICON1.PAM
        • PARAM.PFD
        • PARAM.SFO
        • PIC1.PNG
        • SND0.AT3
        • USERDATA.DAT
    • THEME (new in firmware 2.0)
      • themename.p3t
    • UPDATE (firmware update file)
      • PS3UPDAT.PUP
  • VIDEO
    • Name_of_video.mp4
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  • Qwerty123

     How would you reset your password if ps says its sent but after hours its not in your Hotmail..
    What should you do??
    Please Reply!!
    Sorry for the inconvenience Below..
    It was my little Brother Bob….

    • http://ps3explained.com/ Flame

      Did you check the spam folder? I tried a couple of days ago and never got the email. Then I tried again today and the verification email arrived within a couple of minutes. 

      • Freakypops

        It could take up to 24hours…. mine took 36hours….

    • BFair20

      Look in spam

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Ceasar-Leonardo/1331478552 Ceasar Leonardo

    My external hard drive is totally FAT32, n i already created the 4 folders as described above VIDEO, MUSIC, PICTURE and PS3 folders… i copied my games into PS3 folder, after it’s done i plug the cord into PS3 port but nothing show up, what should i do next? i want to copy my ps3 games from external hard drive to PS3 internal hard drive. 

    • http://ps3explained.com/ Flame

      What games? You can’t copy PS3 games unless you’re doing something naughty… This folder structure is only what is supported by Sony.

  • Borapich

    My external hard drive is totally FAT32, n i already created the 4
    folders as described above VIDEO, MUSIC, PICTURE and PS3 folders… i
    copied my games into PS3 folder, after it’s done i plug the cord into
    PS3 port but nothing show up, what should i do next? i want to copy my
    ps3 games from external hard drive to PS3 internal hard drive. 

  • Darkbird2india

    in which folder ps3 Game folder has to be copied in externall hdd

  • Dgponton

    Im trying to download a new theme on to my ps3, im doing all the steps it says to do, PS3 folder with THEME folder in it with the file in it but when i go into theme settings and install it says there are no files on there. Its in the FAT32 format but still wont read it. Anyone hepl me out?

    • Bfair20

      The title can’t have spaces, if it dosnt, I don’t know

  • Glenn_whitlock

    hi, there, Can anyone help? ps3 has been reading the files on my WD external NAS drive fine till recently.However the last few dvd’s I have transfered to the NAS drive do not appear on the ps3. I can access the on my computer so I know they have transfered successfully. What’s happened?

  • Old Fart

    Thank you very kindly for solving my problems…

  • Raymen_mtk

    where should i put the game i mean in which folder and does all these folders are necessery to be made??? PLZ PLZ PLZ HELP ME!!!!!!!

    • Bfair20

      Savedata

  • Sharik_rehman_2020

    my name is shariq rehman .I have one playstation 3  unforchnately my platstation3 hdd is damage. I has been buy new hdd but how can insttal playstation3 system.please help me

    • Siddhanthd

      looking at what you have typed here am pretty sure you won’t understand jack of the procedure to install the PS3 firmware on a new hdd so goodluck with your newly acquired paper weight friend :)

      • Sharik_rehman_2020

        Dear Siddhanthd
              How can Regonised my playstation3 software what version. how can inattal my system software.I have playstation3 250GB.I donot know my system hard disk damage after some time i m buy new hddbut never understand how can system software insttal.Plaese help me.

      • Snowhare953

        Sharik, I hope by now you have solved your problem but if not here are a few  bits of advice. If your HDD is damaged for sure then the first thing to do is call Sony. Here is the number the call should be free from anywhere in the world. 1-800-345-7669. The sony people are usually helpful. If your PS3 is new it may be under warranty. Otherwise you could always replace the damaged HDD with a new one. The bad part of this is that you will lose the information you have on the current HDD. But if its damaged then you have lost it anyway. This is one good reason to back up your system every once and awhile. The maximum size drive you can put into a PS3 is 640MB. Also (very important) it must be a 5400rpm drive not a 7200. On the side of the PS3 is a door. Use a flat head screwdriver to pry it off. Remove the one screw that is holding the drive in place and slide it out on its sled. It might be tough to get the damaged drive off the sled because the screw are often very tight. Mabey use some WD-40 or something to make that easier, otherwise find a strong friend. Put the new drive onto the sled and slide it back in. Upon starting up it should ask you to format the new drive. You may have to install the base Operating System from a USB stick. You can find these files on Sony’s website. Like I said if you run into trouble your best bet is to call Sony and have them step you through the process. That is assuming your system is out of warrenty. The bad thing is you may lose some data. But this happens to the best of us so start over and be careful in the future when moving the system around. It is kinda sensitive. etc. Cheer and good luck Snow Hare

  • Jerby

    THANKS!

  • Dsghdskhg

    what about dlcs

  • Mathieu Ja

    Hi, 

    Great site. I do have a question for you though. I’ve recently connected my 1TB external as a media source for my movies and tv shows. Now, if I have a movie located in the appropriate MOVIES folder that is an .avi the file name shows up perfectly. However, if I have some sort of video file that was downloaded in the .mkv format, and after converting/remuxing it into an .avi it shows up as “Corrupt Data” as the title. What’s frustrating is that if I play the file and then stop it, the file name shows up.

    Is there anyway to have the file name appear all the time?

  • Flowerflower

    my usb device just isn’t being recognised, can anyone explain why?

    • Wokka

      Hi Flowerflower,

      Make sure that your device is formatted as a FAT32 file system.
      The PS3 doesn’t recognize NTFS.

      You can reformat your device within Windows…But this will wipe any Data that you have on the device -So make sure that you copy the data off the device before proceeding.
      In ‘My Computer’ Right-click the device, select ‘Format…’, select ‘exFAT’ and then click ‘Start’

      • blankblank

        how do you format one to fat 32 on a apple mac because i havnt got a windows pc any ideas 

      • childworld

        Use Disk Utility :)

      • zapzpter

        FAT is the formatt apple uses , windows uses ntsc , so you can do it , or get a fat32 formatter program from cyberwarez

      • zapzpter

        don’t use Use Disk Utility :) cause that will formatt your internal drive

    • zapzpter

      try formating it to FAT or fat32 its in ntsc most likely and the ps3 don’t read the formatt

  • Spencerdlclement

    usbflash drives and fat 32 no longer work for transfering saves. the save data utility will not give you the option to display all and then copy the saves. Sony screwed us all over with this.

    • http://ps3explained.com/ Flame

      Oh really? Thanks for the tip – I will check that out. The structure should still work for copying saves off external drives to the PS3.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_26PRQFWSHEIE2JAPJWRXCYM4C4 Xion Sk

    Hi,
    I want to play new games like Red Dead Redemtion and Dirt3 but the sistem tells me I need to update…
    I dont wanna update cause my PS3 is jailbraked…
    what should I do…
    how can I change the file so the game doesnt need a update.??
    Please help…

  • Simon_bienkowski

    I have downloaded an update for FIFA and put it on my USB, when  i try to copy it on the ps3 it says “there are no titles that can be copied”

  • kornick898

    hi,
    I Got a 1 TB seagate usb hardrive and i wanted to connect it in my slim ps3 320g i already formatted it to fat32 using the applications needed and somehow it won’t appear on my ps3?is there anything wrong with it?

    • machode

      probably need a powered usb hub if its usb2/usb3 my wd passport did and now works a charm, 4.99 on ebay for a belkin hub.

    • Northwesternballers

      I know it sounds crazy, but I would backup ur files on a different drive then test each file folder one by one just to see the results.

  • Badboi4life0830

    so i was able to convert to FAT32 and i seperated by 300gb harddrive into 4 separate FAT32 drives (since 30gb is max for FAT32? not sure correct me if im wrong) i was able to create the folder structure in each drive and i added videos in each one but when i connect to the ps3 only one of the drives show up….how do i get to the other drives? i already searched by pressing triangle to show all folders…

    thanks

    • http://ps3explained.com/ Flame

      FAT32 can handle up to 2TB partitions.  I think the PS3 will only mount the first partition on an external drive.

    • d d

      Best way to format to FAT32 is this app. you dont have to partition it.. It have a single 750 gb fat32 partition

  • Megan_collins

    whats the point in all this?

  • Sz_mercike

    hi meghaaan

  • Megan_collins

    hiyaa:), im sittin next to youu like;), ahhhaaa, how are youu?xxx

  • Sz_mercike

    i’m angry but it doesn’t matter

  • Megan_collins

    ermmm whyy?:L

  • Sz_mercike

    eeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrmmmmm ill tell you in lunch xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

  • Megan_collins

    k bbz;)

  • Sz_mercike

    okkkkkkk xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

  • Sz_mercike

    hahaah we are stupids cos we are siting next to each other and we are talking online xD

  • Megan_collins

     
    Whether dealing with a closet full of clothes; an office full of papers or a computer full of files- organization is the key. Keeping your computer folders and documents in order can play a big part in making your computing life easy. If your file cabinet is stuffed with files and they are not in any given order, you will have a hard time finding things. Try to keep your file names to 20-30 characters, as this is simple and your filing system doesn’t get too complicated with big file names. If your computer file cabinet becomes stuffed and disorderly, it will not only cause you to lose things, but it also can sometimes cause computer problems and glitches.  

  • Megan_collins

    yoo!xxxx

  • Jackwhatmough

    what about games 

    • http://ps3explained.com/ Flame

      What about games? Are you trying to do something illegal?

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_NKLQXZXPW4U66A3OC4CLXT3OUQ Smexxi Elmo Skuxx Deluxx

        hey you forgot to mention the folder GAME. its for psn downloaded games and demos..

  • Megan_collins

    hiyyaaaa:)<3<3.

  • Sz_mercike

    hiyyya idiot :’) <3

  • Megan_collins

    hahaa your funny,youu fancy the person next to youu;) loveyouu:D<3

  • Sz_mercike

    you idiooot i’m not fency alexxxxxx you bitchhhh i hate you

  • Megan_collins

    you soo;) and iloveyouutoo;)<3<3

  • Sz_mercike

    no i’m nooot xxxx haha i never said that i loveuu ;) xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

  • Megan_collins

    but i know youu do;) and im loved:D<3

  • Sz_mercike

    noo meghan shut the fuck up an don’t xxxxxxxxx hahahahaahah i loveuu <3<3<3<3 ill tell you in the break that who do i like ;)

  • Loki

    This may sound like a silly question to be posting here after reading some of the questions posted.
    How do I transfer saved data files from one user to another? I must be missing something. Every time I try I get one of two messages. 1. You can not use that date it belongs to another user. 2. You will not be able to save your game since this belongs to another user, or something along those lines.

    • http://ps3explained.com/ Flame

      That’s a restriction the game itself has applied to their save files. It will only be useable by the User who made the save.

      I guess it’s to stop people copying saves from the internet.

  • Dan

    I have a question as well. I recently purchased a game, from a trade it, brought it home and it wil not install. Honestly the game is in great condition so i dont see why that is. Long story short. If i were to have that game downloaded to my computer. And wanted to load it to my ps3, how would i need to put it in my external? I DO own this game so I am not asking for pirating purposes. Once i have the game data on my ps3 I could use the disc to verify the game. So my question is how do i need to put the folder in my external for me to load it to my ps3.

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