Beginner
Intermediate
AdvancedI have a stack of old PS2 games that I started and never finished. I can play the games on my PS3 but what’s the point when I’ll lose all my previous progress? Fortunately, it’s possible to transfer the old game saves from my PS2′s memory card onto the PS3′s hard drive!
Prerequisites
There is no PS2 memory card slot in the PS3 so will need a Memory Card Adaptor. Sony make an official adapter but there are also a number of cheaper alternatives. Buy one online:
- Official Sony PS3 Memory Card Adapter (recommended)
- Data Bank Convertor – odd name but does the right thing
- Try eBay
Steps
- Plug your PS2 memory card into the adaptor
- Plug the adaptor into a free USB port on your PS3
- Go to the “Game” menu in the XMB and choose “Memory Card Utility (PS/PS2)”
- If the adaptor is working you should see an item called “Memory Card (PS2)”. Below the title should be the size of the card and how much is in use–in my case “1334 KB / 7998 KB”
- Press the controller’s Triange button to get the Memory Card options. Select “Copy”
- Select “Yes” to confirm the copy from memory card to the hard drive
- Enter a name for the new Internal Memory Card that will be created on the hard drive, or leave the default name. I named mine “Original PS2 saves”. Select “OK”
- The data will be copied. If the amount of saved data is too large, the system will automatically create multiple internal memory cards
- You may be informed that the new internal card has been assigned to a “slot”. These slots are an emulation of the physical memory card slots in the PS2, so similarly you may only have two internal/virtual cards “plugged in” (assigned) at a time. The internal memory card must be assigned to slot 1 or 2 to be available when you run PS2 games
- The new internal memory card should now be showing in the XMB, under Game > Memory Card Utility
- Selecting the card will allow you to browse the game saves that were copied across!
After my PS2′s card contents had copied to the internal memory card, I was informed that the copy had completed. Interestingly, there was also this message: Copy-protected saved data was not copied. I didn’t notice any of my game saves missing, so is this a general warning? We’d like to hear your experiences.
Copying from PS3 back to PS2 memory card
The Memory Card Adaptor is now available as a destination when copying game saves off Internal Memory Cards–so you can copy off the PS3 back to your PS1/PS2 card.
Some adapters (like no-name brands) do not correctly write to the PS2 memory cards and will corrupt data. A reader has confirmed that the official Sony adapter reads and writes to the PS2 card correctly (see comments below).
You can now move saves form your PS3′s hard drive to your PS2 memory card using the memory card adapter. I haven’t tried this using a PSone memory card yet.
outstanding thank you very much for all the detailed help, your effort saved me alot of confusion.excellent work mate
Coxis: Thanks for the info! What adapter do you have? I just tested with mine (“no name brand”, not official Sony) and it does not write to my PS2 memory card correctly, it corrupts everything
Annoyingly I can not delete the corrupted files even on my PS2.
Scott: Thank you for the feedback!
Flame: I just read your e-mail. Yes, I do have the official memory card adapter. I copied a PSOne classic game save (from Castlevania SOTN, downloaded via PSstore) to my physical PS2 memory card. You just need to select the save you wish to copy, press Triangle and choose the memory card connected to the adapter as destination. I didn’t need to copy it really, but I had to try after reading here that you couldn’t (I read somewhere that copying from your hard drive to a memory card using the adapter was enabled after a certain update).
Great info, thanks Coxis.
The article is right about no-name brand memory card adapters not writing to memory cards correctly and corrupting them, I have a logic3 adapter and 80% of my ps2 saves files on my ps3 hard drive fail to copy to my ps2 memory card and it rendered my memory card useless, now I can’t copy or save files to my ps2 memory card on my ps2 anymore, nor can I format it with xploder.
luckily for me I have all my ps2 save files backed up on my ps3 hard drive, since then I have ordered the official sony ps3 memory adapter.
A side note: If you have the web browser open the copy operation won’t do anything, you need to leave the web browser and then it will work.
can you copy for a 40 gig ps3 to an 80?
I spent all week on the 40 gb doing stuff, then I wanted to switch to 80 and can I keep the save files?
Hi ps3tops3. Yes you can copy/backup internal memory card data (i.e. PS1/PS2) and PS3 data to a USB flash drive, and then from that copy to your 80GB console.
That’s escellent.But how can I copy my ps2 save games from the memory card to my pc and viceversa?????
You might be able to find an adapter that works on Windows. Otherwise just follow this guide to copy the PS2 files to your PS3 and then copy from there to a USB flash drive.
Hey guys….anyone tried to connect their PS2 via usb to their PS3 and copy that way? Haven’t tried it yet, was wondering if it would work??
Klepto: I don’t see how that would work. The device connected to the PS3′s USB needs to act as a standard storage device which the PS2 isn’t. It may be possible if your PS2 is modded…
“I don’t see how that would work. The device connected to the PS3’s USB needs to act as a standard storage device which the PS2 isn’t. It may be possible if your PS2 is modded…” – maybe if the memory card is in the PS2
I am about to buy a digital frame. How can I transfer my photos from the PC back to a memory card?
Many thanks, PKB
My PS3 died and the backups I had done did NOT backup my PS2
saves. I complained to Sony about this and they told me I needed
to get their adapter. I bought their adapter and a genuine Sony
PS2 memory card. My PS3 sees the memory card but I cannot copy God of War or God of War II to the PS2 memory card the utility offer assign, delete. informatiom. I lost a year on Resident Evil 4 ( I still had not beat it) I am old and slow but persistent. I don’t cheat but if someone has a save of Resident Evil 4 where you are fighting the mercenary in the ruins I could
put on my PS3, I just want back where I was.
Thanks
SLS
I have a Max Memory 16MB memory card for my PS2 and it works fine in the PS2, but I can’t get it to come up using the PS3 memory card adapter on my PS3 or my computer. Does the adapter only work with official Sony 8MB memory cards?
About Copy-protected saved data was not copied… I had this experience, it was with : The sims 2 Castaway. The game I was playing on my playstation 2 was somehow copy protected and it didn’t copy on my PS3… all the rest did.
I have same question as SideShow Bob. My Max Memory 16 MBs M. Cards can’t be read through the memory Card Adapter for Ps3. is there something that can be done??? ( I read on a different page, that the Adapter only reads 8MB Cards, no more than that.) If someone can help me, please email me at franll2507@hotmail.com , (ll are 2 Ls and not two Ones)thanks a lot!!
SideShow Bob/Franll2507: The adapters only read the 8MB memory cards because (as far as I know) Sony never released/supported cards that were any larger.
Perhaps a company will produce a card reader to get the files onto the PS3. You would need to split the files across two internal memory cards though!
Logic 3 was recommended by PS3Mag, it has now corrupted my PS2 games on the PS2 and PS3.If I could sue them I would.I have 25 games now useless, cant even sell them.I have ordered playtv, will now have to cancel as it wont work on a corrupt PS3. Is there anyone who can tell me how to get my PS3 repaired? or do I have to bin it?
pauline chapman: I don’t think the adapter could have corrupted your PS2 and PS3 consoles. However, it sounds like your PS2 memory card is corrupted so the game saves now don’t work? Do regular PS3 games still work on your PS3?
I still cannot copy PS2 saves from my PS3 to my Sony PS2 memory card adapter to a Sony PS2 memory card.
I go into the PS1/PS2 data manager and select God of War press
the Green triangle and it gives me the option to assign slots,delete or information.
What am I doing wrong?
Stephen: Are you sure you’re going to the options of the actual save file? I didn’t think saves had an “assign slots” option. Also, check the information for the God of War file and make sure that it doesn’t have restrictions that prevent it from being copied.
Both Saved Data and Game Data only show me PS3 games.
I only see my PS2 game saves under Memory Card Utility(PS/PS2) and the Info on all my PS2 don’t say anything about copyprotected. And the opions are the same fo God of War, God of War 2, Resident Evil4 and the Rachet and Clank series of games- Assign, delete or info.
I am at 2.42 update. I can back up my PS3 saves with Saved Data
and I can copy PS2 game saves from my PS2 memory card and PS2 memory adapter to my PS3, BUT can’t find where the save option is for the PS2 saves on the PS3 to save back to the PS2 memory card.
Ah really? I’ll check on my own PS3 when I get home. Something may have changed since firmware 2.10…..
Stephen, I just checked. Things are still normal for me (firmware 2.42). I go into XMB > Game > Memory Card Utility, then go into one of my memory cards (pressing X), then I can see all the save files on that card and when I press Triangle to get the options for a file I see “Copy, Delete, Information”.
If I look at the options of the memory card itself (the “internal memory card”) that’s where I see “Assign slot, Delete, Info”.
THANKS!!!!!!!!
I had not been pressing X on the memory card I had just doing the green triange. Don’t know what I was thinking (or NOT).
I lost almost a year of Resident Evil4 (was up to fighting the mercenary in the ruins ) When my PS3 was dieing and shepped it of to Sony you can’t keep your hard drive and they don’t send your machine back to you(they send a refurb)
Thanks again
Hey,
I have a question, i am looking to buy a ps3 for my daughter who has a ps2 now..any thing i should know besides needing an adapter for the ps2 memory card? Im looking for a ps3 bundle also,know of any good places to purchase(save a few bucks)?
Gamestop had a deal on the 80gig MGS package.
Walmart has the same package but for more money a $1 off.
Note Sony does NOT deal with 3rd party warranties.
So it you buy a extended warranty make sure they will exchange the PS3. One problem only the 60 and 80 gig models are PS2 compatable and if they are not on the retailers shelf they can’t swap. How do I know about the 3rd party warranty problem?
I bought my 60gig and it was on life support when I sent it to Sams Club warranty and Sony refused to talk to them. Lucky I had contacted Sony b4 Sony’s warranty expired and they honored it.
Note: No OEM 80gig PS3 is backward compatible to PS2.
Oh, oops. I forgot about the 80gigs that had Software emulation (yech)
I have Suikoden 3 and want to load my Suikoden 2 data but the internal ps2 mem won’t let me put the ps1 data on it.
THANK YOU FOR WRITING THIS!!!!
I have not one but two of the Sony adapters. I’ve tried all of my memory cards (most are genuine Sony memory cards) and I can’t transfer any of the data.
Nothing new shows up when I connect them and when I pull up the options on the virtual cards I can only delete and show info on the virtual card. No copy option.
My PS3 is a 60GB model. Please help.
Stella, sounds like you might be having the the same problem that I had. See my post #28 and see if that is the answer to
your problem. You have to select (X) b4 using the (T)riangle.
Comment from pauline chapman:
Stella, the GB 60 does not have a facility to record PS1/2 data.
Pauline, that’s not quite correct. I have a 60GB model and it has PS2 compatibility.
Here’s a model comparison chart at Wikipedia.
Press X on what? As I said the memory cards I’m trying to copy do not show up. It shows the same options as before I hooked it up.
Comment from Flame • January 13th, 2009 at 12:34 am
Pauline, that’s not quite correct. I have a 60GB model and it has PS2 compatibility.
Here’s a model comparison chart at Wikipedia.”
No doubt! The 60GB is the superiour model of all of them… it has hardware rendering for PS1/2 games. I bought the 80GB model and though it still has support for PS1/2 games, it is only software rendering.
The PS3′s being released now don’t even HAVE backwards compatibility. It’s the lamest thing ever. I’m so paranoid about not being able to play my PS1/2 games, I’m actually buying a new PS2 just in case my PS3 craps out (again) and the model I get back does not include backwards compatibility.
Like I said: Paranoid.
Stella: When you go into the Memory card utility, are you saying that the memory card you inserted into the reader doesn’t show up at all? As in, you can’t even read from it?
Looks like, according to that Wiki link Flame posted, I have model CECHExx.
I take back one piece of what I said: It appears that PS1 compatibility is still available. It’s just the PS2 compatibility that they removed. Blech.
The memory card is supposed to show up in the memory card utility? I THINK it just shows the two internal cards. I’ll have to double check.