This does not delete game saves. Another question I get is how long does it take. Only about 2 – 5 minutes. For more FAQ’s check the bottom of this post. This is a good thing to do from time to time to keep your PS3 running smoothly and happy. I did this for the first time in over 4 years, so long over due. Earlier this week I was trying to watch some videos off the internal hard drive and it was lagging and sound came in and out for some reason.

So I thought I’d try to rebuild the ps3 database to see if it would fix it. It was perfect after that. So if you have other slow down, a weird glitch or maybe your trophies take a while to sync this would be wise to do. Check out the FAQ section at the bottom if you have any questions.

Let us know if this was helpful and what this may have fixed for you.

If your stilling having issues, I would try restoring the file system on the PS3.
I did a walkthrough on how to do that here. There are FAQ’s at the bottom of the post too.

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How to Rebuild your PS3 Hard Drive Database

1. First thing to do is access the PS3 Safe Mode or PS3 Recovery Menu.

2. Turn off your PS3 so you see that glowing red light we are all familiar with.

3. Turn on your PS3 and HOLD the power button. Keep holding until it turns off.

4. Now turn it on again but this time it will be a little different. Press and hold the power button and you will hear. 1 Beep …. 1 Beep ….. then 2 quick Beeps at this point release the power button. If you release it to late it will just turn off again. Return to step 2 if this happens.

5. You will be greeted with a screen asking you to connect a controller with a USB cable.

6. Welcome to the PS3 Recovery Menu you’ve made it! Select option 4 “Rebuild Database” and press X. For info on what the other options do check out the FAQ tab.

7. After pressing X you will see this screen. Just select Yes to continue. Don’t worry this won’t takes hours. I have a 160GB hard drive and it took less than 5 minutes. Anyway after pressing X your PS3 will reboot.

8. If you have a HDMI cable you’ll see this screen. Obviously select yes. If you connect your PS3 another way you’ll get a simliar screen. Just select yes.

9. Press X and sit back and wait for a few minutes and let it do it’s magic.

10. The rebuild database in action, pretty exciting eh? Like I said earlier this took about 5 minutes for me.

11. After it’s complete your PS3 will reboot and your hard drive will be as happy as Sackboy is above!

FAQ

 

Question: What do I lose from doing this?
Answer: It will remove messages received and sent. Any playlists you have set up. If you organize your games/videos/music/photos into albums or as I like to call them “folders” you will have to set that up again.

Question: Will this delete any game saves or game data on my PS3?
Answer: No

Question: Will this delete any of my games, photos, music or videos?
Answer: No

Question: Will this remove or effect my trophies in any way?
Answer: No

Question: Will this work on any PS3 Console?
Answer: Yes all PS3’s have this recovery menu.

Question: Will this damage my PS3?
Answer: Not at all

Question: What about my other accounts on the PS3?
Answer: You will not have to re-activate the accounts on your PS3.

Question: Why is my PS3 is stuck or frozen during the rebuild database?
Answer: One possibility is your hard drive is failing. Make backups of everything you can now. You could also try “Restore File System” from the PS3 Safe Mode / Recovery Menu. Then try to rebuild the database again. If that still doesn’t fix your issues. Try doing a complete backup to a external hard drive and wipe your PS3 clean with the “Restore PS3 System” option.

Question: What do the other options in the recovery menu do?

1. Restart System: Restarts the PLAYSTATION®3 System.
2. Restore Default Settings: Reset all system settings back to default.
3. Restore File System: Checks for corrupt/missing system files.
4. Rebuild Database: Rebuilds the OS for the PLAYSTATION®3.
5. Restore PS3 System: Fresh restore; Deletes everything and starts from Scratch.
6. System Update: Update the PLAYSTATION®3 System