How-To: Rebuild The PS3 Database For Better Speed

[Kylo]

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 at the bottom of this post if you have any queries.

1. Turn off your PS3 so you see that glowing red light we are all familiar with.
2. Turn on your PS3 and HOLD the power button. Keep holding until it turns off.
3. 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.
4. You will be greeted with a screen asking you to connect a controller with a USB cable.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Press X and sit back and wait for a few minutes and let it do it’s magic.
9. The rebuild database in action, pretty exciting eh? Like I said earlier this took about 5 minutes for me.
10. 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: What do the other options in the recovery menu do?
Answer:

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

Source: http://www.ps3blog.net/2011/01/28/ti...recovery-menu/

[kidson2004]

Awesome job in posting this! Glad to see that this option is up and well!

[Eddie]

Thanks for re-posting this! This is sooo useful, I've used it around 3 times and it makes my ps3 run real smooth

[Chambers35]

I never knew you could do this to speed things up a little, thanks very much.
I shall do this at some point this evening

[gokussjin]

Thanks for that , I'll be sure to use it

[Ariel]

I got a question : I just bought the Prince of Persia Trilogy through PSN and I can't even play it ! It constantly freezes. Will this help ?

[Kylo]

I got a question : I just bought the Prince of Persia Trilogy through PSN and I can't even play it ! It constantly freezes. Will this help ?

I'm thinking it won't, are you sure it isn't a fault in the game itself? I know the disk version was fine but maybe the PSN version is off a bit? Try a Google search. Of course, it wouldn't help to try this but I wouldn't count on it. I would recommend re-installing the game.

[K.I.D.]

I do this once a month, and yes, it works like a charm. Thanks for re-posting it.

[Ariel]

I'm thinking it won't, are you sure it isn't a fault in the game itself? I know the disk version was fine but maybe the PSN version is off a bit? Try a Google search. Of course, it wouldn't help to try this but I wouldn't count on it. I would recommend re-installing the game.

Yeah I think its just the game. No other game freezes for me. I'll try re-installing it. Thanks for the help though bro. Glad you back in the site !

[SebastianOwl]

Thanks, took me a minute to figure out how to do it correctly

[DoomHorror]

Restore File System is also a good feature. It's more or less like defragmenting an HDD. It also does not erase any data.

[Kupo]

Oh, I remember this thread, didn't even know the feature existed at all till I came across this the last time.

Good job on re-posting it, I'm sure abunch of people will refer to this in the future.

[britinamerica]

Yes, this is one of the posts that brought me to the forum originally! Great job in keeping it alive!

[Chambers35]

Ok so I have done it....not sure what it has changed yet but thanks for letting me know, I'm sure I will notice soon enough

[Evo_SI]

Will try this

[fillabong]

To be warned, I remember other people trying this from the original thread and their hdd became corrupt after doing it. Use at your own risk.

[Minarum]

To be warned, I remember other people trying this from the original thread and their hdd became corrupt after doing it. Use at your own risk.

Yes, I was one of the users warning people. That and unless your system is really corrupt, you will not notice a difference in speed after doing this.

[tearzofblood]

this is an awesome post i will have to do this soon just for the hell of it ya know

[ant1th3s1s]

To be warned, I remember other people trying this from the original thread and their hdd became corrupt after doing it. Use at your own risk.

I'm one of those folks warning against this too.

If you're running a large HDD in your PS3 (100GB+), it can corrupt it leaving the drive unreadable. I've had this happen twice while running this tool.

Sony built the Backup / Restore, Transfer and Recovery Menu tools with the 60GB launch model in mind. They don't work properly when you get into the 250GB+ territory.

If you're having problems with the speed of your PS3, a clean format is the way to go.

[Ac3stralian]

i wont bother with this then, thanks for the tip ant1th3s1s