Always back up your saves to a USB Drive

[Allerion]

This is a lesson I had to learn the hard way. My PS4 was working fine, turned it off to get some yardwork done and when I went to turn it on later in the evening yesterday I received a "cannot turn on PS4" error. I was instructed to download the latest system software from the PlayStation website onto a USB Drive and then reinstall it to the PS4. I did this, but it did not work. It would do a storage check, get stuck at 25 percent, and then gave me the same cannot turn on error. After further research I learned that this is referred to as the PS4 death loop. My only option was to boot the PS4 into safe mode and initialize it, which fixed the issue but completely reset my console. Hours of gaming lost because I did not have back ups. I had over 100 hours in Assassin's Creed Odyssey, nearly platinumed with only the DLCs to finish. I had beat the main campaigns of games like Horizon Zero Dawn, Control, and Spider-Man with only the DLCs to finish for those. Several other games completed or nearly completed that my saves are gone and I have to start from scratch. I'm devastated but it has taught me an important lesson about backing up data. Thought I would share this to perhaps prevent anyone else from going through this. My PS4 was functioning properly and this randomly happened, after looking up answers I learned it has happened to several people so you never know what is going to happen. Please back up your saves.

[Kurri]

I dont even know how to backup my saves. Sorry that happened to you. I will have to look into this.

[Blu Lemmy]

You can back them up to the cloud (as long as you have PS+)
This is done automatically:

"Activate the system as your primary PS4™ system. Auto-Upload is only supported on your primary PS4™ system. ... If saved data is updated for a game you've checked, it will be automatically saved to your Online Storage at the time you log out, such as when the system enters rest mode or turns off."

You can then download the saves again....

A quick goggle search will give you all the steps you need

[Allerion]

I don't have PS Plus, so the cloud storage option isn't available to me. I heard that cloud saving is free on Xbox. If it weren't for some of my favorite games/franchises being PlayStation exclusives I would be highly tempted to switch to Xbox after this mess.

[darkness2918]

Originally Posted by Allerion

I don't have PS Plus, so the cloud storage option isn't available to me. I heard that cloud saving is free on Xbox. If it weren't for some of my favorite games/franchises being PlayStation exclusives I would be highly tempted to switch to Xbox after this mess.

It is free on Xbox. The Nintendo Switch is the same way as the PS4, need Nintendo Online for could saves.

[Derb]

PS Plus is worth the price just for the saves alone.

I double checked & yes, you get 100GB of data.

[Allerion]

For those who want to back up their games without getting PS Plus, this is the USB Flash Drive I picked up. The design looks great and really complements the PS4 well, and I had no issues getting it to fit (some flash drives won't fit due to the way the PS4 is designed). I just copied my Horizon Zero Dawn save file to it and seems to be working fine. What you do is go to Settings - Application Saved Data Management - Saved Data in System Storage - Copy to USB Storage Device and then select the game/app that has the data you want to backup. I so wish I had done this sooner it would've saved me a lot of head/heartache. Hope it helps someone!

[Musashi]

I definitely back mine up!

Sony needs to change the MO on saving though; Save files shouldn't be tethered to accounts or locked out of USB drives like some PS3 games did. It should be like the PS2: saves were portable, shareable, and play anywhere!

[Allerion]

Originally Posted by Musashi

I definitely back mine up!

Sony needs to change the MO on saving though; Save files shouldn't be tethered to accounts or locked out of USB drives like some PS3 games did. It should be like the PS2: saves were portable, shareable, and play anywhere!

Definitely! I wish someone could share their save files with me, especially for Assassin's Creed Odyssey. I love the game but the thought of spending so many hours redoing everything to make it back to the DLCs...ugh. I'm not sure when I'll revisit the game.

[tigertron]

When the PS3 first came out I always used to back up my saves on a USB, but then cloud storage came along.

It is good advice for those without PS+ and it definitely saves a lot of heartache.

[emailking]

The reason I keep PS+ is just so these things automatically backup to the cloud. I rarely play multiplayer or the monthly free games.

[RickRagan]

I’m thinking of purchasing an annual membership from cdkeys for $30 - simply for storage and free games (I don’t play online). Only problem is I Don’t see where it spells out how much cloud storage I will get if I purchase. Is 100 GB standard or does it vary?

Also, with the 2 free monthly games, if you want to keep them all each month, do you just download them both during the month, delete them, and then they remain in your library for future download when you’re ready to play?
Thanks!

[StarkRomanoff]

Originally Posted by RickRagan

I’m thinking of purchasing an annual membership from cdkeys for $30 - simply for storage and free games (I don’t play online). Only problem is I Don’t see where it spells out how much cloud storage I will get if I purchase. Is 100 GB standard or does it vary?

Also, with the 2 free monthly games, if you want to keep them all each month, do you just download them both during the month, delete them, and then they remain in your library for future download when you’re ready to play?
Thanks!

For the monthly games you only have to "buy" them, no need to download them right away. So just buy them all and download whenever you want to play them.