Factory reset PS3 (console noob in the house)

[enkoda]

Hi all, just after some advice before I end up doing the one thing I want to avoid....

I've been given a PS3 and a handful of games. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've played on a console, so this is a new experience for me, please be gentle!

Ideally I'd like to reset the machine back to its default state, wiping my mate's email details, etc, but retain the game save data. Is this possible? It isn't the end of the world if it gets lost but if there's a way to keep his progress that would be ideal.

Assuming I can back it up (how?) and the machine is reset with my credentials put on it, would there be an issue using his game data (i.e. is it tied to his account or just the machine)?

 

[demonix]

You can back up save files that aren't protected (meaning that they're locked to that specific console) to a USB flash drive before resetting the system, but make sure that you unlink (or deactivate) the console from your mates account before doing so as to remove that record after the console has been wiped will require deactivating all consoles linked to that account online.