My old PS3 'fat' is dying and I am hoping to somehow get my copy protected game saves onto a new PS3 'slim'.
I know that the built in PS3 backup utility will not restore copy protected game saves to a different PS3 and it isn't possible to manually copy protected game saves to an external drive.
If I subscribed to Playstation Plus, is it possible to backup my copy protected game saves to the cloud and then restore them to my new PS3 slim?
Yes, you can use the PSN+ Cloud service to transfer all your saved games, including the protected ones, to a new PS3. I recently did it and it worked a treat!
If you know your old PS3 is dying, sign up and upload those saves as soon as you can.
You can use the "data transfer utility" method as well (see ratchet freak's answer), but I've heard that this operation can take many hours to complete—i.e. your PS3 could die during the operation. Using the cloud service is far less risky if your PS3 is on the verge of death.
you can move copy-protected data (together with everything else) with the "data transfer utility" under system settings under settings in the XMB
update both systems to the newest version
connect the 2 systems with a ethernet cable while both are turned off and then turn both back on
set the old PS3 to send
set the new PS3 to receive (this will remove all old info on the new PS3)
this will remove the copy protected data from the old PS3
According to the Playstation website, copy-protected game saves can be backed up by Playstation Plus and transferred to other PS3s:
Can I store copy-protected data using Online Storage?
If a developer has chosen to use the PlayStation 3 system saved data copy protection on their game saves, PS Plus members will still be able to save them with Online Storage and use them in the same way as other game saves. However, there will be a 24 hour period after saving before they can access the data on any PS3.
