Use computer as a mass storage 'device'?

[Sgt_Sykes]

I've read somewhere about a piece of software that would allow a folder on your PC to be used as a mass storage virtual device accessible by another, real device after connecting it with a standard USB cable.

I can't find it any more (searching anything about mass storage just finds results about phones and USB sticks).

Anyone knows what I'm talking about or did I just dream it up?

I want to backup my PS3 HDD but don't have a spare external HDD right now, while my PC has plenty of free space.

Both Windows or Linux are fine.

Thanks.

 

[Moonstick2]

It's not software you need, but hardware - a special USB data transfer cable. These cables can be used to connect two computers which then automatically see each other as a mass storage device. You can't do this using a normal USB cable, no matter what other software claims.

Note I make NO recommendation of that linked product, or whether you'll definitely be able to do this with your PC and PS3. It just gives you an idea of what you're looking for.

Is it not more practical to transfer the files in stages using a USB stick? Note that most of the data on a PS3 is copy-protected stuff, so you can't backup the whole disk in a sensible way anyway.

 

[Sgt_Sykes]

Thanks. That looks interesting, I'll need to check on its capabilities. I'm quite sure that what I read was software-based, but...

The thing about PS3 is that you need to backup the entire hard drive at once, so with my 100GB drive I'd need a 100GB+ device. Some of the content can be copied individually, but not the important stuff.