How to Factory Reset Your PSP: Complete Guide

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Restore your PSP to factory settings with buttons or menus

Co-authored by Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: December 10, 2025 Fact Checked

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Factory Reset with Buttons

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Factory Reset from Settings

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Soft Reset

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Video

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Q&A

If you're selling or giving away your PSP, you should perform a factory reset to wipe your data and allow the new owner to set it up like new. Depending on the model, you can reset your PSP using the settings menu (original PSP) or pressing a series of buttons (any PSP model). If your PSP is frozen, a hard reset can get it up and running again without deleting your data. Keep reading to learn easy ways to reset your PSP.

Quick Steps

Turn off your PSP.
Press and hold Triangle, Square, Start, and Select at the same time.
Flip the power switch while continuing to hold down the buttons.
When the screen turns back on, release the buttons.
Set up your PSP like new.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Doing a Factory Reset with Buttons

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Power down the PSP by holding the power switch up. You can release the Power switch once the light turns off. Once the PSP powers down, let it sit unpowered for at least 30 seconds.^{[1]
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- If you have a PSP 2000 or PSP 3000, use this method to reset your PSP to its factory settings. You can also use this method on the original PSP if it's not working well enough for you to access the Settings menu.
- This method will not delete any custom firmware, downgrade your PSP, or delete any games stored on the memory stick. If you want to erase the memory stick, turn on your PSP, go to Settings > System Settings, and select Format Memory Stick before completing these steps.^{[2]
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You may have to lay your PSP down in order to accomplish this.^{[3]
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Even after releasing the Power switch, continue holding down the buttons.^{[4]
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When the screen turns on, release the buttons. At this point, your PSP is now restored to its factory defaults, and you can set it up like new.^{[5]
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If you are selling or giving away your PSP, you can let the next owner do this. However, keep in mind that doing a factory reset will not delete the data on your memory stick–if you want to delete the memory stick as well, you'll need to go to Settings > System Settings > Format Memory Stick.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Doing a Factory Reset from Settings

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Open the XMB menu. This will allow you to access the Settings menu.
- This method will work to factory reset the PSP 1000 (original) model.^{[6]
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- If you have a PSP 2000 or PSP 3000, jump to Doing a Factory Reset with Buttons.
A list of PSP settings will appear.^{[7]
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To select this option, press the X key.^{[8]
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If you are selling or giving away your PSP, you'll probably want to erase all your game data saved to the Memory Stick. To do this, select Format Memory Stick, and follow the on-screen instructions.
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Scroll down and select Restore Default Settings. Once selected, you will see a list of settings that will be reset.^{[9]
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- If you want to format your memory stick too, select Format Memory Stick from the System Settings menu.
Use X to select these options. If prompted, press X a third time to start the factory reset on your PSP. When the Sony logo appears, your PSP will be restored to its factory settings, and you'll be asked to set it up as if it were new.^{[10]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Performing a Hard Reset on a Frozen PSP

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Hold the Power switch up for 30 seconds. If your PSP is frozen, you can do a hard reset to get it up and running again. This will not delete your data or restore it to its original factory settings. ^{[11]
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- In most cases, this will force the PSP to shut down. If this doesn't work, try holding the Right Shoulder button and then holding the Power switch upward for about 5 seconds. This should power down your PSP.
Keep your PSP turned off for at least 30 seconds before turning it back on.
If your PSP was frozen, it should now boot normally.

Community Q&A

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Question

What do I do if my PSP is crashing?

Community Answer

It might be bricked, so you might have to get a pandora battery and magic memory stick.

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Question

Will the reset be safe and not delete any of my games?

Community Answer

Only if you don't format the memory stick. The reset will download its update without deleting your memory stick or anything else you have on it, e.g. music, videos, games, photos, etc.

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Question

How do I connect a camera to my PSP?

Community Answer

Where the WLAN switch is, you will see a USB port, which is where the camera goes. Next to the USB port, you will see two holes, which is where you put the two metal cylinders on the camera.

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