Connect your controller to another PS3, or connect a different PS3 controller to your PS3 to make sure the problem isn't with the console itself. Check the USB connection.

But that just made me more determined than ever to fix my broken DualShock 3. I imported said DualShock when PS3 finally got rumble inthe far-off lands of the Far East a couple of years ago.

If you succeeded in activating Safe Mode, you will see a message on screen saying, "Connect the controller using a USB cable and then press the PS button". Connect a controller to the PS3 with a ...