Problem with loading saved games...

[Xtreme2K]

I have the original GTA3, and this has happened to my brother before, and now it's happened to me, and it's really annoying me...

Alright, so I go and save my game, and I can load it up and all, but when I power down the PS2 and then power it up again, and go to load my saved game in GTA3 (original, store bought disc), I get this "Load Failed!" error..

PLEASE! can anybody help me? is there anyway i can restore this 'corrupt' data, and does anyone even know why this happened/happens???