Comments for Can I install programs on an external drive?

Comment from LaTrice on 2011-09-13

2011-09-13T22:07:23Z

Thanks Andrew, that is the exact game i want to put on my external and you guys have definitely helped me.

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Comment from Androw on 2011-03-24

2011-03-24T12:08:55Z

Actually Ive installed several games on my external and they run fine from different computers i hook it up to. Relatively new games like Cod4 - Modern Warfare for instance.

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Comment from Phil on 2011-02-15

2011-02-15T23:27:43Z

Does it work for online gaming programs? Since it doesn't have limitations on how many hardwares I can install it on, and logging in process comes up after the program starts running..? If specific game type is required to know, it's mmorpg.

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Comment from Val Seaton on 2011-01-19

2011-01-20T00:14:42Z

Hi There Leo - Thanks for the help. Okay there is this product "USB 2.0 to IDE/SATA Cable with Power Adapter -here's the link: - http://www.ultraproducts.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3276554&Sku=ULT40112
Question is can programs be run with this from external old xp hard drive connected with usb to new machine with new windows 7 professional? This could be so fantastic for so many if possible.

It depends on the program. If the program would work under Windows 7 without needint to have its setup program run, then sure, it'll run no matter what drive it's on. How the drive is connected or what OS the drive used to be used for does not change the fact that you're running the program under Windows 7, and doesn't aleviate the need for a setup program to be run for many applications.

20-Jan-2011

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Comment from Sondra on 2011-01-14

2011-01-14T12:04:41Z

I am reformatting an older pc with the orignal windows xp. c drive it very little ram ( runs slower now with all the updates). I have an internal hardrive with 2 gig...can I install xp on here and pc will run? also, do I have to have all the service packs installed? Plus, I looked up all the drivers to update and there are 78. Not sure which ones I really need as they all say "optional" on them. (dell pc 4300)

Thank you!

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Comment from Melody on 2010-12-20

2010-12-21T01:44:34Z

I want to install wordpress on my external hard drive. Can I do this and how? Thank you.

Wordpress is something you install on a web server, not typically on your PC at all.

21-Dec-2010

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Comment from TeeJay on 2010-08-23

2010-08-24T05:03:02Z

I installed adobe master collection CS4 on a hard drive and then the hard drive broke and i got a new one and now i cant install adobe master collection CS4 again.

Adobe's copy protection scheme can be somewhat painful at times. You should be able to contact Adobe customer support for assistance, though.

23-Aug-2010

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Comment from Satish on 2010-07-13

2010-07-14T06:13:18Z

I have a Laptop which has only 80GB internal drive. This is an official laptop, where I can�t install any other software other than our company purchased software.
I have purchased recently WD 500GB Passport External drive in which I want to install my new software in the external drive. New software should not get reflected in my laptop or in registry. I want to run new software from external drive when it gets plugged to laptop or any other PC, all its registry entry and relevant files to be present in external drive.
Please advice on how to implement it.
Thanks & regards,
Satish

The vast majority of software will either require changes to the registry in order to work, or make changes to the registry when they are used. If no registry changes are an absolute requirement, then I have no general solution for you.

14-Jul-2010

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Comment from John Anderson on 2010-06-29

2010-06-30T00:46:40Z

I have a problem. I use Steam for my games. (It is an internet system to download and file games. I plugged in my external hard drive to my computer, and the space on it jumped from 300gb to 14000gb. I installed a game, but when I tried to run it, it told me that it was missing maps. How can I fix this? It dosn't give me a file location to put it or anything.

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Comment from kcmartz on 2010-05-30

2010-05-31T06:23:16Z

Hello. I a few months ago bought a Microsoft Freelancer PC game from amazon with cd, brand new. Is it possible to portablize this game? Thanks!

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Comment from Kieran Hamilton on 2010-05-29

2010-05-29T10:31:23Z

I recently purchased an external hard drive (1TB) and i was wondering if there is any way i could make a new user on my computer and only use it for playing games. If i installed the games on to my external hard drive would i still get errors when i start up my computer even although no other programs are installed on that user.
Sorry if thats hard to understand.
Basically can i make a new user on my computer that is totally hard drive based (apart from operating system of course.

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Comment from Imparadoxical on 2010-01-03

2010-01-03T09:39:42Z

I have two drives; (:C)and (:D) and it's a partition. I tried to install Microsoft Office in drive (:C) because it is more spaceous than drive (:D). Unfortunately, when I did install, why does it takes drive (:D)'s space too?

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Comment from cpd on 2009-12-21

2009-12-22T02:36:36Z

copied a program folder to an external drive as a backup and realized after a while that the program is booting from the external hard drive now... how do I correct this?

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Comment from Jake on 2009-11-09

2009-11-10T00:16:30Z

REALLY need help with this one
When I download games, I am able to choose to Install to my external hard driev (g drive)
However, when I open the file, it starts to Install the game by extracting files to my normal hard drive..
I ran out of space on my internal (c drive) and the installation was cancelled.
How can I get files to extra to my external drive, or not extract at all?

-please help its really frustrating

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Comment from not_a_numbers_guy on 2009-05-17

2009-05-17T16:03:07Z

I currently have a desktop PC and laptop setup on my wireless network. I have recenly added an external hard drive, which I have also made available to both computers on the network.

I am curious to know, if I install applications onto the external hard drive can both netwroked computers run that application?

Thank you!

Typically, no. Installation also sets up information on the machine you're installing it on, most notably in the registry, which won't be set up for those other machine. A few apps can work as you describe, but almost all that use a setup program do not.

- Leo
18-May-2009

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Comment from Syed on 2009-01-09

2009-01-09T14:53:14Z

I am tired of formatting my hard drive and installing all the service pack files and bunch of application each time my computer hit by a virus.

1) From the above comments it is clear that we can install Application on separate drive internal or external as long as the apps get installed on that separate drive.
Is it possible to create partitions of my current internal hard drive C i.e. install operating system on C and install all the apps on the partition drive and if I have to format my C drive will the apps still work with that operating system when it gets reinstalled on C drive.

2) How to make a complete copy of C drive that includes boot and license files and all the apps to put it on DVD or multiple DVD's so in case of formatting hard drive I can just put the DVD and install everything.

Any comments will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Syed

Installing on an external drive doesn't somehow prevent viruses from attacking what's installed out there - they're just as vulnerable. Taking a full backup image once you've set up a clean machine is one way to have something you can restore to so as to avoid having to reinstall all the time.

But if you're constantly getting re-infected, that simply shouldn't be, and I'd re-evaluate your security software and/or your safety habits.

- Leo
09-Jan-2009

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Comment from Leo on 2008-07-21

2008-07-21T16:20:58Z

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

If your hard drive (or USB thumb drive) has a physical
"read-only" switch to prevent writing to the device, use
that. Unfortunately, not many do these days for some reason.

- From a purely pragmatic point of view the answer is that you
really can't ... at least not with 100% certainty. The best
steps to take include:

* ONLY connect to PCs you absolutely trust

* turn off "auto play" on your own computer

* virus scan the drive immediately on connecting it back to
your own computer.

Leo

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Version: GnuPG v1.4.7 (MingW32)

iD8DBQFIhLdgCMEe9B/8oqERAnoOAKCPxbL3qFBXQy8xiTqXPSALRmQthACeNpkg
cbSbL4Y1AyYLVtzWFiQDdqw=
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Comment from Vik on 2008-07-19

2008-07-20T06:43:26Z

How to protect my data on my portable hard drive, from infections, while connecting to other people's pc ?
Thanks for any info.

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Comment from olivier on 2008-04-12

2008-04-12T18:28:38Z

would like to know if it is possile to install an antivirus on my external drive, and where can i get the software?which kind of software can i use?

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Comment from Pat on 2007-04-10

2007-04-11T00:03:52Z

Thankyou very helpful.

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Comment from Clive on 2007-03-26

2007-03-26T17:01:57Z

There is a program call MojoPac that allows one to install software on a USB drive, iPod or portable hard drive because it vitualizes the Registry. You can run MS Office and other programs like Adobe Creative Suite, and move the drive from computer to computer and use the installed applications. Very cool . Find out more here: http://www.mojopac.com

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Comment from Simon on 2007-03-19

2007-03-19T13:55:49Z

Building on Chuck's comment, Wikipedia has a nice list of "portable" applications (ones that don't require any installation and so can be easily run from external drives) at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_portable_software .

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Comment from Chuck Eglinton on 2007-03-14

2007-03-14T12:04:54Z

Excellent advice, Leo.

Some aapplications have been designed to run external drives, such as the MS Word compatible processor, "ABIword Portable," the Thunderbird Browser, and many Open Office applications.

Carrying these portable applications on an external drive or jump drive can be helpful if you're a student or you use various computers.

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A comment on: Can I install programs on an external drive?

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