Running programs from a USB Drive

Raiders Army · 12-11-2007, 08:17 PM

I'm not sure whether to post this in the FOF Discussions or not since it seems like the auto-post to this forum is gone. Have any of you ever used one of those USB drives that you can put programs on? If so, would it be possible to put FOF on it? I would guess that at even 4 GB it would fill up pretty fast but you would be able to play anywhere.

By the same token, is it possible to put programs on a portable hard drive? I just got the 160 GB WD portable hard drive at Best Buy for $70 so I was thinking that I could put FOF or other programs on it and run games at work.

cartman · 12-11-2007, 08:50 PM

The answer is: it depends

Most software writes entries to the local registry on the computer when it is installed. So even though you bring the executables with you, the other computer won't know what to do with them. The way to address this is to also install the app on the other computer, and point to the portable drive as the install location.

But, bottom line, most stuff isn't going to run if you just plug the portable drive into another computer.

Raiders Army · 12-11-2007, 09:13 PM

Gotcha. I found some stuff on portableapps.com. It's pretty cool and has texas hold em and sudoku that you can run from your USB drive. Also saw something called thin-something.

JonInMiddleGA · 12-11-2007, 09:41 PM

And then there's the however-the-hell-it-works stuff like my local technician is offering now
http://www.batesoft.net/portable/

Raiders Army · 12-11-2007, 10:23 PM

That's crazy.

sterlingice · 12-11-2007, 10:29 PM

I would think your speed would be the biggest concern in running stuff off of a USB drive as SATA is 5-10x faster than USB2 and even IDE is more than 2x as fast as USB 2. Considering heading out to storage is already the biggest bottleneck in most stuff (being as disk operations are 100x+ slower than memory and another order of magnitud slower than cpu), you will see some really significant slowdowns running stuff off of an external disk.

It's decent for backup storage of files, but disk access is going to absolutely kill anything you're trying to run.

SI

Surtt · 12-12-2007, 12:52 AM

I think you could install it to your usb drive, but doubt you could not take it to another computer and run it because of eLicense. (unless you installed it on that computer too.)

12-11-2007, 08:50 PM	#2
cartman Death Herald Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Le stelle la notte sono grandi e luminose nel cuore profondo del Texas	The answer is: it depends Most software writes entries to the local registry on the computer when it is installed. So even though you bring the executables with you, the other computer won't know what to do with them. The way to address this is to also install the app on the other computer, and point to the portable drive as the install location. But, bottom line, most stuff isn't going to run if you just plug the portable drive into another computer. __________________ Thinkin' of a master plan 'Cuz ain't nuthin' but sweat inside my hand So I dig into my pocket, all my money is spent So I dig deeper but still comin' up with lint Last edited by cartman : 12-11-2007 at 08:50 PM.

12-11-2007, 09:41 PM	#4
JonInMiddleGA Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Behind Enemy Lines in Athens, GA	And then there's the however-the-hell-it-works stuff like my local technician is offering now http://www.batesoft.net/portable/ __________________ "I lit another cigarette. Unless I specifically inform you to the contrary, I am always lighting another cigarette." - from a novel by Martin Amis

12-11-2007, 10:29 PM	#6
sterlingice Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Back in Houston!	I would think your speed would be the biggest concern in running stuff off of a USB drive as SATA is 5-10x faster than USB2 and even IDE is more than 2x as fast as USB 2. Considering heading out to storage is already the biggest bottleneck in most stuff (being as disk operations are 100x+ slower than memory and another order of magnitud slower than cpu), you will see some really significant slowdowns running stuff off of an external disk. It's decent for backup storage of files, but disk access is going to absolutely kill anything you're trying to run. SI __________________ Houston Hippopotami, III.3: 20th Anniversary Thread - All former HT players are encouraged to check it out! Janos: "Only America could produce an imbecile of your caliber!" Freakazoid: "That's because we make lots of things better than other people!"

12-12-2007, 12:52 AM	#7
Surtt College Benchwarmer Join Date: Nov 2003	I think you could install it to your usb drive, but doubt you could not take it to another computer and run it because of eLicense. (unless you installed it on that computer too.) __________________ “The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.” United States Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis Last edited by Surtt : 12-12-2007 at 12:52 AM.

12-11-2007, 09:13 PM	#3
Raiders Army Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Black Hole	Gotcha. I found some stuff on portableapps.com. It's pretty cool and has texas hold em and sudoku that you can run from your USB drive. Also saw something called thin-something.

12-11-2007, 10:23 PM	#5
Raiders Army Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Black Hole	That's crazy.

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