Installing programmes on external hard drive

del85

Hi,


I'm running out of space on my laptop's hard drive, so I'm going to buy an external one.

Before I get one though, I'm just wondering if it would be possible for me to install programmes (specifically, photoshop) directly onto the external hard drive and then run them from there?

Cheers,

Del.

bonzodog2

I'd say definitely, but not from personal experience. Look for Custom Install or similar option, to choose where to install. It will probably not work from the ext drive on another computer though, some stuff will still be installed on C: and the registry. It may be a good idea to force the drive to be a specific letter if you may have more than 1 external device. See Disk Management; or ask if you are unsure.

Alternatively you could just move other stuff from C: to external to make room, how big is Photshop ?

del85

I'll only be using it from my own laptop, so once it works from there I'm happy!

Thanks for the quick response.

JonathanAnon

When setting up a computer..I usually split the hard drive into C: and partitions, use C: for System Files and Apps only and save ALL your data files (word, excel, photos etc etc) on to the partition.... This means that everything on the C: is installed from CDs (Windows XP and applications) and does NOT need to be backed up... And your important stuff (that cannot be reinstalled from original CDs) is ALL on the partition and can be backed up easily..

Similarly you could use the C: drive for System Files and Apps, and use your external drive for your data files.. but be sure to back them up, as the external drives are very prone to failure..

I would certainly not advise splitting the Windows Apps between two partitions, one of which is removable... If you need to take away the removable hard drive or it fails, Windows will still try to look for the files on it (referenced by the registry)....

Find out what is taking up space on your C: drive.. I usually do a file search for "all files greater than 20000Kbs"... Then see what you can delete, or move to the other partition.. Once you free up the space, you will be able to install the Photoshop application files to the C: drive ... and save your data files to a folder on the external drive...

That's my two cents.. ;-)

del85

Cheers for the advice.

I don't want to start messing with partitions and stuff for the c drive if I can help it...to be honest I'm just too lazy. Got a 1TB external today and if I can install programs onto it then that'll do me.

Voodu Child

Installing programs onto an external USB drive is possible, but not recommended. For one, it will result in crappy performance.

kippy

Voodu Child wrote: »

Installing programs onto an external USB drive is possible, but not recommended. For one, it will result in crappy performance.

At the very least........
Some portion of the programme will almost HAVE to be installed on the main drive also.

If I were you, I would download an application such as
http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner
(Free and very easy to use - tonnes of how to use this type of app on youtube as well)
When you do an analyse also check the box for hotfix uninstallers (under advanced)

I've managed to take back multiple gigabytes of space on machines using this application.

Kristopherus

Voodu Child wrote: »

Installing programs onto an external USB drive is possible, but not recommended. For one, it will result in crappy performance.

Well I have an external drive hooked up to the main computer in the house. What I do is download whatever I want to to the main computer and then install it to its own unique folder in the ext drive. You can put a short-cut on your desktop that will open the file on the ext drive.

net4hack

Just map the external HDD's partitions on your computer (F: or G: etc) and use it (install programs etc) as if the drive is an internal one. If the program requires frequent read/writes it would be better to keep the app installed on your internal hdd. Also think about one with a high speed usb/firewire interface with the laptop.

JDxtra

You would be better off spending your time looking for space to reclaim from your main C: partition. As said above, it is best to install apps on local drives.

28064212

JDxtra wrote: »

You would be better off spending your time looking for space to reclaim from your main C: partition. As said above, it is best to install apps on local drives.

^ This. Even if you can install to the hard drive, program performance (especially in a graphically intense one like Photoshop) will be terrible. Like, really, really, really bad. Move files from your C: drive to the external drive (music and movie files would be the first candidates) and install your programs to the C: drive