kylejn Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 I'm planning on moving all my games and such to an external hard drive so keep the main laptop HD clutter-free. However, I wanted to know if doing this would cause any problems. It's a 160GB 7200RPM HD with a USB 2.0 connection. I'm such a hardware n00b. :blush: ALSO, and boy do I feel like an idiot for having to ask this, what's the best way to move my programs currently installed on the laptop HD to the external HD? Most of the discs I have back home and not with me here at college. Could I just (*shudder*) drag-and-drop the "Program Files" folder into the root of the external HD? How much stuff would that break? Thanks! Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/338385-is-running-programs-ok-from-an-external-hd/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tantawi Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 No don't try drag and drop, It'll mess up things BADLY! I think you'll need to reinstall them again! Running games etc wont be a problem. howver, some games may need to be reinstalled to the new path again. External HDD is just like any other internal HDD as long as you're in Windows, your problem is only in the old paths/programs/shortcuts... etc Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/338385-is-running-programs-ok-from-an-external-hd/#findComment-586139950 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toastyone Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 Eh I think there would be some lag playing the games off an external drive.... I have never tried it myself and USB 2.0 is pretty fast....why not try it? One thing you can't do is drag your programs around.... Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/338385-is-running-programs-ok-from-an-external-hd/#findComment-586139972 Share on other sites More sharing options...
chmsant Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 Your only limiting factor will be USB bus speed, and a little more demand on the processor to transfer the data.... thats about it. Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/338385-is-running-programs-ok-from-an-external-hd/#findComment-586140071 Share on other sites More sharing options...
stncttr908 Veteran Posted June 29, 2005 Veteran Share Posted June 29, 2005 Why bother? Just throw that extra crap that's filling up your internal drive onto the external instead. ;) Games and programs are the most clutter free things to have on a HDD. It's the photos, mp3's, videos, etc. that really make it messy. :D Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/338385-is-running-programs-ok-from-an-external-hd/#findComment-586140104 Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragon2611 Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 Eh I think there would be some lag playing the games off an external drive.... I have never tried it myself and USB 2.0 is pretty fast....why not try it? One thing you can't do is drag your programs around.... 586139972[/snapback] actally i played ut2004 off an external harddrive at a lan party and it ran fine. wasnt much slower loading than off the hd when it was internal (i took it out becuase it was getting very hot due to the lack of airflow in my shuttle system i had at the time) that was off a 120gb maxtor dm9 ide drive in a usb2/firewire enclosre think it was connect via firewire although ive done simular with it connected to usb2 before. it actally might be faster than your laptops harddrive as most laptops only have a 4200rpm or 5400rpm drive in them. Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/338385-is-running-programs-ok-from-an-external-hd/#findComment-586140132 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombi Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 Why bother? Just throw that extra crap that's filling up your internal drive onto the external instead. ;)Games and programs are the most clutter free things to have on a HDD. It's the photos, mp3's, videos, etc. that really make it messy. :D 586140104[/snapback] ^^^ What he said... Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/338385-is-running-programs-ok-from-an-external-hd/#findComment-586178433 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts