Installing programs on an external hard drive

Firim Silraven · 04-19-2006, 04:20 PM

Hi

Does anyone know if it is possible, or sensible, to install programs (such as games, music software, etc.) on an external hard drive? My hard drive is pretty small (about 9gb) and there's not enough room inside my computer to fit another one so an external hard drive seems to be the best way to go.

Cheers,

Ben

Larry_OHF · 04-19-2006, 05:02 PM

I think the most important question to determine what you can and cannot put on that external drive and use with no loss of speed one gets when running programs internally is whether or not you're connected by USB or Firewire. If you're firewire, you may be satisfied with the connection speed of your external HDD...but I would guess that a USB connection would prove slower in program response and would only be usable for "storage" of music, pics, documents, etc.

So...are your programs needing that "instant" action that one gets from an internal drive or can you let it work a bit slower if you were on USB and not cause you to get frustrated with the longer load time?

This one is pretty

[ 04-19-2006, 05:10 PM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

Firim Silraven · 04-19-2006, 05:39 PM

It'll be connected through USB, so would that just make the loading times slower or the actual performance - eg. if I was playing BGII would the actual game play slow and maybe freeze for a few seconds now and then?

Larry_OHF · 04-19-2006, 05:48 PM

In theory, the external drive is for "storage", not active use...and moreso if you are on USB. Therefore since I do not "yet" own an external HDD, I can only assume that there will be issues if you try to actively play a game through the external drive.

If I am wrong, I am sure somebody will tell us both soon. [img]smile.gif[/img]

shamrock_uk · 04-19-2006, 05:51 PM

USB1 or USB2? USB2 should not be too bad, but USB1 would be almost unfeasable.

Loading times would be the obvious hit (both for the game and for new levels). As for whether the gameplay would slow, it would depend how much RAM you had. Games are cached into your RAM for fast access, but if you don't have a lot of RAM then it will keep having to access the drive which would cause pauses or slowdowns in gameplay.

Ilander · 04-19-2006, 10:19 PM

Would you all believe I've played Baldur's Gate on my external hard drive? It's USB II, and for that bit of time, it worked great. Playing music or video off the drive works fine too. USB II is fast enough for most programs...maybe not newer, more advanced games, but it's fine for older ones like BGI, BGII, and the like.

Felix The Assassin · 04-19-2006, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Firim Silraven:
Hi

Does anyone know if it is possible, or sensible, to install programs (such as games, music software, etc.) on an external hard drive? My hard drive is pretty small (about 9gb) and there's not enough room inside my computer to fit another one so an external hard drive seems to be the best way to go.

Cheers,

Ben

How old is the actual CPU? I'm reading 9GB HDD, small case. If the rest of it is from that era, then you would not experience any lag time from a fast USB external HDD. If you have lot's of memory to waste as well, then even the video sequences would be flicker free.
In theroy it will work. How well it works depends upon factors of three:
1. Speed of USB connection
2. Speed and cache of external HDD
3. Amount of memory available.

1. Speed of CPU
2. Speed of FSB
3. Operating system, and video card.

Firim Silraven · 04-20-2006, 09:32 AM

Cheers for the replies guys. The USB on the computer is only USB 1 so that would make a difference. Is it possible to update the USB drives easily or is it a bit technical?

I don't have that much memory either but I am looking to speed it up in the future.

Ilander · 04-20-2006, 09:38 AM

There's no "updating" USB 1 to 2...alas, if you want 2, you'd have to buy a PCI card (they're fairly cheap, and you could even get one at Wal Mart if you can't be bothered to go to a computer store or look online) with USB 2.0 ports.

Luvian · 04-20-2006, 07:13 PM

I guess in this case, you would want to do a minimum installation and let the game play mostly from the cdrom drive.

[ 04-20-2006, 07:15 PM: Message edited by: Luvian ]

04-19-2006, 04:20 PM	#1
Firim Silraven Dungeon Master Join Date: July 29, 2002 Location: Whitehaven, Cumbria, UK Age: 41 Posts: 83	Hi Does anyone know if it is possible, or sensible, to install programs (such as games, music software, etc.) on an external hard drive? My hard drive is pretty small (about 9gb) and there's not enough room inside my computer to fit another one so an external hard drive seems to be the best way to go. Cheers, Ben __________________ MONKEYS! They're great aren't they?

04-19-2006, 05:02 PM	#2
Larry_OHF Ironworks Moderator Join Date: March 1, 2001 Location: Midlands, South Carolina Age: 49 Posts: 14,759	I think the most important question to determine what you can and cannot put on that external drive and use with no loss of speed one gets when running programs internally is whether or not you're connected by USB or Firewire. If you're firewire, you may be satisfied with the connection speed of your external HDD...but I would guess that a USB connection would prove slower in program response and would only be usable for "storage" of music, pics, documents, etc. So...are your programs needing that "instant" action that one gets from an internal drive or can you let it work a bit slower if you were on USB and not cause you to get frustrated with the longer load time? This one is pretty [ 04-19-2006, 05:10 PM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ] __________________

04-19-2006, 05:39 PM	#3
Firim Silraven Dungeon Master Join Date: July 29, 2002 Location: Whitehaven, Cumbria, UK Age: 41 Posts: 83	It'll be connected through USB, so would that just make the loading times slower or the actual performance - eg. if I was playing BGII would the actual game play slow and maybe freeze for a few seconds now and then? __________________ MONKEYS! They're great aren't they?

04-19-2006, 05:48 PM	#4
Larry_OHF Ironworks Moderator Join Date: March 1, 2001 Location: Midlands, South Carolina Age: 49 Posts: 14,759	In theory, the external drive is for "storage", not active use...and moreso if you are on USB. Therefore since I do not "yet" own an external HDD, I can only assume that there will be issues if you try to actively play a game through the external drive. If I am wrong, I am sure somebody will tell us both soon. [img]smile.gif[/img] __________________

04-19-2006, 10:19 PM	#6
Ilander 20th Level Warrior Join Date: December 28, 2003 Location: Kentucky Age: 39 Posts: 2,820	Would you all believe I've played Baldur's Gate on my external hard drive? It's USB II, and for that bit of time, it worked great. Playing music or video off the drive works fine too. USB II is fast enough for most programs...maybe not newer, more advanced games, but it's fine for older ones like BGI, BGII, and the like. __________________ Is that what you really want to say?

04-19-2006, 05:51 PM	#5
shamrock_uk Dracolich Join Date: January 24, 2004 Location: UK Age: 42 Posts: 3,092	USB1 or USB2? USB2 should not be too bad, but USB1 would be almost unfeasable. Loading times would be the obvious hit (both for the game and for new levels). As for whether the gameplay would slow, it would depend how much RAM you had. Games are cached into your RAM for fast access, but if you don't have a lot of RAM then it will keep having to access the drive which would cause pauses or slowdowns in gameplay.

04-20-2006, 09:32 AM	#8
Firim Silraven Dungeon Master Join Date: July 29, 2002 Location: Whitehaven, Cumbria, UK Age: 41 Posts: 83	Cheers for the replies guys. The USB on the computer is only USB 1 so that would make a difference. Is it possible to update the USB drives easily or is it a bit technical? I don't have that much memory either but I am looking to speed it up in the future. __________________ MONKEYS! They're great aren't they?

04-20-2006, 09:38 AM	#9
Ilander 20th Level Warrior Join Date: December 28, 2003 Location: Kentucky Age: 39 Posts: 2,820	There's no "updating" USB 1 to 2...alas, if you want 2, you'd have to buy a PCI card (they're fairly cheap, and you could even get one at Wal Mart if you can't be bothered to go to a computer store or look online) with USB 2.0 ports. __________________ Is that what you really want to say?

04-20-2006, 07:13 PM	#10
Luvian Ironworks Moderator Join Date: June 27, 2001 Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada Age: 44 Posts: 6,763	I guess in this case, you would want to do a minimum installation and let the game play mostly from the cdrom drive. [ 04-20-2006, 07:15 PM: Message edited by: Luvian ] __________________ Once upon a time in Canada...

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