Is there anyway to run games off of an external HDD? - Hardware & Software

i recently bought a 1TB external HDD to backup all of my computer files. Well is there anyway i can run the games i have on the harddrive on the computer without actually installing them on the computer?

Yeah, Just when you install games make a folder in your new HDD and tell the game where to install.

[QUOTE=Lemonator;20807660]Yeah, Just when you install games make a folder in your new HDD and tell the game where to install.[/QUOTE] if i did this could i take my hard drive to my friends house and play it there if i really wanted to?

Copy and paste the game's folder in the HDD Simple as that

I use a 320gb external drive and no issues at all.

can someone please answer my question

Just take your steam folder and copy it to your hard drive then just click on the application and it opens right up.

[QUOTE=guckymister;20807692]if i did this could i take my hard drive to my friends house and play it there if i really wanted to?[/QUOTE] Yes, you could. I keep a backup of my steamapps folder on my 500GB external in case of main hard drive failure, that way I don't rape my connection downloading them all again.

[QUOTE=guckymister;20807692]if i did this could i take my hard drive to my friends house and play it there if i really wanted to?[/QUOTE] Depends on how tied it is to the registry and if it'll recreate the keys.

[quote=guckymister]Is there anyway to run games off of an external HDD?[/quote] It's a handy little software distribution tool called "Steam", perhaps you have heard of it? :rolleyes: (In case you didn't know, your Steam folder is portable)

Yeah. This works best with steam, as you can move the steam folder to whereever you want, and just run the steam.exe and it should do the rest. In fact, all you need is the steam.exe and an internet connection to make it work (steam redownloads anything it needs)

Running games off your external HDD should work. You might still run into problems if you installed a program under a different OS than the one you're trying to play the game from though.

[QUOTE=Clavus;20813635]Running games off your external HDD should work. You might still run into problems if you installed a program under a different OS than the one you're trying to play the game from though.[/QUOTE] Your only possible concerns should be load times (usb is slower than direct plug) and permissions. So as long as you don't set anything to private you should be fine.

[QUOTE=Pixel Heart;20811610]It's a handy little software distribution tool called "Steam", perhaps you have heard of it? :rolleyes: (In case you didn't know, your Steam folder is portable)[/QUOTE] you do know you have to install the games on the computer before playing them?

It will work, but it will load slow. [editline]10:21PM[/editline] It won't [I]play[/I] slow, as in there won't be any fps decrease, it'll just take longer to launch.

[QUOTE=DainBramageStudios;20821118]It will work, but it will load slow. [editline]10:21PM[/editline] It won't [I]play[/I] slow, as in there won't be any fps decrease, it'll just take longer to launch.[/QUOTE] i can live with that

[QUOTE=guckymister;20820905]you do know you have to install the games on the computer before playing them?[/QUOTE] No shit, Sherlock. Once the game is installed though, it can be played on any Windows PC.

[QUOTE=Pixel Heart;20824187]No shit, Sherlock. Once the game is installed though, it can be played on any Windows PC.[/QUOTE] No, you will have to redownload the game on every new pc you log on to.

I'll start doing this when i get a USB 3.0 hard drive, which is soon.

Owmost all games are capable of running with no registry files, as they're mostly only used for storing the installation location, and settings such as screen resolution or multiplayer login name. You can always CD-Crack it if you don't feel like bringing the CD. Only do this if you own the original game though, or you're a douche.

[QUOTE=Tools;20849881]Owmost all games are capable of running with no registry files, as they're mostly only used for storing the installation location, and settings such as screen resolution or multiplayer login name. You can always CD-Crack it if you don't feel like bringing the CD. Only do this if you own the original game though, or you're a douche.[/QUOTE] CD keys would be the biggest issue. [editline]01:07PM[/editline] Owmost? You mean Almost right

[QUOTE=Profanwolf;20849806]I'll start doing this when i get a USB 3.0 hard drive, which is soon.[/QUOTE] except nobody has usb 3.0 ports

[QUOTE=Denzo;20850244]except nobody has usb 3.0 ports[/QUOTE] Except the hard drive comes with a Pci-e card that gives you usb 3.0 ports [editline]01:56PM[/editline] [url]http://www.webhallen.com/prod.php?id=107613[/url]