John P
Hi! I just want to ask, since my pc has 6 gb only, I was wondering if I can buy an external hard drive and install my game there and play from the external hard drive? Thank you!
Answer
Short Answer: Yes, with a few rare exceptions and one caveat (condition). But, it may not perform as well as you'd like.
Long answer: Most games can be installed on and run from an external hard drive. The exception is when a particular game does not allow you to designate your own installation path. I will say that I have only encountered this once before, so it's quite rare, but still within the realm of possibility.
Now for the caveat:
Since software installation varies depending upon the installed hardware, you will only be able to play the games on that computer. Even though your hard drive is portable, your games are not. Since this solution is intended merely as a means of adding additional storage space, this probably doesn't concern you that much.
And finally the bitter pill:
Game performance will suffer. How much? Hard to say, but think of it this way: A USB 2.0 connection tops out with a transfer rate of 480 mega bits per second (mbp/s). Fast as that may seem when you're offloading pictures from your camera, it just can't stand-up to the transfer rate of an internal hard drive (anywhere from 1,200 to 2,400 mbp/s). By using an external storage device you effectively create a bottle-neck, you're only as fast as that USB cable, and the rest of your hardware is almost certainly faster than that.
As such, I would urge you to consider installing a second hard drive in your current computer. It doesn't tie you down anymore than the external drive does, and the difference in performance will be considerable. It's not the easiest thing in the world if you haven't done it before, but it's nothing a couple hours of research and a few well phrased questions can't get you through.
Final Notes: Unless you want to play StarCraft (total installation size of 90 MB) off of your external drive an internal second drive would be a far superior choice. The drive itself would need to be mounted inside your computer chassis. One of the open 3.5 inch drive bays would be ideal, but even a 5.25 inch bay can be converted with $10 worth of hardware.
Best of Luck!
Feel free to follow up with another question.
EDIT: Here's a link to an online guide explaining precisely how to install a second hard drive, should you choose that route...
http://www.pctechguide.com/tutorials/HardDrive1.htm
Short Answer: Yes, with a few rare exceptions and one caveat (condition). But, it may not perform as well as you'd like.
Long answer: Most games can be installed on and run from an external hard drive. The exception is when a particular game does not allow you to designate your own installation path. I will say that I have only encountered this once before, so it's quite rare, but still within the realm of possibility.
Now for the caveat:
Since software installation varies depending upon the installed hardware, you will only be able to play the games on that computer. Even though your hard drive is portable, your games are not. Since this solution is intended merely as a means of adding additional storage space, this probably doesn't concern you that much.
And finally the bitter pill:
Game performance will suffer. How much? Hard to say, but think of it this way: A USB 2.0 connection tops out with a transfer rate of 480 mega bits per second (mbp/s). Fast as that may seem when you're offloading pictures from your camera, it just can't stand-up to the transfer rate of an internal hard drive (anywhere from 1,200 to 2,400 mbp/s). By using an external storage device you effectively create a bottle-neck, you're only as fast as that USB cable, and the rest of your hardware is almost certainly faster than that.
As such, I would urge you to consider installing a second hard drive in your current computer. It doesn't tie you down anymore than the external drive does, and the difference in performance will be considerable. It's not the easiest thing in the world if you haven't done it before, but it's nothing a couple hours of research and a few well phrased questions can't get you through.
Final Notes: Unless you want to play StarCraft (total installation size of 90 MB) off of your external drive an internal second drive would be a far superior choice. The drive itself would need to be mounted inside your computer chassis. One of the open 3.5 inch drive bays would be ideal, but even a 5.25 inch bay can be converted with $10 worth of hardware.
Best of Luck!
Feel free to follow up with another question.
EDIT: Here's a link to an online guide explaining precisely how to install a second hard drive, should you choose that route...
http://www.pctechguide.com/tutorials/HardDrive1.htm
MY EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE IS BEEPING!!!?
Wallyjenki
HELP I HAVE A PORTABLE EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE BY MY PASSPORT AND IT ISN'T WORKING, I PLUG IT IN AND IT STARTS BEEPING, PLEASE TELL ME WHATS WRONG!! :'(
Answer
It is going to die soon. You need to open the case to access the files inside and back them up before your external hard drive doesn't work anymore.
This is a device that allows you to do so:
http://www.topmicrousa.com/bt-300.html
You connect the old hard drive to this device, and then the device to a another computer or laptop via USB. You would then be able to access all the files on it.
I got the device off a PC World Magazine Article.
Best of luck!
It is going to die soon. You need to open the case to access the files inside and back them up before your external hard drive doesn't work anymore.
This is a device that allows you to do so:
http://www.topmicrousa.com/bt-300.html
You connect the old hard drive to this device, and then the device to a another computer or laptop via USB. You would then be able to access all the files on it.
I got the device off a PC World Magazine Article.
Best of luck!
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