Right now I don't have my own personal computer and have to use ones in public.
So I'm thinking about using a program that fits my needs but cannot be commonly seen in public computers. I ended up wondering if it is possible to install a program on a flash disk, and use it on any computer without any problems. Anyone tried it? How's it been? Do you recommend it? Why? Do you have any alternatives?
2006-08-28 17:32:57 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Computers & Internet ➔ Software
It depends on the program - with most programs, no this won't work.
The problem is most programs (and almost all that have SETUP programs) require an install on each computer you want to use it on. These setup programs frequently store a few supporting files in the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 folder and they also incorporate settings and other information into the registry, which is Windows central store of system and user settings. While you can tell the program to install to F:\Program Files\Program Name (where F is the drive of your USB Flash device), these registry entries and support files will not be present on the computer you bring the Flash drive to.
A better solution would be to look into remote control software, such as Remote Desktop or VNC that allows you to remotely connect to your home computer and use that. Remote Desktop is available in XP Pro but NOT in XP Home. You can use VNC ( or a commercial product such as PC Anywhere ) to remotely access your home PC.
In short, you can try it, just don't expect it to work (you may get lucky with one or two programs, but most likely won't work).
NES emulators and other emulators are not typical programs - go try running office 2000 or 2003 or Photoshop or Nero or just about any program with an installer - as I said programs with SETUP files will typically not work... programs without setup routines will run just fine - but MUST programs have setup routines.
2006-08-28 17:35:04 · answer #1 · answered by lwcomputing 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
yes you can do it you just got to be sure that you install every thing on the flash drive. I used to run nes emulations off my flash drive I could play them anywhere.
2006-08-28 17:41:29 · answer #2 · answered by treisigbob 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋