One Program, Two Computers

MausMaus Join Date: 2002-11-03 Member: 5599Members
in Off-Topic
<div class="IPBDescription">and an external HD</div> I just got myself an external HD (mostly for backups), but I was wondering if it would be possible, since I have two computers sitting next to each other (and don't start with how I should hook up a LAN <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif'><!--endemo--> ), to install something onto it and have the program usable on whichever computer the HD was connected to.

Is it possible to install something onto an external HD and have it be usable on multiple computers, and not just the one it was installed from? Presumably there would be issues with the registry not knowing the program on the other computer, so how could you work around that issue?
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Comments

  • TychoCelchuuuTychoCelchuuu Anememone Join Date: 2002-03-23 Member: 345Members
    If you want my opinion, just install it and see if it works <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
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  • AeaAea Join Date: 2003-10-09 Member: 21552Members
    Mixed signals would wreck havok, probably won't work <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
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  • taboofirestaboofires Join Date: 2002-11-24 Member: 9853Members
    You probably can, but it will be expensive to get some external hardware to do it. Just playing around with wires, however, is much more likely to either break or erase it.

    Come on now, a LAN is easy to set up. You've already got half the work done if the computers are right next to each other! Get a few cheapo network cards (if you don't have any on the mobo already), install drivers, connect wire, turn on sharing for the drive. You'll have a bit more trouble if you're using mixed OS's, but if you are one is probably Linux, and whoever is using it probably already knows their way around the computer.
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  • MausMaus Join Date: 2002-11-03 Member: 5599Members
    Just a quick bump before I let this die, in case there are any tech-heads passing through.

    Also, how about if I installed the software onto the external HD from one computer, then deleted the program's folder(s) and installed it again from the other computer? If both computers are using the same OS all the system files &c the program needs from Windows should be in the same place, right?
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  • MonsieurEvilMonsieurEvil Join Date: 2002-01-22 Member: 4Members, Retired Developer, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
    As long as the drive letter (or DD mount point, if you're being ultra sexeh) is the same on BOTH PC's, and you installed it from both PC's to the drive and the same file structure, it should be totally interchangable. You may see some weirdness in settings if it stores information in the local registry of a PC, but if you can live with that it should work fine. Plug in the drive to one PC and install. Then into the other machine and reinstall. Should work on either PC.

    You're basically doing very poor-man's cold-failover clustering. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo--> Cool!
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