external drive

[spiderwheels65]

Can I run trainz 2004 from an external hard drive on my p.c, if so what problems if any will I have and what do I have to do to make it work properly???

 

[Gandalf0444]

HAHA very good question. I just got 1 myself for the holidays...And yes it absolutely can! Just simply copy the folder over to the external HD. Then delete the old shortcut on the desktop,then open the folder that is on the external HD,right click,choose make shortcut,then drag the new shortcut to your desktop and presto you can now launch from your desktop,without having to dig through the external HD to find the shortcut.
Word of advice make sure you create folders much like the standard HD in your computer,so that you just don't end up with the files everywhere,all over the drive....So for exaple let's say the letter drive for the external is G:
You will want to make folders,so the final resting place for 04 may be. G:/Program Files/Games/Trainz 2004.....
And 1 last thing,make sure your external hard drive is formatted to NTFS...NOT FAT32 otherwise you won't be able to send files larger then 4 gigs I believe.... if it is not formatted to NTFS,just say so and I will walk you through it...It's quite simple really. But you will have to back up anything you put on it previously,otherwise it will go bye byes

 

[narrowgauge]

spiderwheels65

Not really recommended

You can run Trainz on an external drive but unless the drive is SATA with the correct connecting cable, you will not get good results. Loading will be slow and as Trainz loads data quite frequently while running Driver, you will see considerable lags and jerkiness. Don't try with USB.

Could you transfer some of your current programs or data to the external drive, making space for Trainz to run.

Narrowgauge

 

[Gandalf0444]

It is funny because I have 06 and TC,and it works perfectly fine....I don't even so much as get a jerk,it actually runs faster then on my normal drive
Also if you do use it,make sure your USB ports are certified USB 2.0...

 

[narrowgauge]

Gandalf0444

Interesting. I guess from your comment, you are using USB2, I would not have expected that to be fast enough. I'll have to try on one of my remotes, I can use it as SATA or USB2.

Possibly the speed increase is because your new drive is not fragmented like your old one.

spiderwheels65

Tell us what you finally do, other people have asked the same question.

Narrowgauge

 

[j_maybury]

Hi
I can confurm that you can run trainz on external drives with USB2 as I run TC3 with no problem what so ever!
I wouldent try it with USB1 though, too slow!!

 

[Winterpaw]

I run most all of my games from an external 550GB HD using SATA+USB2 with no problem.

I have, in an extreme case, even played World of Warcraft on my Ipod while at the airport. Im sure I could play Trainz off it as well.

Its possible.

 

[spiderwheels65]

re external drive

Thanks everyone,
I am so pleased that I will be able to run trainz 2004 from a external drive.
I have not brought a external hard drive yet, there are so many out there and I am unsure which one to buy. If anyone can recommend one please let me know.

 

[john259]

Don't move Trainz or any other program by moving the installed files folder from C:\Program Files to somewhere else. Instead, uninstall the program, clean the Registry and/or C:\Documents and Settings if the program's uninstall routine leaves any debris in them, then reinstall the program on the desired drive. As necessary, back up data files beforehand and restore them afterwards.

In most cases merely moving the installed files folder will break the program. There have been differing reports on here of whether or not it will break Trainz. Maybe it breaks some functions but not all.

John

 

[jimisham]

In most cases merely moving the installed files folder will break the program. There have been differing reports on here of whether or not it will break Trainz. Maybe it breaks some functions but not all.

John

Doing this may be what caused my problem.
I had TRS2006 installed on my C drive and an external H drive.
Once a month I copy C drive over to the H drive using Casper XP.
TRS2006 ran great on both drives until the C drive installation started acting up. Rather than trying to fix it, I deleted the TRS2006 folder on the C drive and copied H drive's folder over to the C drive.
It seemed to work, but I discovered that any downloads would go to the H drive rather than the C drive, even though Trainz Dispatcher and Trainz Helper were set to download to the C drive.
I uninstalled the C installation using Add\Remove in XP, and deleted the TRS2006 folder on the H drive. Then reinstalled again on the C drive.
Now downloads are going where they should be.
I haven't copied the C drive since I did all this. When I do, I'll try a download again and see what happens.

 

[Gandalf0444]

I got the same thing but the opposite But it works for me because that only means I will have to back up the local folder and the assets.tdx every week or so to keep the trainz on my external up to date...

 

[llebrez]

If you want to use an external drive, go to a reputable dealer and get a 320 Gb 7.2 RPM 2.5" drive. Put it in a small enclosure and you are set to go. Make sure that the enclosure is made for SATA drives. 7.2 RPM is fast, and the disk, being smaller gives quick access (almost as a 10,000RPM Raptor). I paid $100 for all this. :Y:

 

[VinnyBarb]

If you want to use an external drive, go to a reputable dealer and get a 320 Gb 7.2 RPM 2.5" drive. Put it in a small enclosure and you are set to go. Make sure that the enclosure is made for SATA drives. 7.2 RPM is fast, and the disk, being smaller gives quick access (almost as a 10,000RPM Raptor). I paid $100 for all this. :Y:

You can also buy external SATA hard disks already in a box, 3.5 inch hard disks are a LOT cheaper than 2.5 hard disks and do the same job.

Here in Australia you can get 650 GB external hard disks in a box for under AU$100 (~US$68, Dick Smith, OfficeWorks or Harvey Norman etc.), I recently bought a 1Terrabyte (1000GB) external hard disk for under AU$150 here in Oz. This should also apply to your neck of the woods

Cheers

VinnyBarb

 

[john259]

FWIW I've had a Freecom external hard disk for about nine months. Spec: 500GB, USB2, mains power supply adaptor, aluminium case. So far touch wood it's worked perfectly. However, I haven't tried running Trainz from it.

John