Move almost all programs to external HDD (E:).


  1. Posts : 9
    Windows 7 Professional x64.
       #1

    Move almost all programs to external HDD (E:).


    Hey :).

    Reason:
    I have my computer for almost a year now, and it always had a very fast SSD with little space.
    So I got an external HDD when I had the computer for like 7 months. It never was a problem to use E: as standard installation folder and I never had a problem with the 20gb left on SSD. Months after that (now) I decided to record gameplay form the game Minecraft so my little brother who really likes it.
    I use Dxtory to record it, but when I chose E: as defauld I got a big FPS drop it the final file. But because of the size of recording files I only can record a bit on low resolution.

    Where I need help with:
    How can I move all the programs (except some) to the E: drive? And if that isn't possible: how can I see which programs are saved on C: so I can uninstall them.

    Thanks for your time.

    Regards Casper.
      My Computer


  2. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #2

    1. You have to tell the program installer at installation time where you want to store the program.

    2. The programs that are on C are in C:\Program Files and C:\Program Files (x86) - (in case of a 64bit system)
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 439
    Windows 7 pro x64 SP1
       #3

    If your desktop only has 1 disk, a 120GB SSD, then I think that's your problem. Most people would have an SSD and a regular (internal) HDD - say 2TB. External drives tend to be slow and best suited for backup/copies of your data - music, movies, photo's etc. You seem to be using the external HDD as a normal drive, hence the performance hit. I'd say, if there's room in the case, get a 2TB internal drive - about £50 UK, and just use the external for storage.

    You can uninstall programs from Control Panel - Programs and Features.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 1,519
    Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit, Windows 8.1 64-bit, Mac OS X 10.10, Linux Mint 17, Windows 10 Pro TP
       #4

    Also note that there's programs that won't allow installing on External drives, has to be Internal and use a Custom install to change the default.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 9
    Windows 7 Professional x64.
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Thanks everyone for the answers :).
    1. You have to tell the program installer at installation time where you want to store the program.

    2. The programs that are on C are in C:\Program Files and C:\Program Files (x86) - (in case of a 64bit system)
    I have already done that with a lot of programs, but I can't figure out which programs are installed on C: and which are installed on E:.

    If your desktop only has 1 disk, a 120GB SSD, then I think that's your problem. Most people would have an SSD and a regular (internal) HDD - say 2TB. External drives tend to be slow and best suited for backup/copies of your data - music, movies, photo's etc. You seem to be using the external HDD as a normal drive, hence the performance hit. I'd say, if there's room in the case, get a 2TB internal drive - about £50 UK, and just use the external for storage.

    You can uninstall programs from Control Panel - Programs and Features.
    Okay, thanks I will think about it.

    Also note that there's programs that won't allow installing on External drives, has to be Internal and use a Custom install to change the default.
    I luckely never had a problem with that.
      My Computer


 

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