[ssmit132]

I would like to know if it is possible to run Freespace 2, complete with FSO, on a USB flash drive so I can just plug it in on a computer that doesn't have Freespace 2 installed and play it.

[achtung]

I would imagine the load times being rather... slow.  Otherwise, I don't see why not.

[fsi.scsi]

I've done it, but yeah it was pretty slow.  Even with a USB 2.0 drive. 

[jr2]

... shouldn't be...
... of course, that depends on whether you have a "flash drive" or and actual hard drive connected via USB.  I have both; the HDD is faster.
BTW, the maximum average transfer rate, even on a ATA 133 or SATA 150 drive is usually about 60 - 70 MB / sec, which is the same as USB's highest transfer rate.  The reason for this is drive physics (rpm speed [7200] and amount of data on the platters).  The new 'vertical sector' (or whatever it's called) technology should double that to 120 - 140 MB/s, if I'm figuring correctly.

4. How fast is USB 2.0?
USB 2.0 has a raw data rate at 480Mbps, and it is rated 40 times faster than its predecessor interface, USB 1.1, which tops at 12Mbps. Originally, USB 2.0 was intended to go only as fast as 240Mbps, but in October 1999, USB 2.0 Promoter Group pumped up the speed to 480Mbps.

As far as we know, effective rate reaches at 40MBps or 320Mbps for bulk transfer on a USB 2.0 hard drive with no one else is sharing the bus. Flash Drives seem to be catching up too with the some hitting 30MB/s milestone. For all we know, manufacturers may claim USB interface becoming the performance bottleneck for flash drives as early as 2007.

Additional notes from Alex Esquenet - our engineer friend based in Belgium: "A fast usb host can achieve 40 MBytes/sec. The theorical 60 MB/sec cannot be achieved, because of the margin taken between the sof's (125 us), so if a packet cannot take place before the sof, the packet will be rescheduled after the next sof. On top of that, all the USB transactions are handled by software on the PC. For instance, a USB host on a PCI bus will send or receive the data via the PCI bus; the stack will prepare the next data in memory and receive interrupt from the host."

[MP-Ryan]

Something that can be run as a portableapp - yes.
Something that should be run as a portableapp - no.

Constant read/write in a game like FS is a good way to kill a perfectly good USB key.

Just put it on the key as if installed, and copy it to the computer you wish to play it on.  Sure, it'll take 5 minutes to copy everything, but it'll run oh so much better.

[ssmit132]

Thank you for the response, but I also wanted to know if I have to install something else on the drive, or if I can just copy it onto the drive and run the EXE straight off.

[jr2]

The only problem is registry dependence, which should be gone soon.  (I hope soon!  )
EDIT: and you'd prolly want the OpenAL installer on there, too.

[ssmit132]

Okay that's cool.

[MP-Ryan]

Okay that's cool.

Just make sure you run the launcher and configure the audio and video tabs each time you put it on a different computer.  That's where the majority of the registry settings are located.

[jr2]

... not to mention running Retail is a no-go (unless you find the appropriate settings, export them to a .reg file on the USB drive, and apply them for each computer you use).

Some of the keys are: (found by using Start->Run regedit Enter)

My Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Volition
and

My Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Volition, Inc.
and

My Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Interplay Productions
(this one I think is just for registration and so MIGHT not be necessary)

and

My Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Management\ARPCache\FreeSpace2
(this one I have no clue what it is; it also MIGHT not be necessary)

and

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\FreeSpace2
(this one is only necessary for Un-installation via Add/Remove Programs)

and

HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\MUICache
(this one I again have no clue about its purpose, so...)

and

HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-2000478354-562591055-682003330-1003\Software\Interplay Productions
(this one...no clue...)

I think Retail might run fine with just the first two, maybe even just the first one, seeing the second one contains almost no data.  (I think its the version number or something like that, if so, it's not even accurate.)

[Getter Robo G]

Oh yeah retail's dependant...

hehe I had to wipe my drive but before that transfered to external... Totally forgot it's not installed in registry but SCp runs just fine on 3 diff externals...

[neoterran]

... shouldn't be...
... of course, that depends on whether you have a "flash drive" or and actual hard drive connected via USB.  I have both; the HDD is faster.
BTW, the maximum average transfer rate, even on a ATA 133 or SATA 150 drive is usually about 60 - 70 MB / sec, which is the same as USB's highest transfer rate.  The reason for this is drive physics (rpm speed [7200] and amount of data on the platters).  The new 'vertical sector' (or whatever it's called) technology should double that to 120 - 140 MB/s, if I'm figuring correctly.

4. How fast is USB 2.0?
USB 2.0 has a raw data rate at 480Mbps, and it is rated 40 times faster than its predecessor interface, USB 1.1, which tops at 12Mbps. Originally, USB 2.0 was intended to go only as fast as 240Mbps, but in October 1999, USB 2.0 Promoter Group pumped up the speed to 480Mbps.

As far as we know, effective rate reaches at 40MBps or 320Mbps for bulk transfer on a USB 2.0 hard drive with no one else is sharing the bus. Flash Drives seem to be catching up too with the some hitting 30MB/s milestone. For all we know, manufacturers may claim USB interface becoming the performance bottleneck for flash drives as early as 2007.

Additional notes from Alex Esquenet - our engineer friend based in Belgium: "A fast usb host can achieve 40 MBytes/sec. The theorical 60 MB/sec cannot be achieved, because of the margin taken between the sof's (125 us), so if a packet cannot take place before the sof, the packet will be rescheduled after the next sof. On top of that, all the USB transactions are handled by software on the PC. For instance, a USB host on a PCI bus will send or receive the data via the PCI bus; the stack will prepare the next data in memory and receive interrupt from the host."

You're getting confused about the maximum speed of the transfer interface (USB 2.0) and the actual speed of the device (the flash chip) which is at most only about 3 to 5 MB/sec.

We're definately talking about running off flash devices here; running off a hard drive would be fine.

[MP-Ryan]

You're getting confused about the maximum speed of the transfer interface (USB 2.0) and the actual speed of the device (the flash chip) which is at most only about 3 to 5 MB/sec.

We're definately talking about running off flash devices here; running off a hard drive would be fine.

Which brings up a good point - if he has an MP3 player with a hard disk in it, installing to that would be an acceptable solution too, depending on the device (I know a Creative Zen's removable disk configuration would allow it).

[jr2]

Just go on Ebay and buy a new Maxtor (or other) IDE internal hard disk... for about a hundred bucks.  (A half year ago that got my a 300 GB 7200 RPM, 16 MB cache disk.)  Then, buy and external USB hard disk enclosure for 20 - 30 bucks.  A little assembly required, (just a screwdriver) and then, Voila!! 

EDIT: BTW, someone mentioned frying your flash disk w/ freespace because of continuous writes.  FS doesn't write that much, does it?  I though most of it went to the page file.  Of course there's the cache (which I'm not sure why it uses that anyways.) but...

[MP-Ryan]

EDIT: BTW, someone mentioned frying your flash disk w/ freespace because of continuous writes.  FS doesn't write that much, does it?  I though most of it went to the page file.  Of course there's the cache (which I'm not sure why it uses that anyways.) but...

That was me, and it's not a risk I'd be taking.  I think there's enough read/write going on that you could eventually run into problems.  Key word, of course, being "eventually."

[neoterran]

eventually meaning several years tho. In which time said USB drive will be technologically obsolete and or replacable with a much bigger version for pennies on the dollar.

[jr2]

...Another benefit of using an internal IDE HDD in an external USB enclosure is that you can use NTFS without having to hack the darn thing. 

[MarkN]

According to modern specifications Flash drive actually wear out less fast than magnetic based drives (such as standard hard drives).

[jr2]

...Good, then you won't have to worry about it for anywheres between 5-15 years (prolly about 7).

[fsi.scsi]

Popular Mechanics did a study a while back that tested CD/DVD storage, flash drives, and magnetic storage for their durability.  If I remember right, this is what they found:

-CDs experience "CD rot" in 2-5 years, even if they are well cared for.
-Flash drives have a maximum life span of 10 years. (Don't ask me how they verified that one.)
-Magnetic storage (i.e. tape drives) have a max life of 30-40 years, even more if they are kept in secure surroundings.