computer problem

[andel1]

hi all

After getting everything running brilliantly my computer decides to crash which means no RM .

  So my question is .... apart from getting my computer fixed can I enstal RM onto my external hard drive and thus be able to use it on any compuer using the same com ports  with each one , the reason being that if my computer crashes again I can use my laptop

regards

andrew

[Chrissaf]

No you can't. RM is written in such a way as it has to be installed on the internal PC C: hard drive it is not a portable software version.

.

I'm sure AC when he reads this, will confirm I am right, or tell me I am talking rubbish, but I am sure I am not. Although he may offer some form of convoluted work-around with no guarantee of success.

.

In a PC crash situation you are best served to install a completely fresh copy of RM downloaded from the forum RM download link and install it on your temporary laptop PC. Since you cannot deactivate the RM Key on your crashed PC you will need to send an e-mail to support@rail-master.com telling them the situation. Quote your RM Key in the mail and ask them to deactivate your RM registration at their end on their servers for you. You can then use your RM Key to reactivate RM on your temporary laptop. If you can still access files on your old PC hard drive, perhaps by using a USB caddy. Then you could retrieve the files quoted on Page 132 of the RM manual and transfer them onto the laptop to recover all your track plans and loco configurations etc.

.

Then once your main PC is repaired and functional or replaced, reinstall RM onto that. Then using the inbuilt option within RM on the working temporary laptop deactivate the RM key....this is an automated process. Once deactivated, you can then reactivate the RM Key back on the repaired / replaced PC and transfer your personal configuration files back again. The inbuilt deactivation / reactivation process is controlled by you the user and does not need 'supports' input, but of course it does rely upon having both the old and new PC versions of RM functional.

[Augustus Caesar]

Couldn't have put it much better myself Chris... you after my job? 😛

 

You're right in that one should always install RM to the main drive in any Windows PC/laptop and that is usually C: etc... although I do remember someone asking or saying that they had successfully installed it to a different drive in the same system (or maybe a secondary partition of the original drive)? Anyway... normally it would not work as references inside the code automatically default to calls to routines in the code which must be situated on C:.

 

So, Andel1, you're advised correctly with Chris's information above.

[mallone]

Hi AC, I also had a PC which crashed and, as it was old and slow, I replaced it with a newer model.

I partitioned the hard drive on this and installed RM on a new partition, "E". RM has worked problem free ever since.

John.

[Chrissaf]

Just for clarity,

.

It is one thing to install RM on a different partition within the same PC host machine, and a completely different thing to install it onto an external hard drive and then connect that hard drive onto a completely different PC machine.

.

When you install RM or any non portable program for that matter. References will be written to the PC's Registry telling that PC where the program is located and where the resources for that application on that PC can be found.

.

If you then connect the external hard drive to a completely different PC, that different PC's Registry will not have these important entries written within it.

.

A portable program (which RM is not) is a completely self contained .exe file that does not normally use ANY host PC resources and will run from any location and completely independently from the Registry file on the PC it is running on.

.

Just as an aside: The Registry is a critical part of the Windows operating system, even a small error in this file can completely trash your PC. There are so called 'Registry Cleaners' out there that claim to clean out the 'left overs, orphans & unnecessary' and make your PC run faster. In my view these are dangerous to use if you are not 100% skilled in knowing what you are doing. They have been known to remove critical application entries and prevent applications from running or cause other 'havoc'. These cleaners are IMHO best avoided.

[Augustus Caesar]

@Mallone

Yep, newer installs may be different to those in the past. That isn't the point though. You have, as one or two others have also, shown that it is possible. However, my post did say that normally it would not work. Clearly that is not an "It will not work".

It is recommended that the install should always be done to the C: drive. There is no real reason to alter that suggestion unless you have a super wonderful reason to do so... and I can understand some folk, like yourself, have a good reason to do it.

Now, if the authors decide to rewrite a small routine or add something different and it calls the program from drive 'C:' and you are on another dirve elsewhere or partition, then you are up the creek. This is not too likely to happen but I err on the side of caution when a software vendor recommends installing to 'C:'... not because I am afraid of something going wrong but there is usually a follow up to that later on.

I have written programs in the past and used certain .dll files where my routines could be installed on any drive but then had to add a call to a .dll file in the Windows subsystem and found my routines would not work with it because of that call unless the program was installed to 'C:'.

So now I take no chances when programs are constantly being upgraded because 'you never know'.

 

@Chris

Registry cleaners are absolutely useless and cause far too many issues like wiping registry entries out that it has no business wiping. As you do suggest folk not use them I can only reiterate that in the strongest terms.

It's a little like defragging a drive every couple of weeks... unnecessary these days uless you install and uninstall everything on the PC or laptop so many times your drive just wants to cry! The money these programmers make writing these scam programs is rediculous. I wish I could have made a small fortune for just writing texts that help folk... ah well... dream on. ☹️