Second Life Forums Archive - SL on USB flash drive

Seabrook Oceanlane

Registered User

Join date: 5 Sep 2007

Posts: 4

08-13-2008 10:02

I'd like to try using a USB flash drive for SL as a way
of speeding up my machine's response over rotating
mass media. Is anyone doing this? Can you recommend
any particular drive? I use Linux, Windows and OSX
clients and would appreciate any insights you may have.
Dick S.

MoxZ Mokeev

Invisible Alpha Texture

Join date: 10 Jan 2008

Posts: 870

08-13-2008 10:04

Tell the truth now. You want to play 2nd Life at work!

Hehe...I know that it is and can be done. Someone will come along with that link of directions soon. Good luck!

_____________________

Destiny Niles

Registered User

Join date: 23 Aug 2006

Posts: 949

08-13-2008 10:20

Here's the link. Just change the install location to the flashdrive.

/327/ba/248462/1.html#post1927153

Raymond Nightfire

Known reverse engineer

Join date: 5 Nov 2007

Posts: 51

Try using an external Hard Drive

08-13-2008 10:33

The max I have seen for USB flash drives is around 4GB, but there are external hard dirves that only need a USB port for both data and power.

The price of these will vary depending on the capacity you choose, my recominditon for an external hard dive to try SL on would be a Western Digital drive. Although I never tried running SL on my external drive, but I have installed and ran other programs from mine.

If it doesn't work because the computer can't handle SL, hey you still have something as a useful backup device. Just keep in mind these drives only work on the USB ports on the back of the computer, front ports don't have the power needed.

_____________________

Warning, I WILL reverse engineer any thing that is copy/mod!!

I don't mean to offend the original builder, I just like to see how things are made and to get ideas for my own builds.

Meade Paravane

Hedgehog

Join date: 21 Nov 2006

Posts: 4,845

08-13-2008 10:51

From: Raymond Nightfire

The max I have seen for USB flash drives is around 4GG..

There are bigger ones out there. I think 64GB is the current king..

Random google hit: http://www.cdw.com/shop/search/results.aspx?wclss=M64&SortBy=PriceDesc

_____________________

Tired of shouting clubs and lucky chairs? Vote for llParcelSay!!!
- Go here: http://jira.secondlife.com/browse/SVC-1224
- If you see "if you were logged in.." on the left, click it and log in
- Click the "Vote for it" link on the left

Milla Janick

Empress Of The Universe

Join date: 2 Jan 2008

Posts: 3,075

08-13-2008 11:06

You don't need a giant flash drive, SL isn't that big.

I suspect it's not going to make much difference. After you've loaded the program, how often does it need to read from the program file on the disk? Not very often, I bet.

I can see two places where a flash drive could potentially make a difference.

1. The network cache. Try putting that on a flash drive. I'm betting that gets accessed a LOT more than the program file after you've logged in. However, I've fiddled with doing this kind of thing a little, and I think it's a waste of time.

2. Your computer's virtual memory. If your computer doesn't have enough memory, it will swap data to the hard drive. This can seriously slow down your system. This is why Windows Vista runs like crap in 512MB. You could put your swapfile on a flash drive, but it would need to be a lot faster than a hard drive to help. The solution here is to buy more memory.

Seabrook Oceanlane

Registered User

Join date: 5 Sep 2007

Posts: 4

SL on USB flash drive

08-13-2008 12:02

Thanks for your suggestions one and all. I don't want a big
external USB disk -- I already have several of those. I want
to get away from rotating mass media to see if SL will go
a bit faster. Using SL at work is not a problem, my college
owns a sim and I use the Windows client from my office
regularly. I use CentOS5.1 at home and plan to use
the USB flash drive under that. I have 2GB of main memory.
Dick S.

SL on USB flash drive
Seabrook Oceanlane Registered User Join date: 5 Sep 2007 Posts: 4	08-13-2008 10:02 I'd like to try using a USB flash drive for SL as a way of speeding up my machine's response over rotating mass media. Is anyone doing this? Can you recommend any particular drive? I use Linux, Windows and OSX clients and would appreciate any insights you may have. Dick S.
MoxZ Mokeev Invisible Alpha Texture Join date: 10 Jan 2008 Posts: 870	08-13-2008 10:04 Tell the truth now. You want to play 2nd Life at work! Hehe...I know that it is and can be done. Someone will come along with that link of directions soon. Good luck! _____________________
Destiny Niles Registered User Join date: 23 Aug 2006 Posts: 949	08-13-2008 10:20 Here's the link. Just change the install location to the flashdrive. /327/ba/248462/1.html#post1927153
Raymond Nightfire Known reverse engineer Join date: 5 Nov 2007 Posts: 51	Try using an external Hard Drive 08-13-2008 10:33 The max I have seen for USB flash drives is around 4GB, but there are external hard dirves that only need a USB port for both data and power. The price of these will vary depending on the capacity you choose, my recominditon for an external hard dive to try SL on would be a Western Digital drive. Although I never tried running SL on my external drive, but I have installed and ran other programs from mine. If it doesn't work because the computer can't handle SL, hey you still have something as a useful backup device. Just keep in mind these drives only work on the USB ports on the back of the computer, front ports don't have the power needed. _____________________ Warning, I WILL reverse engineer any thing that is copy/mod!! I don't mean to offend the original builder, I just like to see how things are made and to get ideas for my own builds.
Meade Paravane Hedgehog Join date: 21 Nov 2006 Posts: 4,845	08-13-2008 10:51 From: Raymond Nightfire The max I have seen for USB flash drives is around 4GG.. There are bigger ones out there. I think 64GB is the current king.. Random google hit: http://www.cdw.com/shop/search/results.aspx?wclss=M64&SortBy=PriceDesc _____________________ Tired of shouting clubs and lucky chairs? Vote for llParcelSay!!! - Go here: http://jira.secondlife.com/browse/SVC-1224 - If you see "if you were logged in.." on the left, click it and log in - Click the "Vote for it" link on the left
Milla Janick Empress Of The Universe Join date: 2 Jan 2008 Posts: 3,075	08-13-2008 11:06 You don't need a giant flash drive, SL isn't that big. I suspect it's not going to make much difference. After you've loaded the program, how often does it need to read from the program file on the disk? Not very often, I bet. I can see two places where a flash drive could potentially make a difference. 1. The network cache. Try putting that on a flash drive. I'm betting that gets accessed a LOT more than the program file after you've logged in. However, I've fiddled with doing this kind of thing a little, and I think it's a waste of time. 2. Your computer's virtual memory. If your computer doesn't have enough memory, it will swap data to the hard drive. This can seriously slow down your system. This is why Windows Vista runs like crap in 512MB. You could put your swapfile on a flash drive, but it would need to be a lot faster than a hard drive to help. The solution here is to buy more memory.
Seabrook Oceanlane Registered User Join date: 5 Sep 2007 Posts: 4	SL on USB flash drive 08-13-2008 12:02 Thanks for your suggestions one and all. I don't want a big external USB disk -- I already have several of those. I want to get away from rotating mass media to see if SL will go a bit faster. Using SL at work is not a problem, my college owns a sim and I use the Windows client from my office regularly. I use CentOS5.1 at home and plan to use the USB flash drive under that. I have 2GB of main memory. Dick S.

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SL on USB flash drive