I'm a first time user. Checked out the program after reading about it in a PC magazine that I found in my hotel room.
Downloaded and installed the Standard_1.0 program, and when I click on StartPortableApps.exe I get an error message "PortableAppsMem.exe has generated errors . . . " and it quits, saying it generated an error log, which I can't find. There's an Autorun.inf file. Should the menu start automatically when I insert the USB drive? (it doesn't) Not having the menu isn't important, it's just that if it's there, I'd like it to work.
The applications themselves seem to run OK, but load very slowly. Reminds me of the days of running programs off 360K floppy disks. Are USB flash drives typically that slow? This is a $10 Kingston 1GB drive from MicroCenter.
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You need the 1.0.1 patch. See the Suite page.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Thanks for pointing out the patch, John. I should have mentioned that I was trying it on a Win2000 computer. Before installing the patch, I tried it on an XP machine and the menu came up. Installed the patch and then I got the menu on the Win2000 computer as well.
However all is still not right. I can't politely exit. I assume that button at the lower right with the X in it means exit, and that doesn't work. Also, I don't see the button that's next to it in the screen shot on the PortableApps home page. The block in the center at the bottom of the menu border is blank but the text that's supposed to be there is several lines below the menu border. Screen resolution on this computer (Win2000) is 1280x1024. The XP computer (1024x768) looks the same and also has a non-working X button.
Here's a link to a screen shot of what I see, minus the bottom line with the free space, which for some reason escaped the screen capture.
http://mysite.verizon.net/mikerivers/UploadedFiles/PORTAPPS.JPG
On the same Suite page, you'll not that there's an issue with 120DPI displays. This affects lots of apps (even MSN doesn't work right). There is a beta release that fixes it.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
I guess I'm just not smart enough to ask all the questions but you seem to have the answers. Thanks again. It looks OK now.
The speed (or lack thereof) is still disappointing, but I suspect that has everything to do with the speed of the flash drive and USB port. I've been testing on a machine with USB 1.1. I'll have to move it to a more modern computer and see if life gets better.
I run portable apps off USB2.0 at home and USB1.1 at school. I'll back you up there. It has EVERYTHING to do with the fact that you're using 1.1.
Just to give you an idea: Thunderbird boots off my USB hard drive in less than ten seconds when plugged into a 2.0 port. It takes over a minute when plugged into a 1.1 port.
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chris
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chris
It is not your audience's responsibility to puzzle out what you intended to say; it is your responsibility to express yourself so clearly that no one with a modicum of intelligence and good will could possibly mistake your meaning.
Yup, moving to a computer with USB2 makes a big difference here, too. Guess I'll keep foolin' with it.