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Google Chrome does not work

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September 17, 2010 - 4:17am
#1
rucksman007
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Google Chrome does not work

I tried almost any of the Google Chrome releases from Portableapps, but none of them works.

If I do the installation to the root directory of a Hard drive, it works. But as soon as I change the default directory (GoogleChromePortable) or try to install ist into a subdirectory (c:\programme) it does not work. Double clicking on GoogleChromePortable.exe results in showing the hourglass for a fraction of a second and then nothing happens. There is also no "dead" process visible in the task manager.

Any idea? Thanks for helping....

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September 17, 2010 - 10:08am
ottosykora
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normal

depending on the operating system, you will not be able to run software just copied to C:\programme at all.

Also changing the path will break number of things, particularly many extensions.

Otto Sykora
Basel, Switzerland

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September 17, 2010 - 10:35am
J Neutron
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Yes

Yes, what Otto said.

Also, you should establish a directory called c:\PortableApps and install directly there (along with any other programs from here that you wish). This avoids the UAC restrictions imposed by newer versions of Windows.

PortableApps programs are designed to move from place to place, yes, but only the drive letter part of the path. Changes in the directory parts of the path are more problematic and probably resulted in the failure when you moved the directory.

neutron1132 (at) usa (dot) com

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September 18, 2010 - 3:38am
dan43
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Hmmm......

Do you have some sort of software restriction policy on your computer? If so you may have to turn it off. I would also recommend running a virus scan just in case.

HP v210w 8gb usb drive ~30mb/s read ~15mb/s write

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September 18, 2010 - 5:41am
(Reply to #4)
rucksman007
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thanks for alle the

thanks for alle the answers.

No, there is no restriction of any kind on my computer.

I've never had any problem with all the other portable apps when I changed the path or simply copied them (Thunderbird is one nasty exception).

Honestly, I think thats a severe constraint to the idea of a portable app, if I am not able to copy them freely back and forth or put them into a folder which has a freely chosen name.

As I said: It works for all the other portable apps I am using, but not for chrome. It even works for the Chrome clone Iron, which can be found here: http://www.srware.net/en/software_srware_iron_download.php

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September 18, 2010 - 7:50am
(Reply to #5)
ottosykora
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path should be kept

otherwise strange things can happen.
Sure , there are some apps, made only from one single exe, they run with minimum additional components of windows etc. Such apps can be copied where ever.
But you have to understand, that portable apps in the context meant here, are just normal windows apps, using under normal circumstances number of registry entries only to be able to operate, they need lot of windows system components and they are not able to run just alone. Unfortunately, most of current windows apps run this way.

The task of the creators of the portable apps is to kind of mimic the original installation with registry and all the rest in a way that at least personal data are not left after the use on the host computer.
The intended use is to install the apps on an usb flash stick and run them from any computer. By this use, only the drive letter does change, but in order to enable the app to work, the path will be then updated internally with this new drive letter.

You might have experience that some apps do work after copying them, yes, but when it comes to apps which use or need other parts like extensions to mozilla products, this will become complex. After you copy firefox, 90 percent of the extensions will not work and dpending on extension, firefox portable may also stop work completely.

This can also happen with your chrome, it might contain components which once set up can not be changed. The chrome is not any kind of finished product itself, so I am not surprised when some parts fail to operate and block the rest of the software when you move it.

So install it on a removable drive formated to fat32, stick it into any computer and things should work. Any other use for complex apps like a browser are not guaranteed to work.

Otto Sykora
Basel, Switzerland

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September 20, 2010 - 2:39am
rucksman007
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understood. And don't get me

understood.

And don't get me wrong. I really appreciate the work that is done here. I am using this stuff since years. But with chrome it is the first time that I can not use my own directory name, whereas with all the other apps (also Firefox) I can name the directory in any way I want and I am not stuck to /ApplicationPortable.

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September 20, 2010 - 7:04pm
(Reply to #7)
Pyromaniac
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hmmm

try this:

Download a fresh copy of the latest non-beta version of chrome.

Install it into any folder (My Documents, Desktop, PortableApps, whatever).

Now run it. Did it work? If not, goto End. If it did, then continue:

Now copy the GoogleChromePortable folder somewhere else, again it doesn't matter where, just not in the same place it was before.

Now run it. Did it work? If it did, then say what you did, ifnot, then continue:

Now, make sure GoogleChromePortable.exe isn't running (check the task manager or use Daphne Portable if you don't have admin rights) and delete the GoogleChromePortable\Data folder.

Now create the Data folder again by right-clicking -> New Folder

Now run GoogleChromePortable.exe. Did it work? If it did, well, then that sucks because then it is a path problem. If it didn't, then that sucks a little bit less because we know it wasn't the launcher. Tell us what system your on, too.

*END:

If it didn't run the first time, well, I can't help you then either, sorry. It might be a bug with chrome itself if that happened.

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February 9, 2011 - 6:56am
(Reply to #8)
ESMAIL
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If your personal folder is inside "c:\program files\xxx" ...

If your 'personal folder' is inside "c:\program files\xxx" ...then chrome won't work. In case this is the case, place your folder outside windows default \program files\ folder and see if it works.

esmail

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February 14, 2011 - 6:32am
(Reply to #9)
wallywalters
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I installed Chrome

I installed Chrome portableinto a new folder I created titled "C:\Program Files\Google Chrome" (i.e., using the installer) and it will not run from there. But if I move the "Google Chrome" folder out of Program Files to any other location, it runs fine.

What's the reason for this? In addition to my thumbdrive install, I keep a copy of all my portable apps in Program Files on my desktop PC, and I really don't want to have to store Chrome portable somewhere else.

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February 14, 2011 - 9:39am
(Reply to #10)
John T. Haller
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No Program Files

Portable software is not meant to be run from Program Files. That is a special reserved folder for local Windows software. Windows treats it specially and even has extra security restrictions on it in Vista and 7 preventing any portable app from running. Many apps themselves detect when running from there and will not work portably either.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

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February 14, 2011 - 3:09pm
wallywalters
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Thanks

Thanks for your kind response, John, disappointing though it proves to be. Because if portable apps can't run from any folder, they're not really portable, are they? Still, Google Chrome is only the first program -- in my experience anyway -- to suffer from this flaw. But a flaw it is, at least to my way of working, which is to have one copy of all my portable apps on a Thumbdrive and a clone in Program Files.

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February 14, 2011 - 4:00pm
(Reply to #12)
3D1T0R
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If you want software in the

If you want software in the Program Files directory install it (the Original Developers version, not the PortableApps version).
PortableApps are meant to be used from a FlashDrive (or other media) which moves between computers, and thus may have a different Drive Letter each time it is run, thus they are only designed to run from 1 path (e.g. [DriveLetter]:\PortableApps\[AppNamePortable]) not to be moved from folder to folder, and NEVER to be used from a system folder (e.g. C:\Program Files, or C:\Windows) as this can (and with some Apps is guaranteed to) break the Portability of them.

I also have a copy of many of my PortableApps on my home PC, and I have them in a folder in one of the internal hard drives (F:\Downloads\PA\PortableApps\[AppNamePortable] in my case), but I only ever run them when SUBSTed to a new Drive Letter (e.g. X: or Z:) so that they are running from [DriveLetter]:\PortableApps\[AppNamePortable] just like when I run them off of my FlashDrive.

~3D1T0R

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February 14, 2011 - 5:29pm
(Reply to #13)
Pyromaniac
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SUBST doesn't work

I don't really see any advantage with running it from a SUBST drive because the PortableApps.com Installer doesn't detect those kinds of "drives" and you still have to manually select that folder; PAM will still work just fine from F: or F:\...\...\PortableApps. It's just an extra, uneeded "drive" letter, and the portable app launchers don't even recognize it either.

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February 14, 2011 - 5:51pm
(Reply to #14)
3D1T0R
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SUBST does work

If you have a "Removable Drive" with a Portable Apps installation the installers will choose that one over a SUBSTed drive, but they notice my SUBSTed drive just fine when I don't have a FlashDrive (with PortableApps on it) plugged in. And using SUBST to add a DriveLetter in this way allows me to copy files back and forth between my computer and a FlashDrive without having changed the path to get to them (thus no path problems).

A SUBSTed drive simply appears (to installers, launchers, programs, etc) as an internal HardDrive, the only caveats being that Sandboxie ignores them (redirects to the actual location not the SUBST drive), and that in Windows 7 middle clicking a taskbar entry (to open a second instance) opens it from the original location, and thus loses portability, but as long as you don't middle click on taskbar entries, and you don't copy out what you've done in a Sandboxie SandBox, there's not a problem.

And there is certainly less problems doing things this way than placing PortableApps in the systems Program Files folder.

~3D1T0R

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February 14, 2011 - 4:32pm
wallywalters
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But installing the Original

But installing the Original Developers version defeats my purpose, which is to be able to migrate my programs to a new PC, as many of them as possible, by simply copying their respective program folders to the new PC.

As I mentioned, Google Chrome is the only program in my experience that fails to run from Program Files. I'd be curious to learn of any others.

EDIT: And now I'm doing some reading up on this issue on the Forum and coming to a better understanding of the issues. I still think there's something wrong, however, with being unable to put ALL my apps, whether portable or "installed," into a single folder named Program Files.

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February 14, 2011 - 5:15pm
(Reply to #16)
John T. Haller
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No Program Files

As mentioned, Program Files is a reserved system folder as of Windows Vista. Windows 7 continues this as will Windows 8. You can't alter anything within those folders without triggering a UAC prompt (which is why you get one when a locally installed Firefox updates itself). Since they can't alter anything internally sans UAC permissions, portable software is simply out of the question. True, you can go and disable UAC yourself, but most people don't. And some apps specifically detect whether they are in Program Files and will automatically switch to local mode even if you have their config files there for portable mode.

You should install to C:\PortableApps and place your portable software in there. This is also convenient in that you can backup that whole directory and if your PC ever dies, you just restore that backup and you have all your software and settings back. If you backed up Program Files, it would be pretty pointless as most of it wouldn't work.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

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February 14, 2011 - 5:40pm
(Reply to #17)
wallywalters
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Thanks again, but in the

Thanks again, but in the interests of keeping a slim environment, I won't be cluttering up the root directory with any new folders, especially not on account of a single program failing to execute where it should, i.e., in a single container for all applications. I'll have to settle on some other workaround for this unfortunate behavior.

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August 2, 2014 - 12:06pm
(Reply to #18)
pdiddy000
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your a tool pal

ive got to say the only reason i went all through the sign up process to create a new account was to write this one message even though the topic was 3 years ago and even though i will get banned shortly after..but i gurantee you what im about to right was what every fucker was thinking and couldnt say at the risk of getting banned

MR WALLYWALTERS

your an ignorent..stupid...awkward cock...and seriously pal...SERIOUSLY...i MEAN WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK>>>

I was just looking on google for a flash problem im having with google chrome portable but for christ sake i come across your bitchy statements which are just out of order, pointless, solve nothing, and when your given countless solutions, justifications and reasons your last 3 posts were just fucking STUPID>>>ITS PISSED ME OFF READING IT>>>I MEAN THE ONE ABOUT IT NOT BEING TECHNICALLY PORTABLE JUST BECAUSE YOUVE FOUND ONE FOLDER IT WONT WORK IN IS FUCKING PATHETIC>>>OF COURSE ITS PORTABLE>>>AND NO YOU DONT TECHNICALLY HAVE TO SPECIFY WHERE YOU WANT IT INSTALLED JUST LIKE AN INSTALLATION YOU DICK>>>JUST COPY THE FUCKING FOLDER WHERE EVER YOU LIKE>>and that crap you said about not wanting to clog up your root which you used as a snide remark in my opinion...WELL FUCKING CREATE A FOLDER CALLED PORTABLE APPS YOU DICK>>>fuck me rant over sorry admin

its been a great ten minutes being a member here at portable apps and i just want you to know i love the site and regularly visit it for things i need all the time and would be lost with out it...thanks for your hard work guys...even though its all apparantly crap because it doesnt all run from program files lmfao...what a dick he is...no sorry..lol take it easy admin

Reguards

Pdiddy000

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