Can CS5.5 be run from a removable HD or SSD?

[Sm1d]

I don't have a laptop, but would like to be able to take my copy of Creative Suite with me so I can work in other locations if I am not at my home computer. Running it from an SSD would presumably give best performance, but the system requirements say it can't be run from 'removable flash drives' - and I'm wondering if they include SSDs in that, or if they just mean you can't stick it on a USB pen drive? All suggestions gratefully received!

[Ned Murphy · Accepted solution]

The software needs to be based in a machine.  While you can install on external drives to some degree, there will always be files that get stored in the "C:" drive of the machine to tie in with the operating system and registered to the machine, not the drive.  If you want to have portable software, then it needs to be on a portable computer.

[Sm1d]

Thanks Ned. I'm using a Mac, so I don't have a C drive, but I think I follow your logic. What if I was able to use my removable drive to start up from (by installing system software for the host computer)? Do you think that might persuade Creative Suite that my removable drive was legit? I don't have the spare cash to go out and buy a new laptop just so I can work away from home for a couple of days...!

[Mylenium]

No, won't work. The cryptographic keys for the activation can only be stored on fixed drives/ volumes and there's a million otehr potential issues and caveats, beginning with different mount points for the volume on different systems or something as trivial as sufficient performance on the USB or eSATA bus used to connect the drive plus device enumeration possibly not even allowing it to be used as a boot drive... Sorry, but this is one of those "never ever" things. You can of course use external volumes on your own machine where the activation would be stored on your system drive and none of the otehr points would matter much, but that's about it...

Mylenium

[Ned Murphy]

You're welcome.  That's why I quoted the "C:"  I don't have a MAc so I don't speak the lingo. But the bottom line is that the software gets associated with the machine, not the drives.  You do have the option to install an application on two machines as long as only one of them is in use at any given time.  So that might be an option to consider, but you would do yourself a favor to deactivate and uninstall after each time so that you retain the ability to rinse and repeat.