Can I install games directly into an external hard drive?

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Level 1

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Can I install games directly into an external hard drive?

I have a macbook air with only 128 gb storage and theres only 10 gb left, i want to download more games so i bought a hard drive. So my question is, can i put games on hard drive and then play it without moving it, also how do i install it directly to the hard drive because the game im installing is more than 15 gb. How do i also screen record in quicktime and save it automatically on the hard drive, without moving it

MacBook Air, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)

Posted on Feb 7, 2018 1:54 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

dwb

Level 7

33,100 points

Feb 8, 2018 4:57 AM in response to SilentAlien

There's no easy answer to this question. Programs that come with installers install to the startup drive by default but some do let you change the installation location. Even though the installer lets you chance the location that doesn't mean that everything will get installed to the specified location - many programs (including games) install resources in other locations - on the startup drive. If the program doesn't have an installer - like those that are dragged to the Applications folder from a disc or disk image - it may or may not run from an external drive.

But all is not lost. You can install the Mac OS on the external drive and boot up with it when you want to play a game. After installing the Mac OS on the external, install your game(s) on it. That will put the drives on the startup drive - which is the external drive. Of course the downside is you'll have to reboot to play a game but it isn't a huge inconvenience.

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Answer 2

y_p_w

Level 6

17,684 points

Feb 8, 2018 4:58 PM in response to SilentAlien

SilentAlien wrote:

Im only using usb 2 so can buying a 128 gb sd card with an adaptor work well?

What MBA model do you have? Just look it up at the menu bar Apple>About This Mac. It will give you the name of your system including the year it came out. Only the first generation MBA doesn't have USB 3.

If it is that one, all hope isn't lost since it has Thunderbolt. You could use a Thunderbolt SSD or maybe even a Thunderbolt enclosure for an m.2 NVMe SSD. It should be faster than a SATA III SSD.

MacBook Air (11-inch, Mid 2011) - Technical Specifications

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Answer 3

y_p_w

Level 6

17,684 points

Feb 8, 2018 5:06 PM in response to SilentAlien

I'm kind of just thinking of what's out there, and I'm not sure there are too many Thunderbolt 1 enclosures out there any more. It's also kind of hard to do a search since Apple calls their USB-C implementation "Thunderbolt 3".

It's kind of pricey, but you could get USB 3 speeds by using a Thunderbolt to USB-A adapter. This one might work:

Kanex Thunderbolt to eSATA + USB 3.0 Adapter - Apple

You could then use USB 3.0 drive/enclosure or even an eSATA drive.

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Answer 4

y_p_w

Level 6

17,684 points

Feb 8, 2018 11:19 AM in response to SilentAlien

One of the things you might be able to do is install the OS on an external drive and then boot from it whenever you want to play that game. If it's an external hard drive it's going to be painfully slow compared to your internal SSD. An external SSD (like in a SATA enclosure) might be more tolerable if you're using USB 3.

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