I tried to load COD4 to my laptop, but I need 6 GB more to get it to load. I can't cull anything else from this HD. I do have a 40GB external HD that works through the USB port. Could I load it to that drive and play from there?

Sorry to say that it won't as the data transfer rate is to low to activly play a game from there.....................

Oh well, there's "Plan B"...A new laptop! Okay guys, help me with some excuses I can give my wife as to why I need a new laptop since the one I have is only 2 years old.

Buy her jewlry like Stoopy did.........Justified a nice hardware haul for him

Hey I heard that (and it's true!)

Well....not that I'd recommend it or condone it as an intentional act or anything but the thing with laptops is, they can fall on the floor accidentally.....or left on the couch and get accidentally sat on.....or be packed in a suitcase before going on travel and have the displays cracked by the baggage equipment.....or if you live in the NorthEast right now, left out in the car overnight and then turned on in the morning while still cold as ice, and odds are the hard drive will fail for good.....why, any number of subtle yet deadly fates can fall upon these complicated and highly temperamental devices.....it'll pay bigger dividends if the death can be staged in a way that she has some involvement and subsequent guilt over... "Babe, I put that blanket over the laptop on the couch so you wouldn't sit there!!"......

And if all this were to unfortunately happen just a short time after buying her that romantic ring for cheap (cubic zirconia's are getting harder and harder to tell apart from real diamonds these days, and no one's the wiser) then you're right there in the batter's box.....

AFTER you put that external hard drive to work by backing up all important data of course (no part of the animal is wasted this way)!

(but I didn't mention any of the above!!!)

Well seriously I've never been a big fan of laptops for any entertainment or sim purposes simply because - case in point - the limited expansion capability after a short period of ownership. They're great for work stuff, but today's entertainment and sim titles are far more demaning than any office or development application.

Maybe we can talk her into a hot-rod build-it-yourself or off-the-shelf desktop system? Lots more hardware per dollar there....just a thought......

Stoopy, a new desktop system would be easy to pass by her. Ours is 6 years old, but I can't take it on the road with me. Most of my game playing is while I am out on drilling rigs. I have a lot of hurry up and wait time, perfect for a little gaming.

Ahh, I see. OK, I know....your company just changed wireless access protocols and the laptop you have now doesn't support that protocol and is expensive enough to upgrade that you might as well get a newer laptop that supports the new wireless access so you can email her and send her mushy love notes from the oil rig!

Think that'll work?

Or aternatively you can just tell her the honest truth, the current laptop is all crusty and doesn't have enough space on it no'mo' and you really want and need a new one and she can use the current one for email and internet access in any room of the house where the desktop system isn't.

I think that last plan just might do the trick!

Y'know I figured it had good odds...funny how just levelling with 'em seems to be the best option...

Good luck!

External HD w/ firewire will run your games ... I have a basic 7200 that i run BF2 , JO and IL-2 off of. Learned of doing this when my 10k Raptor HD got filled up. Jewelry didnt impress the mrs so plan C was use what i got.

If your hard drive is full of work stuff move that to the external drive to make room for the game. tell them you are doing it so that you can better secure the dtaa and also that it gives you the flexibility of having 'The Important stuff' (The hard part is keeping a straight face while saying that, you need to practice) available in case the laptop has one of the many accidents that an befall it.

ROFL Bob... I like that plan! lol