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Hi,
Has anyone tried to install OpenSim on a USB drive? I read the OpenSim FAQ "Can I run OpenSim from a USB drive?", but no success. I installed it on a USB drive, but could not launch OpenSim. (By the way, I am trying to teach a class using OpenSim in a computer lab where I don't have installation privileges.)
On the same FAQ page, the PATH environment is discussed. Since such variables are set on a computer, a person without installation privileges on the computer would not be able to set the PATH variables. This means launching OpenSim from a USB drive on a computer without OpenSim cannot be realized (?) Or, is there a way?
Thanks!

Hi Ko,

While setting the Path is useful when invoking OpenSim tools from the command line or using the API, it's not necessary for GUI operation, so I don't expect that to be a problem if you only want to run the application. What could be a problem is if the redistributable cannot be run as it places the necessary runtime libraries provided by Microsoft on the target machine. There could also be an issue if the env. variable OPENSIM_HOME cannot be set even though it can be set per user without any privileges.

What specifically is the problem you're seeing and what version/installer of OpenSim and what machine configurations are you using?

Thanks,
-Ayman

Hi Ayman,
Nice to hear from you.
First, I simply installed OpenSim3.3 (64 bits) on a USB drive with the "Add OpenSim to the system PATH for all users" option using my computer. Then I took the USB to a PC (64-bit Windows 7) that does not have OpenSim. When I clicked OpenSim64.exe in the bin folder, nothing happened (no error messages shown, it did not do anything). Then I re-installed without the "adding to the system PATH" option. This time I got an error message related to the dynamic library and PATH (sorry I did not write it down).

Hi Ko,

The message about the PATH is slightly misleading since it's shown generically when the native libraries fail to load. This can be caused by multiple reasons and maybe different if you're in Matlab or Python vs. the GUI (which as of now doesn't rely on the PATH to find the libraries).

Based on the symptoms you reported, it's more likely that the issue has to do with the runtime libraries normally installed by the redistributable. Some things to try that may help:
1. Use the 32 bit installer (the 32 bit libraries may be already around on the target machines).
2. Use version 3.2 x64 built with earlier compilers (VS2010 or VS2013).

We can dig deeper into the specific errors but you maybe able to get your students going faster using the above workaround, so please let me know how it goes.

-Ayman