Programming Editor - Run without administration rights - from flash ?

dennis

Member
I have a new laptop with windows 7 provided by my employer. They now have a policy of not allowing employees to load their own software. This is a nuisance for people like me who travel for long periods as maybe I will have to buy, carry, and insure a second laptop for personal use.

As an alternative is it possible to run PE, maybe via some virtual system, on a flash drive without installing anything ?

Thanks
Dennis
 

hippy

Technical Support
Staff member
Running any software without installing it would probably be breaking the spirit of what the company is trying to enforce so I would check that with the company first. The easiest solution is to come to an agreement to allow the software to be installed.
 

BeanieBots

Moderator
The "IT Nanny State" enforced by most corporate companies these days is a constant hurdle to overcome.
I have had success with PE itself but that depends on what other software is already installed and if that software has registered the required libraries for PE to run.
As hippy says, trying to run any software that has not been 'approved' will be against the IT policy that you almost certainly have been forced to sign up to, so be warned. Some companies take these matters VERY seriously.
Where you will come a complete cropper with any such attempts at running without installing will be the virtual serial port drivers if you need to use USB and not a native RS232 port.
Even after having special permission, the IT department at my current location struggled to get the drivers registered and working under the IT policy currently in place.
Good luck with your quest.
 

dennis

Member
Thanks Hippy and BeanieBots.
I had hoped for some software that would run on flash or an external hard drive and not alter any of the PC settings and not write anything to the hard drive but that seems to be unrealistic. The company policy is software strictly for work purposes which has certainly upset a lot of employees who travel a lot. I will ask about PE maybe justifying it as a training aid but so far no one has got any flexibility out of the IT department !

Dennis
 

nick12ab

Senior Member
If they won't let you install anything, AXEPAD will definitely run off a USB flash drive with no installation necessary. There would still be the issue of USB drivers if the laptop doesn't have a proper serial port.
 

dennis

Member
nick12ab thanks for this. Do I download AXEPAD onto a flash and install it on the flash using a PC over which I have administrative rights or is there some other procedure ? My "protected" laptop wont allow me run the AXEPAD installation even from flash. The lack of drivers shouldnt be a problem as i plan to actually run the software at home.
 

hippy

Technical Support
Staff member
My "protected" laptop wont allow me run the AXEPAD installation even from flash.
What errors or prohibiting pop-ups are you getting; what does not work ? In order to get things to work it will be necessary to know what has to be overcome.

AXEpad, like most non-trivial Windows software, may run from a USB memory stick but it may still try to access the main disk to load and save configuration settings and temporary files or need to use OS functions which have been locked-down.
 

nick12ab

Senior Member
nick12ab thanks for this. Do I download AXEPAD onto a flash and install it on the flash using a PC over which I have administrative rights or is there some other procedure ? My "protected" laptop wont allow me run the AXEPAD installation even from flash. The lack of drivers shouldnt be a problem as i plan to actually run the software at home.
Yes that seemed to work for me (neither this or any of the following ideas have been tested on real computers belonging to others). Of course, it is possible that your employer has disabled execution of your own programs which can sometimes be worked around. Since programs on the C drive need to run, if you can somehow get AXEPAD or PICAXE Programming Editor on it, it should work.

Even if the C drive doesn't show up in Explorer, you should still be able to access it using the Command Prompt (try using Safe Mode with Command Prompt if you get 'The administrator has disabled the command prompt' message). Copy the Programming Editor installer onto the C drive and try to install it. The main drive does not have to be C in Windows so the hidden system drive could be something else.
 

Technical

Technical Support
Staff member
.... The lack of drivers shouldnt be a problem as i plan to actually run the software at home.
PICAXE BASIC files are normal raw text files. So if you don't actually need to download you can simply write them in any of the Windows default editors such as Notepad or Wordpad.
 

dennis

Member
Thanks to all who have helped with this. I have decided to get a second laptop so as to be able to run PE and other personal programs when travelling. That way I can use the full PE facilities with simulator without running the risk of problems with the IT department.
 
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