How to place CSDS and it's data onto a portable drive,

so CSDS can be run on any Windows-based computer.

Having a backup thumb drive with CSDS is a good idea in case there's an issue with your computer.

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Configure your 'master' computer

1. Create a folder such as C:\CsdsExe for the CSDS executable files:
    
   1. Copy all CSDS executable files into that folder. There are two ways to do this:
      1. Method 1:
         1. Unzip the installation file, csds2publishXXX.zip, into a temporary folder.
            The latest installation file can be found at https://www.ceder.net/csds2/
         2. Open the temporary folder, and navigate to sub-folder 'Application Files/csds2_1_0_0_xxx' (where xxx is a 3-digit number). If there is more than one such folder, use the one with the largest number.
         3. Copy or move all files from that folder into C:\CsdsExe.
            • If you are upgrading from a previous version of Csds2, replace files in the C:\CsdsExe folder with the new ones.
            • If file CSDS2_PORTABLE.INI is in the folder, do not delete it.
            • Delete the zip file and the folders that it created.
          
      2. Method 2:
         1. If CSDS is already installed on your computer, run CSDS.
         2. From the CSDS Main Menu, select 'Help | About Csds2'.
         3. Press the 'Open EXE Folder' button, then close CSDS.
         4. Copy all files from this folder into C:\CsdsExe.
       
   2. To run CSDS, double-click on C:\CsdsExe\csds2.exe.
    
2. Create a folder such as C:\CsdsData for your CSDS data:
    
   1. This folder is known as the CSDS 'Application Data Folder'.
   2. All music files for CSDS, and any personal cue sheets or lyrics files should be in subfolders beneath C:\CsdsData.
   3. Keeping music files in the default system folder 'This PC \ Music' is not recommended.
   4. Everything used by CSDS should be under two folders, C:\CsdsExe and C:\CsdsData.

Configure the Portable Drive

1. Copy the above two folders, C:\CsdsExe and C:\CsdsData, to the root folder of the portable drive.
2. To run the Csds2 program, open the CsdsExe folder on the portable drive, and run file Csds2.exe.

   If this is the first time running Csds2 from the portable drive, you will need to configure the drive:

   1. From the CSDS Main Menu, select 'System | Run from Portable Drive', and change the Application Data Folder to the folder on the portable drive (e.g., X:\CsdsData where X is the portable drive letter).
   2. If you have a background picture on the CSDS main window, select 'System | Preferences | Display' and re-set background picture. The selected picture file should reside in the application data folder (X:\CsdsData) on the portable drive.

Notes:

1. If you often use both your computer and the portable drive, designate one (e.g., the portable drive) as the slave, and the other (e.g., your primary computer) as the master. Any changes made on the slave drive should also be made on the master computer. This includes adding new music, setting loops, new sequences, etc. The easiest way to do this is to always make changes to the master computer, then every once and a while copy over the entire application data folder (C:\CsdsData) from the master to the slave.