question about running a program from a network drive

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Guest

I have a small executable program that I need to run on several XP Pro
workstations to update the client side of a client/server application. Can I
run that small program directly from a network drive (assuming it's shared
and all permissions are set up right, etc.) by just double clicking on it, or
must I first copy the program to the computer I will be updating , then run
it? This is a pretty basic question I know, but I'm uncertain about it.
thanks.
 
There are a hundred different factors that can come here that would
determine whether that particular program would work across the network or
not, but all that aside, there are no inherent problems to executing a
program over a network share. I've done it plenty of times, and a number of
users I work with do this as well. It all pretty much comes down to the
program itself. Getting any more specific that that would really be
difficult, though...

-Bob
 
dvw said:
I have a small executable program that I need to run on several XP Pro
workstations to update the client side of a client/server application. Can I
run that small program directly from a network drive (assuming it's shared
and all permissions are set up right, etc.) by just double clicking on it, or
must I first copy the program to the computer I will be updating , then run
it? This is a pretty basic question I know, but I'm uncertain about it.
thanks.
Click to expand...

The surest way to find out is to try it and see.

Most programs have to be installed on a computer to run on that
computer. The installation process copies files to the hard disk and
creates registry entries that define the program's environment.
Running the program from a network share, or just copying the
executable file and trying to run it, won't work for such programs.

Here are some other considerations:

1. Most commercial programs have license terms that govern how many
computers they can be installed on or run on.

2. If multiple computers are accessing data files, there must be a
locking mechanism that permits only one of them to update the files at
a time.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
 
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