May 2015
Solved! Go to Solution.
May 2015
It's possible but I won't recommend it.
Trouble is with the drive letter since it can happen that a hard drive is not applied the same letter when reconnected and then the game won't work. Depending on your USB connection, it can also be slow.
If you want to try anyways, here's instruction on how to change the installation path: http://sims4.crinrict.com/en/2014/09/change-installation-path/
Good Luck
Crin
I don't work or have any association with EA. I give advice to the best of my knowledge and cannot be held responsible for any damage done to your computer/game.
Please only contact me via PM when asked to do so.
Important Threads
May 2015
It's possible but I won't recommend it.
Trouble is with the drive letter since it can happen that a hard drive is not applied the same letter when reconnected and then the game won't work. Depending on your USB connection, it can also be slow.
If you want to try anyways, here's instruction on how to change the installation path: http://sims4.crinrict.com/en/2014/09/change-installation-path/
Good Luck
Crin
I don't work or have any association with EA. I give advice to the best of my knowledge and cannot be held responsible for any damage done to your computer/game.
Please only contact me via PM when asked to do so.
Important Threads
April 2016
has anyone done it with success?
April 2016
There have been posts that users have installed to a usb drive but no one have reported how long it works. What kind of computer do you have. If it's a desktop you should be able to add a second drive very easily. If it's a laptop you can get a larger drive and image the old one to the new one then swap them. Some laptops even have the ability to add an extra drive. The data rate on a usb drive will be slower then a drive connected to the motherboard. The only big problem I see if you have a laptop is any external connection could be reset should you disconnect the devices and use the laptop at a different location. Although I have though about Windows 10 with Microsoft OneDrive. I personally have reservations about my data being in the public domain (cloud storage). Data centers do go off line. Although data centers are are more reliable then your local cable company. There's always a nas box. Might get a better data rate because of the network connection. With things getting smaller, faster, and less complicated - I can't see making it larger, slower, and more complicated. Amazon has a Hitachi 2TB 7200rpm drive $43.99. Amazon Prime and in 2 days and a couple hours work. When I was in data processing class we were taught KISS (keep it simple stupid).
The best I can describe this is your hanging over a very deep canyon and your holding on to kite string.
Good luck.
June 2017
Hello, I know this post is kinda old but I wanted to say that I managed to download the Sims 4 onto my external in 2015, and I also used that with my laptop since I didn't have a computer. It worked well for me, the only issues I had was lag and long-ish loading screens but that could be because I used a laptop and not a PC. I also downloaded what I think was a lot of Custom Content and few mods and it still worked the same.
Hopefully, This can be useful to someone even if this is kinda late
August 2017
hi, how did you manage to do this? I have a mac and I'm trying to download onto external hard drive. Changing the Game Library Location in Origin settings doesn't work! Thanks
September 2017
i'd also love to know how to do this successfully! it's taking up way too much space on my laptop
October 2017
Having the same problem. I bought a 1T External Hard Drive but when i go to my Origin settings > Installs & Saves > On your computer > Game Library Location and then choose my external hard drive, its says "The game installation directory is invalid. Please select a different directory." I just spent $80 on this hard drive plus the $25 for sims. If this doesn't work i'm going to be seriously upset. It was my birthday present to myself and so far its done nothing but stress me out and make me cry.
November 2017
November 2017
@pcakes88 you can manually create the folder or change the Origin destination location THEN uninstall and reinstall and the installer should create the folder for you.