System - HP-Pavilion E4500 Desktop, model a6238x, Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 800MHz frontside system bus, 2MB L2 cache, 2.2GHz processor speed, 2GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM, 400GB Serial ATA hard DRIVE (7200 rpm); HP Pocket Media Drive expansion bay to easily add a second, removable hard drive (not included), Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 with 64MB dedicated graphics memory; up to 256MB total available memory as ALLOCATED by Windows Vista, high-definition audio (8-speaker support), 2 IEEE 1394 (FIREWIRE) interfaces and 6 high-speed USB 2.0 ports, both front and rear accessible, for fast digital data transfer and easy peripheral connectivity, and a built-in wireless LAN.
I research my family history and I run Family Tree Maker 2006. I have the program and all of the data on one CD, which is now near capacity. I also use this computer to play games that require a lot of memory, such as Age of Empires III. Would an external hard drive be necessary for running Family Tree Maker? Is an external hard drive something I can run the program from and work on it, or is it just a drive to copy files to?
Thank you in advance!You can run anything you want from external HD.An External Hard Disk can work just like a normal Hard Drive. It can be used for backing up and storing data.

However, if you install programs and games on the External Drive, you cannot use the programs and games on any other computer.