I'll try to address this one anyway. The answer will be yes and no. It will be on a program by program basis. Typically, you will still have some files that will install under Windows and will contain entries in the Windows registry which are needed for them to function properly. So, if your intention for installing software on a portable drive is so you can carry the software to another PC as well, this is not going to work. You can use it to carry data from PC to PC but not installed programs. The factory built external you want depends on how it will connect. USB2 and Firewire are common. SATA is also possible. I can't recommend by brand as mine are just HDs in enclosures I buy. The major HD manufacturers make externals and any of these should be fine. If you have a brand preference for your internals, going with the same for the externals makes sense. Hope that helps.
I would like to add a new external HDD to my desktop. I want to install the programs I use for my photo & video editing along with associated files on the new external HDD. This would include my media players such as Real Media and Windows Media Player. I also use several Peer to Peer, (P2P), programs and want to place these programs and files on the external HDD also. Can I do this and will it work? Any suggestions as to the type of factory built external HDD I should get?
Any comments welcome.

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