ScionPC is natively a portable application, which means it does not write to the Windows Registry or leave footprints on the host computer. You can set it up and run it directly from a USB drive simply by downloading the files and extracting them directly to your flash drive. Step-by-Step Setup Guide
Follow these steps to configure ScionPC on a portable drive: 1. Prepare Your USB Drive Plug your USB flash drive into your computer.
Ensure the drive is formatted using a file system compatible with most PCs (such as FAT32 or exFAT).
Create a dedicated folder on the drive named ScionPC to keep your files organized. 2. Download the Software Files
Download the latest version of ScionPC from a reputable repository like SnapFiles or Uptodown.
The download will arrive as a compressed archive file (usually a .zip or .exe extractor package). 3. Extract to the USB Drive Open the downloaded archive file.
Extract or copy all containing files and folders directly into the ScionPC folder you created on your USB drive. 4. Run the Application Open your USB drive in Windows File Explorer. Navigate to the ScionPC folder.
Double-click ScionPC.exe to launch the program directly from the drive. Crucial Best Practices for Portable Running
Because ScionPC stores all data dynamically within its own folder path, mind these critical tips:
Keep Media Locally Relational: If you attach photos, scanned documents, or certificates to your family tree, save those files into a subfolder inside your USB’s ScionPC directory. If you link to a file stored on your home PC’s desktop, the link will break as soon as you plug the USB into a different computer.
Backup Regularly: USB drives can easily be misplaced, damaged, or suffer from hardware failure. Periodically copy the entire ScionPC folder from your USB drive to a secure cloud folder or your main computer hard drive to safeguard your genealogy research.
Eject Safely: Always close the ScionPC application completely and use the Windows “Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media” taskbar icon before physically pulling out your USB drive. Unplugging the drive while the database is writing can permanently corrupt your family tree data.
If you are looking to manage a large family tree on your USB, let me know:
Do you need to import an existing GEDCOM file from another program?
Are you planning to run this across different versions of Windows (e.g., Windows 10 and 11)?
I can give you specific optimization tips based on your layout. ScionPC 8.0 – Tamura Jones
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