MT4 & External Drives ('F' Drive download)

General discussion about the Tickstory Lite software package.
jay
Posts: 10
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2016 8:20 pm

Re: MT4 & External Drives ('F' Drive download)

Post by jay »

Hi..
- Install a fresh copy of MT4 to your external drive. Do NOT yet start the application until instructed in the following steps.
Any new Installation opens automatically ?

- With the MT4 short-cut/start up icon, right-click and go to Properties. In the "Target" box, add "/portable" to the end of the command.
Already in this target box is /skipupdate ?

Thanks

Ja.

tickstory
Posts: 4883
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2013 12:27 am

Re: MT4 & External Drives ('F' Drive download)

Post by tickstory »

If MT4 opens automatically, just close it. Use both "/skipupdate /portable" if you need to.

Thanks.

Tr3add
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Feb 05, 2016 6:46 pm

Re: MT4 & External Drives ('F' Drive download)

Post by Tr3add »

Hi Jay,

I had a similar issue and in the end I found a work around by creating a junction using the MLINK/J command. Your going to need to know the existing path to your MT4 data folder in C:

1) In windows explorer go to C:\Users\XYZ\AppData\Roaming and find your MT4 data folder
Move the data folder to your F:\ - Everything that was in C:\Users\XYZ\AppData\Roaming\MT4 Data Folder is now in V:\MT4 Data folder and C:\Users\XYZ\AppData\Roaming\MT4 data folder doesn't exist anymore.

2) Open a command prompt and MKLINK/J "C:\Users\XYZ\AppData\Roaming\MT4 data folder" "V:\MT4 data folder"

3)Make a new test file in "C:\Users\XYZ\AppData\Roaming\MT4 data folder". Do you see same file in "F:\MT4 data folder" ???
Delete the test file

If any program (even explorer) accesses C:\Users\XYZ\AppData\Roaming\MT4 data folder it is automatically redirected to F:\MT4 data folder

* just thought - Your MT4 data folder won't be called MT4 data folder - more like D9J9JSAHJSHDFHIUREIUR5U690 but I'll be damned if I'm typing that out 20 times!

This works for me on MT4 build 950 on Windows 10 but I basically ripped this solution from an unrelated problem someone else was having and thought it might work for my issue, so if you try it you're kind of doing off your own back, but I do hope it helps.


Now just got to try and get Tickstory working with build 950 :D

pedron_eduardo
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed May 24, 2017 7:43 pm

Re: MT4 & External Drives ('F' Drive download)

Post by pedron_eduardo »

Hello, I'm trying to direct Tickstory to download all databases directly on my EHD (external hard drive). As you can see from the screenshots, I have no problem installing MT4, since it is properly installed on EHD. The problem is that Tickstory does not accept that it is downloaded somewhere other than the computer's C disk. How can I change this? How do I enable Tickstory to upload the Duckascopy database directly to my EHD? Thank you.
Attachments
Captura de Tela (725).png
Captura de Tela (724).png

tickstory
Posts: 4883
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2013 12:27 am

Re: MT4 & External Drives ('F' Drive download)

Post by tickstory »

Hi Pedron,

There may be some residual files that exist on your C: drive which is causing Tickstory to detect the old folder (i.e. perhaps you have previously run the same MT4 from the C: drive?). Rather than going through a process of finding these files, it may be easier to manually edit your Tickstory settings like so:

1) Quitting all running instances of Tickstory.
2) Open an explorer window and browse to C:\Users\(YourUsername)\AppData\Roaming\Tickstory\Tickstory Lite
3) Make a backup copy of the TickstoryLite.config file just in case (Select it, CTRL-C, CTRL-V).
3) Text edit the file TickstoryLite.config
4) In a text editor (such as Notepad), modify the "Mt4Settings" XML information so it looks similar the following (i.e. fill in the Mt4InstallDir and BaseDataDir (and ensure ServerName is correct) details to match your own configuration):

Code: Select all

    <Mt4Settings Mt4InstallDir="C:\Program Files (x86)\Metatrader 4"
        ServerName="MetaQuotes-Demo" BaseDataDir="C:\Program Files (x86)\Metatrader 4"
        LaunchCmdLineArgs="/portable" />
5) Start Tickstory and the new configuration should stick.

Thanks.

terry5789
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Feb 19, 2019 10:17 pm

Re: MT4 & External Drives ('F' Drive download)

Post by terry5789 »

Hello! I do not come with more problems, but instead, a simple tip that has helped me.

The external drive issue baffled me for quite some time. When selecting the "MT4 Installation" folder, I would get the message that an MT4 Data Folder directory could not be found. However! I uninstalled everything and decided to run through Tickstory's instructions again. At the point where Tickstory says, "Do NOT yet start the application until instructed in the following steps," this was key to my success. Once you have installed your MT4, do NOT click on the "Finish" button. Instead, just close out the window entirely or press [Alt + F4] to bypass the "Finish" button, which would bypass the automatic opening of MT4. Continue with the rest of Tickstory's instructions and hopefully, you are good!

Best,
Terry

erpthetrader
Posts: 24
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 7:44 am

Re: MT4 & External Drives ('F' Drive download)

Post by erpthetrader »

this is getting ridiculous i TRIED everything , can you please @tickstory have a video on to "PROPERLY" get portable mode to work. ive searched far and wide , I read countless times but im always getting errors. It workd before but now its not i need a video or a simple breakdown please

tickstory
Posts: 4883
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2013 12:27 am

Re: MT4 & External Drives ('F' Drive download)

Post by tickstory »

Hi Erpthetrader,

Even without Tickstory in the mix, things can get a little confusing. For example, if you are running Metatrader from the Windows menu, it by default runs in "normal" mode.

Let's ignore Tickstory for the moment - the first thing to do is ensure that Metatrader is running in portable mode.
That is, whatever menu links or short-cuts you might be clicking on to start Metatrader, make sure they have the command-line switch "/portable" in them. Then start Metatrader with this short-cut. You can confirm Metatrader is using the correct folder by going to File->Open Data Folder. If it doesn't open your external drive location, then you need to fix this problem first.

Once you have confirmed that you are running in portable mode, make sure you have logged into your account successfully. This will ensure all the broker's configuration is downloaded to your portable location.

Once you are satisfied your Metatrader is running in portable mode, it's time to configure Tickstory as described in the manual.

We have made a note to create a more detailed document on the process, however there are a few resources already available out there to configure MT4's portable mode such as:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySaDWRSnu9E
https://www.metatrader4.com/en/trading- ... start_comm

If you are having a specific issue, please send us some screenshots and we'll help out. It will also help feed into any information that might be missing in our documentation.

Thanks.

erpthetrader
Posts: 24
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 7:44 am

Re: MT4 & External Drives ('F' Drive download)

Post by erpthetrader »

apologies for my rant i followed and now its working except for the backtest it starts in 2020 and but i put the start date to 2011 and i have the data too

fulltilt
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2022 8:41 pm

Re: MT4 & External Drives ('F' Drive download)

Post by fulltilt »

I installed Tickstory and an MT4 terminal on an external harddrive. I then configured the portable shortcut. I can transfer data to the data folder in the external harddrive as well as open the MT4 terminal from the external harddrive "portable" shortcut as in the instructions. However, I cannot open the MT4 terminal that is located on the external harddrive from within Tickstory. When I click launch MT4 from within Tickstory it launches a MT4 terminal that is located on my local harddrive. Please advise how I may overcome this issue. Thanks.

Post Reply