Why isn't everything portable?

[Dimitri]

I was installing a program and they offered the option to download an installer or a download of the portable version, which, they say, is intended to be put onto a usb drive.

In the FAQ of the program they talk about the registry keys you need to manually delete after you uninstall the program.

I've heard this many times, that programs which you uninstall leave things behind and, over time, the accumulation of this junk slows your computer down.

Now, I downloaded the portable version and extracted it onto my computer and use it on my computer, rather than a USB drive.

So my question is, if an installation leaves this junk behind, why isn't everything portable? I guess some programs use context menu integration, maybe that requires an installation, but most stuff doesn't do context menu integration.

 

[voyagerfan99]

Most programs (like Microsoft Office for example) require stuff like specific registry keys to run. So therefore you can't just go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Office and copy the Office install to a flashdrive and expect it to run. Not to mention all the stuff that gets stored as cache/misc files under C:\Users\Username\AppData

 

[Agent Smith]

You can emulate registry values. I did make Team Speak portable using Enigma Virtual Box. Some things that use services and a NIC may not be able to work fully as a portable.