Booting linux from a external hdd

Booting Linux from an external hdd is something most people don’t dream about doing. Some people however want to have a portable Linux version on a usb stick or a small hdd so they can work on any computer with their own software and have all their documents at their disposal.

Some distributions came up with Linux versions specially made for usb sticks or small external hdd devices but they placed restrictions on the software, some functionalities aren’t available but you don’t need to take a usb key distro any distribution can do the same thing.

I’ve tested the method with Fedora Core and ubuntu and to my surprise they worked both very well. So what do you need to do and have?

NOTE THAT EVERYTHING DESCRIBED UNDERNEATH AND ALL ACTIONS YOU NEED TO TAKE ARE ON YOUR OWN RESPONSIBILITY AND YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL DAMAGE INFLICTED DURING THE PROCESS IF YOU SCREW IT UP!

Requirements:

  • a desktop computer with keyboard, mouse and a screen. usb 2.0 support
  • a external hdd with usb 2.0 support
  • a distribution (fedora or ubuntu or anything else but that’s on your risk)

What to do first:

We all know that when we install a Linux distribution there’s a bootloader (grub or lilo) that is installed on the hdd and if we try to install our linux distro on an external hdd the bootloader will still install on the internal hdd of the desktop computer so the first thing you want to do is the following thing:

Switch off your machine and disconnect the cable of the power supply the box from the electricity and discharge it using a screwdriver that is isolated so that you won’t destroy any hardware by accidental electrical current. Once you’ve done that search for the hdd and disconnect the wire that gives it electricity so NOT THE ROUNDERCABLE OR THE REALLY LARGE FLAT CABLE as some may call it. After that close the box and put the power cable back in the power supply.

next step is to take the external hdd, put it on the usb of the computer and start the computer. On boot you’ll have to read the screen because somewhere in the beginning there’s a little line of thext telling you to push F12 or an other key to go to the boot menu, you have to do so and then you have to select the cd or dvd station so that you can install Linux on the hdd.

What with the internal hdd, won’t I screw that one up?

You won’t, if it doesnt have electricity then you can not install anything on it and so you won’t risk formatting the internal hdd BUT make sure to DISCONNECT the power supply of the internal hdd else you risk it all. Trust me, I’ve made the mistake once

So now just run the installation and go to work, once the installation done reboot and naturally you need to push F12 to have the boot menu and take the external hdd. Also try it on an other pc of yours to try and see if it works.

For those amongst you that have tried it with other distributions, please let me know so that I can make a list of distributions that are compatible.