This is all I ask...
 

I have used Linux before. Why can't I figure this out?

I have an external hdd. I want to install linux there, put the bootloader in the MBR of the external (USB) drive and boot from it. (My bios can do that).

So...I installed Dabien and booted from the USB hdd. Linus starts to load and then ends in Kernel Panic. Can anyone tell me why?

Thanks

Chuck

Installing linux to a USB drive isn't exactly trival. Most distributions that use initrd (inital ram disks) do not include USB modules. Therefore the boot process fails because the kernel can not mount the drive.

You will need to add the USB modules to the initrd. I do not know if the post works for debian.
http://www.simonf.com/usb/