I have found one thread similar to my problem, but it has two posts made 6 1/2 years ago. I want to try Slackware by installing it on an external hard-drive, but both fdisk and cfdisk only show my internal hard-drive. I have installed and tested two other operating systems on the drive without any problems. Does the Slackware installation programme only allow installation on internal hardware or am I simply hopeless at figuring out how to use the partitioning tools? I have installed Slackware once, in a very brief look at the system. (long story) So I can use cfdisk a little and there is nothing wrong with my DVD.
Running dmesg lists internal hardware like internet equipment, etc., but I do not see anything that looks like an external drive.
I am itching to give Slack a run, but I do not want to over-write my Debian system first. Just in case. As already stated, I know it can be easily done with other systems. (At least with the ones I have done it with.) I hope it can also be done with Slackware, and I see no reason why it should not be.

Hi, You are not exactly providing a lot of info but i'll give it a try....
I'm guessing it is a usb external drive you are using right? you can try the lsusb command to check if it is visible to the system.
Alternatively fdisk -l could provide you with the correct block device for the external drive.
Maybe if you post the outbut of both commands we can help a bit more.

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Yes. It is a 120GB portable hard-drive, connected by a USB. I just installed Debian onto it as a back-up and had no problems what-so-ever. I shall try those two commands to see if they work, but it may now be a moot point. When I installed Debian on the drive, I was at the end of a day with only three hours sleep and accidentally installed grub on the external drive. Now I need it plugged in to boot my computer. I now have incentive to put Slackware on the internal drive, instead of trying to repair the mess I just created.

Edit
fdisk -l did the trick. It displays the external device and all the information concerning existing partitions.
Thank you. That command is simple and effective.

Glad to be of Help