Alright, I am now re-reading your post (#14 on the previous page) But I am not exactly sure what you mean. Are you saying it is already partitioned ( Because you say "I got it" ) and I should just try again ? Or do I need to use the "create partition table option" and manually add the partitions and name them from scratch...then try again ?

I am treading very carefully right now, as the way I got it to boot up is the same way It didn't boot up. I feel it has to do with the dying status of my internal HD, which could go kaput any moment now. I doubt I will get a second chance to reboot after this.


FYI, here is a screenshot of what it looks like in gparted right now.

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/1204/screenshotj.gif

I'll be gone for about 30 minutes because I have to go to a store.
If you keep on line, I'll be back as soon as I return from the shop.
Take care and maybe get "a lucky bastard" when I'm away.
Otherwise, come back to me.

Ok. Just so you know, I likely won't reply for a full day since I have to get some rest and go to work ( Ahhh monday ). But thank you for the help so far and I will be back.

I'm back.

If you are not sure: format your external again.

But: follow this:

- unmount your drive.
- start gparted
- delete all partitions on it
- format the drive
- create partitiontable
- then create 3 new partitions:
--- primary: root
--- extended:
------ home
------ swap

reboot and install.
This should work. It did for me.

But before anythin else might happen to your computer, what is wrong with the drive in your computer.
If it is not correctly formatted, it might cause problems as well, and you wrote that because of somlething like that, you wanted to use the external drive.

So before anything else, also format the internal drive so that any mistakes on it, will be corrected.
Just format, make a partition, and just leave it be.
Than go on with your external drive.

Keep in mind that I live in Belgium, and it might be dark here when you wake up. (Grin)

I do not always stay more than 30 hours on line.

Short resumé to the privious:

- see that the internal disk is correctly formated as well (also at least 1 partition)
- format and partition the external as described before
- that should do it.

and if not: you got my e-mail address and my telephone number.
Use it.

Gahhh, something else came up. I unmount the external drive, but when I start Gparted...it mounts itself while Gparted scans.

Disregard that, I figured out a way around it and also did all those things.

Only problem left is, I am not sure what to do now at step 4 of the installation. Now that I have already set up the partitions, there should be no need to do it again ? I guess what I am trying to say is I am not sure what to do on step 4 of the installation anymore.

But, I managed to get it working ! yay.

For some reason, grub still didn't install right and still gave me the lovely grub error 21 I got last time I tried to install linux to an external. I gave up on trying to reinstall it again and used Super grub disk - which seems to have fixed it.