Hello everyone,

I`d like to install Linux on my PC (Samsung X20) and dualboot with XP already installed on the machine.
I have some worries about the partition of the harddisk, and at this moment the disk is almost full.
Is it possible to use an external usb harddisk to install Linux on?
Are there any advantages or disadvantages regarding?
What would happen if the harddisk is disconnected?

Thanks

If you have a machine that the BIOS will boot the machine from a USB hard drive then you can install Ubuntu on the external hard drive. If you set your BIOS to boot from USB hard drive as the first booting device and then the first primary hard drive as the second then when you un plug the USB hard drive then the BIOS will skip straight to booting windows.

Thanks for the info.
Is there a reason why I should choose Ubuntu and not RedHat (for instance)?

Redhat is very stable but old also. It is better to install ubuntu it is more likely to support new hardware especially laptops.

You can also try SUSE.

I have an A200 Toshiba with Vista, Suse 10.3 on 120gig internal 'SDA', PCLinuxOS and Fedora core 8 on a 250gig usb external 'SDB'. Grub installed on SDA, controls all 4 distros.
Disconnecting the external makes no difference. just can't boot the distros on it LOL.

OK,thanks for the info.

Fedora is apparently a Redhat sponsored distro. At one time it was admitted RH used it for community support to develop Redhat Enterprise Linux, their commercial distro. Fedora is advanced technology; they can't afford to put untested stuff in an Enterprise distro.

Be aware that RHEL, per licensing, is available as CentOs, free and open. No proprietary apps, and of course no support from RH, but I have used it. I am a KDE fan, so don't usually bother.

Ubuntu with its variations is by far the most popular distro recently. It is good. The sponsor has deep pockets and it well deserves its top spot. Still, Linux is about choice so what is popular need not be a major determinant on your own choice.

I`ve finally installed Ubuntu. Guess what, the very first time I used it the OS crashed, the mouse arrow became hand and after 10mins waiting I had to reboot it again.
Since then, I havent had any more problems.

I would prefer Red Hat or CentOS mainly because I think using yum and .rpms are way easier than Debain based "app-get".