might be a good Idea to try and use 32bit if you're going to be using the 686 to boot it using usb. something is wrong with it installing grub, seeings how you're going to most likely reinstall it, give it a partition table msdos so this way you know it is MBR, because if it is gpt it does not have mbr ro install grub so if it just happes to be gpt that too will cause grub issues not finding it when it is looking for it.

or run
parted -l
on the drive to see the partiton table to remove that equation out of this issue.

skip this one you already mounted /dev/sdd5 at /mnt.
Don't do this one either you don't need to mount /home to install grub and is mounted in the wrong location, should have been mounted to /mnt/home

Ok, I am installing a 32 bit version onto the usb drive pulled out and put in the ide slot in this very old PC.
Most of my PC are newer 64 bit pc, I just dont want to tear them apart to do this, plus some have no ide port.

I am certain it will boot the ide drive in an ide slot, question is can it then boot if drive is put back into the usb case.

It boots, put the drive in the usb case, it boots up fine. I get the boot mint menu. It is kinda slow on this pc.
The bios lists the drive and it says 1.x speed, BUT it does have a mix of 1.1 and 2.0 usb ports.

Is there a sys log tells usb speed hookup?

Next I need to see if it boots on the original fast PC it refused to work on.

I think the usb drive connected at 2.0 speeds, can someone look at this and tell?
scott-usb-320@scottusb320-desktop:~$ lsusb -t
/: Bus 05.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=uhci_hcd/2p, 12M
/: Bus 04.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=uhci_hcd/2p, 12M
/: Bus 03.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=uhci_hcd/2p, 12M
|__ Port 1: Dev 2, If 0, Class=Human Interface Device, Driver=usbhid, 1.5M
|__ Port 2: Dev 3, If 0, Class=Human Interface Device, Driver=usbhid, 1.5M
|__ Port 2: Dev 3, If 1, Class=Human Interface Device, Driver=usbhid, 1.5M
/: Bus 02.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=uhci_hcd/2p, 12M
/: Bus 01.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=ehci-pci/8p, 480M
|__ Port 1: Dev 2, If 0, Class=Mass Storage, Driver=usb-storage, 480M
scott-usb-320@scottusb320-desktop:~$ cat /sys/bus/usb/devices/usb?/speed
480
12
12
12
12
scott-usb-320@scottusb320-desktop:~$

and I accidentally clicked some horrible onscreen keyboard and I dont know how to close it.

anyone know how? there is no X anywhere.

ok, found it under accessibility. its gone.

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kool you're getting somewhere.

I do not know where the close button is on the Virtual KB but you can do a ps -aux and look to find something that looks like it says virtualkeyboard then kill the pid for it.

yeah i got it.

ok, so it boots fine on the old pc either in the case connected direct to ide port, or in the usb enclosure plugged into a usb port.

which is good.

BUT, when i put it back to the usb port of the fast modern PC, it does not boot, again it gives a grub error.
It is like there is a conflict in grub going on. There are 3 sata drives in the pc, several versions of windows and ubuntu mixed together.
But trying to boot the usb drive fails every time. I think if i unplugged all the sata drives, it would boot.

So what is going on here with grub? I select by F11 the bios boot menu, and then I select the usb drive.
it is like grub knows there are other grubs and it just gets confused?
How do people boot a usb drive when other drives are also bootable with grub in the PC.

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1. I do not see where it could get confused, it should only be looking at the ubs drive you're telling it to boot from. fast boot maybe interfering, do not know.

2. if you got linux installed on that new pc ... boot into it, then plugin the external - run update-grub, reboot, keep the external plugged in, then use your on board grub to see if it will boot your external drive.

ok, trying this now. Booted with regular sata drive.

no go again, but now a different error message. It claims it is encrypted??

I booted pc normally and selected the mint os on the usb drive.
Grub is confused and confusing and so am I.

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are you using the auto install or the something else option?

if it is the first one that may very well be, as Mint might auto encrypt it.

"Something else" on the install. I do not believe anything is encrypted. I think thats a bogus error.
What would be encrypted? I did not click encrypt my home files.

I can view and open all the files on the mint install.

if you don't mind me saying so this is getting redickulious. if it is not one thing it's another. this one stumps me. I'm going to give it a shot on this side, to see what I get.

Ok, see if your's works or not.