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    #1

    Booting Kubuntu From External Hard Drive

    Hey Everyone,
    I have a T43 that had XP factory-installed on it and I subsequently installed Kubuntu on the same HD (dual booting). This arrangement worked fine for a few months, until XP crashed. It would let me get to the login screen but would freeze after I put in my password. I assumed something was wrong with the MBR and so I tinkered with it (and recovered parts of XP- it will load but is crippled).
    Anyways, I have the factory CD's for XP and have been using Kubuntu ever since. I just received a 160 GB Western Digital Passport External Hard Drive and would like to reinstall Kubuntu there (so I can then put XP back on my computer). Is this possible? Are there any difficulties involved in booting Kubuntu from an external hard drive?
    I also have a few other questions. Has anyone else had problems with Linux/XP compatibility (in terms of the MBR)? If so, how did you solve them? And does anybody know if factory-installation CD's will reformat the whole hard drive? Or can I somehow recover XP without wiping the Kubuntu partition clean?
    Thanks to anyone who can help me out!
    Tags: None
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    #2
    Re: Booting Kubuntu From External Hard Drive

    Booting from an external HD can be done if your BIOS boot options allow for it. I'm assuming your external HD is/will be connected via USB?

    It's a long thread, but very informative, so you should review Qqmike's HOW TO: GRUB Methods - Toolkit
    Windows no longer obstructs my view.
    Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007.
    "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes​
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      #3
      Re: Booting Kubuntu From External Hard Drive

      Thanks for the reply! My plan was that I would use Windows for Office (I'm a student) and then just plug the HDD into the USB port and use that for everything else. I read that tutorial and it seemed pretty useful- does it hold for an external hard drive (rather than new partitions)?
      Also, would it be possible to put XP on the external hard drive since it would be the less-used OS? Or would it just be smarter to put Kubuntu on the external hard drive? Thanks again!
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        #4
        Re: Booting Kubuntu From External Hard Drive

        Windoze 'wants/insists' on being installed on Drive C: (the first HD in a system). That said however, it is possible to install it onto a HD other than the first one. I believe that Qqmike's guide even addresses this. The simplest approach would be that of setting up your main HD for dual-booting; installing Kubuntu as a second OS. If your primary HD has sufficient unused space, this would be the 'preferred' way to go.

        If you will provide the statistics on your main HD: size and amount of free (unused) space; we can 'advise' you better of your options.

        Windows no longer obstructs my view.
        Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007.
        "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes​
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          #5
          Re: Booting Kubuntu From External Hard Drive

          If you use the recovery option while booting up, it will reinstall windows in the predesignated drive (usually c. Most probably it will re partition the whole disk.
          But if your installing windows from the CD you got with the laptop, you only have to format the drive you want install windows.
          The best option in your case (regarding your broken windows install) is to use the recovery option in the windows installation CD. If you do this, you'll be able to keep both of your OS's intact.
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            #6
            Re: Booting Kubuntu From External Hard Drive

            The How-To you want (it will shed some light on these issues) is:

            How To Make GRUB Thumb Drive
            http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3081748.0
            Scroll down to Reply #1:
            How to install K/Ubuntu 7.04 to an external USB hard disk drive (HDD), Reply #1

            (Post your questions/follow-up back here.)
            An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way. Charles Bukowski
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              #7
              Re: Booting Kubuntu From External Hard Drive

              I have plenty of space on my HD; that is not the concern. Currently, I have Windows and Kubuntu both on the HD and it worked fine for a while, until Windows stopped working (and I think I pinpointed the MBR as the problem). Would there be a way to fix the MBR from Kubuntu? I don't know what else the problem could be. I fiddled with the boot record and got Windows to load, but in a very sparse mode (basically, nothing works, but I can log in and get my Desktop up and everything).
              My desire is to have Kubuntu on the external hard drive while keeping Windows on the computer's HD. This way the MBR wouldn't get corrupted again (right?). Is it possible that something else corrupted the MBR that I could fix, and that it wasn't the Windows/Linux dual-booting problem?
              Also, another issue is that I don't have an XP install disc. In their infinite wisdom, IBM sent me their "factory installation CD" which (I think) reformats the entire drive and restores the hard drive to factory settings. If I had an XP disc, I could just fix the Windows partition without any problem. The fact that I have the "slash-and-burn" factory disc contributes to the problem.
              For anyone with T-43's that are dual-booting: have you had any problems like this? I called IBM about it and they basically said dual-booting on a T43 is a bad idea (because of the MBR thing). I guess this is the main reason I want to boot Linux off an external hard drive.
              Thanks a lot for your help!
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                #8
                Re: Booting Kubuntu From External Hard Drive

                Fixing Windows XP Master Boot Record (MBR)
                Windows no longer obstructs my view.
                Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007.
                "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes​
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                  #9
                  Re: Booting Kubuntu From External Hard Drive

                  Ok everyone,
                  Thanks to your advice I managed to get Kubuntu installed to my external hard drive (it took some work, but it's there). Now I have another problem.
                  Due to a lack of diligence on my part, I accidentally installed GRUB to my internal hard drive (which housed XP) and so whenever my external hard drive (which housed Kubuntu) wasn't connected, I would get an error (because the GRUB wasn't seeing Kubuntu). To fix this, I partitioned my internal hard drive and installed Kubuntu there too. I installed GRUB to my external hard drive, and it's been working fine, and I fixed the GRUB on my internal hard drive so it'll work when the external isn't there. My question is this- is there any way I can get rid of Kubuntu and "reinflate" Windows to fit the full internal HD? Or do I have to just wipe all partitions and reinstall Windows?
                  After thinking for a bit, here's what I plan to do. Get into Recovery Console and do FixMBR and Fixboot, basically isolating Kubuntu and getting rid of GRUB. Then, once in Windows, go to Computer Management and delete the Kubuntu partititions. Would this make Windows refit itself to the entire drive? Or would I have free space that would sit unused? I just want some input before I take steps that might make the situation worse. Thanks!
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                    #10
                    Re: Booting Kubuntu From External Hard Drive

                    What you need is Whether you can expand (grow) a Windows XP partition?

                    I have shrunk XP, not grown it, but I can't imagine why GParted would not also grow the XP partition. The GParted Feature Table says you can:

                    http://gparted.sourceforge.net/features.php

                    So, remove Kubuntu, delete its partition (so it becomes available space), click on the XP partition, Partition > Resize/Move (or whatever that option is listed as--I forget).

                    Also, make sure you are observing the rule: only 4 primary partitions (I didn't re-check this whole thread).
                    An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way. Charles Bukowski
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