I suppose this could be a question for Linux in general, but since I use PCLinuxOS2007, that's what I'll file it under. Anyway, I have an external USB hard drive, and I want to use it to make a sort of "portable" version of my OS. I've seen plenty of people trying to do this with USB sticks, although the rate of success seems to vary widely.

I've already went through the installation process via the LiveCD, have made my partitions (/,/home,/swap, plus a fat32, just in case). I was able to install the GRUB loader without problems.

However, when I reboot the system, it doesn't find GRUB at all. Even tried going to my PC's boot menu and "boot from USB device" option. Basically, my PC just keeps resetting itself.

I'm not clear as to what I'm doing wrong. Can anyone provide some advice? Thanks.

BTW: part of the reason that I'm doing this, is two fold. First, I'm trying to make it easier to transport certain settings (like my KDE desktop settings for instance) from one computer to another. The second reason is that I would like the option to use Linux on a computer that must retain a Windows install, and cannot be modified without repercussions. This way, I can use the Win system without affecting my friend's system. Hope the info helps. If you need anymore, ask and I will try to clarify further.

I don't know if this page will be of any use to you, but it describes the process of installing PCLinuxOS onto a usb drive.

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/2006/09...uxos-minimezip

I've moved this to Linux General. I think there will be more chances of getting help than in the *nix forum which is usually frequented by people using non Linux OSes.

I put PCLinuxOS 2007 into a USB hard disk and wrote this thread.. It was one of the 12 systems I installed into a USB hard disk in that week end.

Thank you, reddazz. I need all the help I can get.

I tried to look over the pendrivelinux.com. To start with, I've already experimented with a usb pen drive, but that doesn't go very well. Getting the files installed is one thing. Getting them to actually work seems to be another.

Besides, my pen drive is limited in its capcity (1.0 GB) and is slow. Better for small files than holding an OS. Which is why I wanted to use the external hard disk. Bigger, better, faster. Even so, I run into the same problem.

I looked over saikee's stuff. Very impressive article. I'll be attempting to try some of these techniques in the near future.

Oh, and I checked my desktop PC> Event though it came out in 2001, I checked the BIOS, and there is an option to boot from a USB device. However, I'm not sure if the 2.0 is supported as a default. Would that really matter, once the OS has taken over?