Linux on external USB hard drive

By nukenorman
in Linux

 Share

Recommended Posts

Grand Master

nukenorman

Posted
Posted

I have been using Linux Mint latest version on a USB thumb drive for awhile now. I want to install it on an actual external USB hard drive for much faster speeds. I can boot up on the USB thumb drive just fine. When I install Linux with Universal USB installer just like I did on the thumb drive I cant boot up from the external usb hard drive. I went thru the settings in bios and have it set to boot up from USB first.

Why can I boot up from USB thumb drive and not a USB external hard drive?? It should be essential the same.

Help!

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1288844-linux-on-external-usb-hard-drive/
Share on other sites
Grand Master

nukenorman

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

When I try to boot up from the external western digital 1 TB USB drive nothing happens it just boots up straight to windows 8.1

 

 

I can boot up the same version of Linux on the USB thumb flash drive that is 8 gigs and it boots straight up into Linux.

Used universal usb installer to install the ISO images directly to the USB flash thumb drive and the Western Digital 1 TB drive. I am using the western digital 1tb drive for  nothing but linux it was completly clean when I installed linux on it. 

Mentor

LauRoman

Posted
Posted

First off, what exactly are you trying to do? Do you want to actually "install" it on the external hdd or boot it from an external hdd as a live version as you woul a live cd or thumb drive?

Secondly, setting it to boot from USB first might not do the trick, because sometimes usb drives also show up in the hdd boot list in the bios and you have to change the order there too.

Grand Master

Blue-Vision

Posted
Posted

I'm also keen to get an answer for this problem, but my needs are different than yours. UUSBI has been troublesome for me as well.

 

Sounds like GRUB isn't being installed properly, or isn't configured properly.

 

There's a few ways you can proceed:

 

1) Reinstall the Mint onto the Removable HD, making certain that you're watching where GRUB is being installed to when you're doing partitions (that way you know for sure).

 

2) Run the tool "Boot-Repair", installable from https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Repair -- but be warned that it can cause more problems than it solves.

 

3) Run the installation again, make certain that GRUB is NOT being installed to the removable HD but instead to the end of your fixed HD -- and yes, this involves making some space at the end and then making a new (very small, ext4) partition. This is likely NOT the way you want to proceed but it might be the ONLY way to get the results you want. It'll involve a little more work, obviously.

 

Up to you how you proceed. Good luck.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Posts

    • Waymo recalls self-driving software after cars enter closed freeway work zones

      By sphbecker · Posted

      You're right that it does not follow the plain meaning of the word, but in this context, it is a legal term defined in 49 U.S.C. Kind of how "wire fraud" laws apply even if a physical wire was not used. Given that it is codified in law, and it isn't just automotive journalists that don't understand evolving technology, I highly doubt congress would change a well understood term just because technology makes the term slightly less actuate.
    • Waymo recalls self-driving software after cars enter closed freeway work zones

      By PsYcHoKiLLa · Posted

      "OuT Of My WaYmO !"
    • Waymo recalls self-driving software after cars enter closed freeway work zones

      By sphbecker · Posted

      This is exactly why I keep saying we are not ready for human free self-driving. These little "bugs" are may seem like random one-offs. There was also the Waymo that drove between police with drawn weapons and the suspect they were pointing them at. From a software perspective it is easy to understand how those extremely rare situations may not have been programed for, but that is the point. If AI needs to be told to watch out for every possible contingency, then it can never be successful. There will always be the possibility of a first encounter that the AI needs to understand to avoid.
    • TeraCopy 4.0 Final

      By Copernic · Posted

      TeraCopy 4.0 Final by Razvan Serea TeraCopy is a compact program designed to copy and move files at the maximum possible speed, also providing you with a lot of features. Copy files faster. TeraCopy uses dynamically adjusted buffers to reduce seek times. Asynchronous copy speeds up file transfer between two physical hard drives. Pause and resume transfers. Pause copy process at any time to free up system resources and continue with a single click. Error recovery. In case of copy error, TeraCopy will try several times and in the worse case just skips the file, not terminating the entire transfer. Interactive file list. TeraCopy shows failed file transfers and lets you fix the problem and recopy only problem files. Shell integration. TeraCopy can completely replace Explorer copy and move functions, allowing you work with files as usual. TeraCopy is free for non-commercial use only. For commercial use you need to buy a license. The paid version of the program includes the following features: Copy/move to your favorite folders. Save reports as HTML and CSV files. Select files with the same extension/folder. Remove the selected files from the copy queue. Download: TeraCopy 4.0 | 14.6MB (Freeware, paid upgrade available) View: TeraCopy Website | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Microsoft confirms Recycle Bin bug across all versions of Windows

      By RejZoR · Posted

      Recycle Bin has been broken for literal YEARS now. The setting to delete files older than 30 days from the bin which is on by default doesn't even work. I have files older than 4 months in it and they are just there still...

  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      Eurosoft10 earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Eurosoft10 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Year In
      Skeet Campbell earned a badge
      One Year In
    • One Month Later
      Sharbel earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • First Post
      BizSAR earned a badge
      First Post

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      586
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      187
    3. 3
      Michael Scrip
      74
    4. 4
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      72
    5. 5
      neufuse
      69
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!