How do you put an OS on an External HD (USB port)

[CynicalCyborg]

Hey guys, my hard drive just crashed and I want to boot off my external HD so that I can pull data off my dead internal HD, however I need an OS on the external to be able to boot from it. When I booted from the OS disk (vista) and tried to install it on my external HD it gave me an error about not being able to install it on a USB connected device.

How do I go about installing an OS on my USB external HD?

 

[Puddle Jumper]

If you want to install a OS on an external drive you will have to use some form of *nix since I don't think you can install windows to an external drive

 

[CynicalCyborg]

If you want to install a OS on an external drive you will have to use some form of *nix since I don't think you can install windows to an external drive

What do you mean by nix? I'm not familiar with that.

Oh, unix? I didn't notice the Astrix.

 

[KSoD]

He mean Linux. Like Ubuntu or PC-BSD. Windows Vista/Windows 7 both dont allow for install to external sources. Windows XP you had to do some nasty tricks which would not play nice after the install. so no version of Windows will do well on an external.

 

[CynicalCyborg]

Ok I'll give Ubuntu a shot, thanks guys.