Can we install Linux on a portable hard drive and use that for booting? [duplicate]

Question

Possible Duplicate:
Booting Linux off USB pendrives

Can we install Linux on a portable hard drive and use that for booting? My laptop has Vista Professional installed, but I want to use multiple operating systems.

Answer 1

Usually, provided that the BIOS is able to boot from a USB device (as has been the norm for the past 5 or so years) and has not been set disable that.

If it does not do so automatically, you may have to change settings or press some key early in the boot process.

Answer 2

Yes, you can, provided that your motherboard / BIOS supports this feature.

Another popular option for running multiple operating systems is to use a virtual machine manager, such as VirtualBox or VMWare Player.