External hard drive reccommendation for OS install

[dfresh4130]

Hey all,

I'm looking to see what everyone's experience is installing 11.10 is on an external hard drive and booting to it on a laptop. I'm looking to install the OS on an external drive for my work laptop and boot to it to make some of my admin tasks easier. Wasn't sure if I should get an AC powered drive or if a USB powered one would be acceptable. Not sure if there's anything else I should consider. The laptop is a Dell E6420. Appreciate your time to read and share comments.

[Paddy Landau]

I have found a USB-powered drive perfectly acceptable for such matters.

Do ensure, when you install Ubuntu, that you install Grub onto the external drive and not the internal one, otherwise it will not be portable -- and it will mess up your usual boot when your external drive is not plugged in.