Linux on external hard disk

Today I spent my day doing something really cool.  My brother had given me a USB external hard disk, so I installed in it SuSE Linux in such a way that if you boot the computer with this external hard disk plugged, it boots from this new Linux.  If you boot the computer with this new hard disk unplugged, then it starts Windows XP as before, as if nothing had changed.  It's really neat!

The only thing that is still pending is the set up of the online update thing.  Just on the last step, when you click on the "Finish" button, instead of closing the window, it kind of hangs forever.  I think what's happening is the Linux is trying to access the remote software catalog, and it takes an unreasonable amount of time.

Another strange thing is the long long time it takes to install Skype.  So long that I get bored and kill the process.  I'll do that some other day.

I'll try to find an update mirror site and give it another try some other day.  But for now, I'm happy with what I achieved!