hi, by now i managed to solve the problem. It turned out that the person at <a href="http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/debian-linux-help/54820-cant-boot-kubuntu-after-installation.html">http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/debian-linux-help/54820-cant-boot-kubuntu-after-installation.html </a> was exactly right. There is a bug either in grub or the installer from kubuntu, however generates the menu.lst file. If you boot from a disk, it seems that grub requires this disk to be called hd0. menu.lst also has a section like this: <pre>## default grub root device ## e.g. groot=(hd0,0) # groot=(hd2,0)</pre>maybe after this line hd2 had to be called hd0? It is not entirely clear to me, but anyhow, since it is perfectly possible to make a working menu.lst, and the installer fails to do that i would call it a bug. With some faffing about and several reboots into windows to check the kubuntu manual, I managed to get enough privileges on my own comp to change that file, and now boots perfect. I didn't need to do anything else special to have it working from the usb drive apart from that. It just behaves like any other hard drive. (its not a mem stick...) Thanx anyhow. Does anyone know who is responsible for this bug, then I would file a bug report in the right place. It doesn't seem something you want to leave unfixed in a release version of an operating system seems me... (well at least being able to boot is kind a basics if you ask me...) Derek, i would like to react to this what you wrote: <blockquote style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;" class="gmail_quote"><div style="direction: ltr;"> Grub uses its own naming scheme, so even though the hard drive would likely be named sdb to linux, grub would probably call it (hd1). Your internal drive is going to be /dev/sda or /dev/hda to Linux and (hd0) to grub. Specifying (hd0) for grub says to install the boot loader on the master boot record of the internal drive. (hd1) would be the MBR of the external drive. </div></blockquote> I figured that, but that doesn't mean it is desirable. In fact this should not concern the end user. if some translation has to be done, well, that's what software is there for innit. I would propose to make it have at least a drop down list there saying: "primary master, maxtor 160GB; primary slave maxtor 320GB; secondary master, Western Digital 80GB; External USB Western Digital 160GB".... In fact, I can think of way better ways to make install wizards for OS and Bootloader, but this is probably not the right place for that kind of feedback. If this message ever gets to a person that might implement the installer for the next release of kubuntu, please feel free to contact me for inspiration... greets naja