installing ubuntu on an old machine which can't boot from CD or USB

Here is a guest post by V:

Installing Ubuntu on an old machine

 

The Dell Inspiron laptop had 384MB RAM and a 30GB HDD. It was running Windows XP and was predictably very sluggish. So I thought installing ubuntu would give it a new lease of life.

 

Constraints:

• CD drive does not work
• BIOS does not have option to boot from USB drive 

Installation:

• Removed the HDD from the laptop  
• Connected the HDD as a external drive using IDE-USB connector  
• Created two partitions on the HDD using 'Disk utility': 1GB (FAT32) and 29GB (Free space)  
• Setup the 1GB partition for Ubuntu 8.04 install using 'Startup Disk Creator' (Lubuntu 12.04 / Lubuntu 12.10 are too heavy for the system) 
• Plugged in the HDD back into the laptop 
• Selected 'Try Ubuntu without installing' option 
• In Live Mode, selected 'Install Ubuntu' (on the top right corner of the screen) 
• Answered the questions on Language, Location and Keyboard Layout 
• Selected 'Manual' option for partitioning the drives (as against options for 'Guided' partitioning) 
• Followed instructions given in http://www.linuxbsdos.com/2011/05/23/install-ubuntu-11-04-on-external-hard-disk/

And that's it!