I have an old Dell XPS M1330 with Windows 7 on it. It has a CD/DVD drive from which I can play movies and read other content, but for some reason I have not been able to boot into the Linux install CD ...

And everything works out of the box.

So I want to install any distro on a laptop but the CD drive is broken. I've removed the HD and have put it into an external portable case. Is there anyway to essentially copy and paste an install ...

Partitioning your hard drive is part of the process and could affect your current data. Make sure to back up your system completely before you begin. Depending on the arrangement, you may need to ...