I tried elementary os and I really like it. I would like to use it more, but I am not ready to install it on my main hard disk on my laptop. Here come the questions: - Should I install it on a 32GB USB3.0 stick or shrink and partition a segment of my external Seagate 1.8TB USB3.0 portable hard disk? Is there a difference in performance, especially if I'd use more intensive applications down the line? - Should I install it at all? (or use a live persistent) - if I have it on external memory (usb stick/ portable 2.5" hard disk), do I need/can I use drivers? (I am not planning to use it on multiple computers) - If I run it from an external memory (usb stick/portable 2.5" hard disk), won't the system 'kill itself' if I sleep/suspend/lock? I had a lot of issues with these functions on the live persistent, I was getting a blackscreen with a blinking cursor in the top left, couldn't press any key. I don't know much, but maybe doing these operations stops the laptop from listening to USB ports anymore, therefore unmounting the OS? - If the memory gets disconnected by accident, how bad can the consequences be? I can't really tell what I want to use it for, but for starters that might be web browsing and watching films. System config: Intel core i7 3537M, Intel HD Graphics 4000, nVidia GeForce GT740M, 8GB RAM TL;DR: live persistent OR install + usb OR portable hard drive. What combination do I choose for casual usage, no particular emphasis on security, planning to run on a single laptop configuration (see poll).
Recommend you run it in a Virtual Box VM for a while on your primary HD if you have sufficient disk space. I have been running a 20 GB VBox with an allocation of 4 GB RAM and it has been very satisfactory.
I personally would never install my OS on a portable system. Live-CD for testing or temporarily access of course, but not really the installation on that external device I would prefer option (5) in your vote: Install locally
