Can I Boot Linux from an External Drive?

Totally, using an external drive for Linux is a solid choice! Just make sure when you're installing, select the manual partitioning option depending on which distro you're using. There’s a helpful video out there that covers this step pretty well, just remember to choose the right drive in the installation menu since each distro has slight variations.

You can run some distros straight off a USB Flash drive, and you can even set up a persistent partition! For example, you could try Linux Mint this way, and if it suits you, later you might consider partitioning your internal drive to install it permanently alongside Windows. If you go the external SSD route, just make sure your UEFI/BIOS is set up to boot from it.

I've done the same for a couple of months while I saved up for a more permanent laptop setup. It worked just fine for me! So definitely go for it if you want to try Linux out without commitment.

There’s nothing wrong with booting Linux this way. Just a heads up though, running it from an external drive might be a bit slow compared to using an SSD. If you can, opt for an external SSD to speed things up. I’d also suggest trying out Fedora Silverblue if you’re looking for a good Linux distro!