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I have a machine from the company I am working in. I don't have the permission to change anything on it. It's on Windows and it sucks.

I am thinking of installing Ubuntu 20.04 LTS on a brand new external SDD. I want to be able to boot from this SSD if it's plugged in and from windows if not.

What could go wrong? If the Windows OS is damaged, I may be fired !

An help? I would appreciate a link on how to do it the most safer way. There is tons of tutorials with different approaches. I am lost.

PS: the machine is Dell 3351 and the OS is windows 10 PRO.

Approximations
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Legacy or UEFI SSD boot

You may want to create a SSD that boots on both Legacy and UEFI computers. The instructions at this link will help you do that:

Easy Full Install USB that Boots both BIOS and UEFI

Otherwise follow the advice on Paddy's answer.

C.S.Cameron
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It's generally a safe process, but obviously you don't want to run the risk of being fired.

So…

Install Ubuntu onto your external SSD using your own machine, not your company's one.

Once installed successfully, it will probably run fine on the company's machine. Linux is pretty cool like that. Take special care to avoid changing the machine's internal drive.

As @oldfred warned, you might not succeed anyway because of UEFI lockdown.

But if you want to avoid any risk, don't even try unless your boss gives permission. It's not worth being fired over it.

As a final option, if you're allowed to install VirtualBox on the Windows machine, you can create a virtual machine to run Ubuntu, which is safe.

Paddy Landau
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