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What's the best way to install Ubuntu on an old laptop that only boots from CD (not DVD) or HDD? I can't install from DVD or USB. Is there a way to transfer the HDD to another computer and create an install file, then transfer it to the laptop I want to install Ubuntu and boot from the transferred hard drive. There is no OS on the laptop.

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Ubuntu 12.04 LTS will fit on a CD. Or you could use something like this to connect the HD to another computer. – Seth Dec 26 '12 at 19:58
Please edit the question with hardware specifications of the laptop. In theory it is possible to do what you want as long as the other computer has similar hardware, including video card, wifi chip, LAN chip, sound card etc. – user68186 Dec 26 '12 at 19:59

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Chain load using Plop.

Download Plop & burn as a disk image to CDR/W then you will be able to boot from the Plop CD itself, which in turn will allow you to boot from USB. It enables booting from USB without BIOS support. All you need do is create a live Ubuntu USB stick.

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