Yes. Puppy Linux only needs about four files to be on the drive. You can put any other files on the drive, space permitting. If you keep a FAT file system, you can even still use the disk under Windows.
You could use a usb flash drive.
no
A program can be installed off a CD or DVD, or a flash drive.
Various distros have slightly different methods for booting and running from a USB Flash drive. You can find tutorials for many of these distros at the link below.
Download the ISO images from Linux Mint's website, and burn it to a DVD or a flash drive and boot from it. Once it boots in a live session, on the desktop there is a icon named "Install Linux Mint" and click on it. Then follow the instructions and you'll be on your way to install Linux Mint.
Installing Linux on a USB Flash drive does not require the conversion of files. The most difficult part is setting up the bootloader. Simply downloading a copying files to the disk will not install a bootloader.
Yes, you can. It is known as dual booting. Install Windows first, then any Linux distribution of choice - Ubuntu, Mint, Puppy, and so on) second. When installing the Linux OS, you will be offered either to wipe completely and use the whole hard-drive, install Linux alongside Windows (or the OS already installed), or Custom Install. To dual-boot, choose install alongside...
Yes, although no modern distributions directly support system installs from them. You can still use a floppy disk to install Linux from a PXE boot server, from a CD that is incapable of booting from the BIOS, or from a USB Flash drive.
Yes. Many Linux distributions can be easily booted from a USB Flash drive. With some modification, booting Windows XP is also possible.
you can find all the usb attached to linux by lsusbcommand in terminal !
Please see the related link below for an example of running ubuntu Linux from a usb flash drive. Linux is installed on the usb drive allowing you to boot directly from it.
As it is free to download and install any Linux based operating system, it is possible to try a variety - Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Puppy, and so on - before making a final choice. If Windows is already the laptop's operating system, use the Linux CDs as a 'Live CD', which allows you to try the new OS without making changes to the hard-drive (work is done in RAM only). Once a choice has been made, either install the Linux OS alongside Windows - dual-booting, or allow Linux to wipe the hard-drive and install Linux only. Another method is to use WUBI (use Google for details) to install Ubuntu as a file on a Windows machine.