Thanks danleff, I apreciate your time and knowledge. I do not have a full WinXP copy, all I did get with the laptop was the cd that recovers the original installation (Windows XP Home Edition and a bunch of software I do not use), I did not try using it, what I did (I had Win98 boot CD) used it and did an fdisk/mbr, and WindowsXP is working again.
I do not have much experience with Linux, I just know basic commands, I always have used it in the office for basic stuff, actually this is the third time I install it for personal use (on my own equipment). But this is the first time I try to install it on an external disk, the previous times, I installed it on the internal drive of another computer with no problems.
Well I will keep trying and doing a little research.
Thank you again