The Berr

Hi Guys, I am an absolute newbie, so bear with me (no pun intended). I have a dvd from linux format and want to load the copy of Mandriva to a USB hard drive so I can take it to work etc. Is this possible, if so, is there a help forum for dummies. I have no programming experience but have used DOS and am familiar with the hardware issues. I have Mandriva running from the DVD but would like to try it out on the USB drive before taking the plunge..