I'm using the live DVD, but would assume the CD has the same file
system capabilities. I had the USB drive connected and powered up,
and booted from the DVD. Ubuntu saw the external drive, and my
internal drive, and had no problem reading either one, nor writing to
either one. The external drive is a SimpleTech drive. (About as
cheap and simple as they come, nothing fancy here.) The internal
drive did not show up on the desktop until clicked on it, from inside
the file browser while working with the external USB drive. Both
drives are NTFS.