I guess that makes sense, formatting an external shouldn't have much to do with it though. To get started I'd definitely recommend Ubuntu, its the most user-friendly linux distro but obviously still retains the capability of any programming you want to do. I had a machine running on Ubuntu for about 3 years, then just got bored with it (I'm not a CSC major) so went back to windows.

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TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth