As a beginner, don’t bother trying to dual boot – If you still need a Windows box, get some cheap hardware to do your Linux work on. It’s too easy to screw up both systems otherwise.
Don’t get too hung up on a specific distro, the better you are at dealing with different configurations, the better prepared you will be for whatever comes. Once you’ve gotten one set up, don’t be afraid to just try a different one.
If you have the space for a spare I much prefer hot swapping hard drives. it’s a little physical inconvenience but much harder to screw anything up. plus, full disk encryption is still an option
I guess the main things would be:
If you have the space for a spare I much prefer hot swapping hard drives. it’s a little physical inconvenience but much harder to screw anything up. plus, full disk encryption is still an option