I haven't had any of the same problems you've described using debian(for the last 6 years), even in dual and triple boot configurations..even with multiple drives.

If you want to use a lowkey linux-like environment from within windows for the purposes of application development or to add a little more power to windows(like a powerful shell) cygwin is by far your best bet.

If you have a reliable amount of ram you could run off a livecd with a persistent home/configs setup. Livecds, like knoppix, have the disadvantage of not being package-friendly...but having a lot more than you'd ever use right when you boot. I recommend slax over knoppix.

Otherwise, it seems like you're going to need to get your drives reconfigured a bit.

PS: I love cygwin.

You don't want a huge download?

If you do have fast internet but want it on one CD, no problem. Try PCLinuxOS. It is a single Live CD which means you can run the CD and see it before you install it! It installs from the same CD. Once installed you can get more software over the internet using a program called Synaptic, which is already set up and good to go. It's about the easiest install there is. You can update with confidence without breaking the system, and it has a very friendly help site.

The homepage is here: http://www.pclinuxos.com

Help forums: http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum

New User Guide http://www.pclinuxonline.com/wiki

Quickest Download mirror: ftp://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/metalab/distr...nglish/preview

Have fun!

re: Yet another request for advice on which distro to get

You have a master's degree in computer science and you don't know how to use the search, check out distrowatch, or read any of the quintillions of distribution comparisons out there?

This is a sad statement of the quality of modern education. ;)