Given that there's a possibility that I simply can't get all the functionality working adequately under Linux, I intend to ensure that the original XP build remains working and bootable on the hard drive. As such, the first job was to take a look at the disk setup to decide where to put the Linux partitions.

My Flybook came installed with a 40 GB 2.5 inch hard drive. It is made by Hitachi. The base configuration contains 3 partitions:

• Windows XP Boot (20 GB) - NTFS - C: drive in Windows
• Windows Data (15 GB) - NTFS - D: drive in Windows
• System Restore partition (5 GB) - FAT32 - Hidden to Windows XP

The 'System Restore' partition is interesting, since it is effectively a Windows 98 boot disk with Dialogue-specific software to restore the C: drive to its original state. To access this, you can hit F6 during the boot sequence.
This indicates that there is a minimal boot manager in the MBR to allow Windows 98 to boot from the third partition, 35 GB into the disk. Initially I will attempt to retain this partition, but if it becomes unbootable then I will destroy it and use it for Linux (the Flybook has a system restore DVD as well).

For my uses, I carry a laptop pretty much everywhere, and need access to my files when consulting on client site. Since Windows will still be necessary for certain apps, my files will need to be accessible by both Windows XP and Linux. The best cross-platform filesystem is FAT32 as it can be both read and written stably by all operating systems. Linux can 'experimentally' write to NTFS but I won't want to take risks with important files.
As such, the first partition for XP will be kept, the second will be replaced with a FAT32 data volume, and the rest of the space can be used for Linux partitions (if the system restore partition is removed).

Since I'll be storing all my files in a separate FAT32 partition, the original Windows XP boot partition won't need to be 20 GB in size. Before the Linux install was started, I installed my required apps onto Windows.

NB: the hard drive in the Flybook is designed to be user-removable, and can be replaced with a larger unit. I believe there is a 100 GB 2.5 inch low-height drive available!