That is very similar to what I did.
I was running Pentium 120 machines with OS/2-Linux- Windows multiboot.
When one of my Pentium 120 machines failed, I went shopping for a 1 gig machine.
I picked tup what I thought was a bargain from Staples, a Compaq 1 gig machine with a 20 gig drive, pre-loaded with Windows.
My intent was to re-partition the drive and install OS/2-Linux-Windows multi-boot, the same way I had always handled a new machine. Linux would re-partition the drive and the linux lilo would be my boot manager. the Windows OEM disk would be added to my disk inventory for use in the event of a Windows crash, the same as my Linux and OS/2 disks were saved against crashed of those systems. I also have a practice of keeping my C: and root partitions small and putting all my applications on other partitions.
Straight forward, conventional, easy to do.
Not any more. Not with Name brand machines.
Microsoft has a new OEM arrangement with the OEM makers whereby a full general operating system disk is no longer supplied. Instead you get a recovery disk that assumes that your drive is in the state that it was when it left the factory. That is, a huge C: partition which holds everything and a smalled D: partition intended to be used only as a compressed back-up. This is one of the least efficient and least safe partitioning schemes known to man, but it is what you are stuck with if you buy a name brand machine unless you pay almost $300.00 to buy a retail version of Windows to replace the pre-loaded version that you have already paid for as part of the price of the machine.
You can get a restore disk from the machine manufacturer to use in the case of a major crash, but that is tailored to the machine and puts the machine back into the state that it was when it left the factory. In other words, it would over-write all your custom partitioning.
This makes no sense even if you are only using Windows as a system crash will then take out everything as the mission critical files are in the same partition as the operating system.
It does make sense if you are Microsoft and want to discourage people from trying out other operating systems.
So, I took the machine back to Staples. No probelem getting a refund. Staples is very co-operative and I had made a point of telling the seller that I intended to install a Linux-OS/2-Windows multi-boot with custom partitioning.
I then did what I ought to have done in the first place. I went to the Bloor-Spadina area of Toronto, an area between Chinatown and the University full of chinese computer merchants selling plain vanilla machines without the operating system, mainly catering to university students who have limited means and are more likely to want to use Linux.
I was able to get the same size and speed of machine without the operating system. If I also bought the operating system separately, the total price was considerably cheaper than the name brand machine.
I was therfore able to afford to get a 1.6 gig machine with a 40 gig drive and twice the memory.
I was also able to specify that the graphics and sound systems be in slots instead of hard-wired into the mainboard and was therefor able to pick and choose my systems to meet my needs.
Better yet, the decision as to what was appropriate partitioning was made on my premises and not in Redmond.
Heck--I've even had trouble getting windows to run properly on them.