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Thanks again. So would it be true to say that partitioning is totally OS independant? I think it is, but the following creates some doubts in my mind about this; when you create a partition you are asked what file system the partition will use, so it seems that partitioning and file systems are tied in together somehow.

Can I create an NTFS partition on my HD using Windows, then using Linux reformat this partition to ext3? I am thinking that perhaps the partitioning info (start and stop sectors on the HD) remains constant and all OSs read this part of the "HD road map" in the same way. However another piece of data in the "HD road map" is file system type. This can be changed at will without disturbing the partition boundaries. Leave the partition boundary settings in the "HD road map" alone, change the file system type entry in the "HD road map" and voila, you have reformatted the partition. Changing the file system type of the partition in this way is actually synonomous with reformatting the partition and will render the data in that partition unreadable, unreachable and useless. Only new data written by the OS which reformatted the partition will then be usable. Do I have all this correct?