Partitioning X5 drive, to create bootable volume

[mkvf]

I've been reading up on portable versions of Linux, designed to be used with a usb thumbdrive. I figured it might be an interesting project to partition my X5 drive, so that I have a 5-10gb volume set up as a bootable disk, and to have space to run something like this from.

Can I do this safely, without making myself an expensive paperweight? What tools would I need?

[dfkt]

Here's some info about that, maybe it's of interest to you: http://iaudiophile.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3889

I'm fairly sure you have to use the first partition for the standard X5 firmware to work, and make second/third/etc partitions for Linux. The hardest part would be choosing the right bootloader to make it all work.

You won't brick your player easily - if everything else fails, just format the whole disc to FAT32 again - the firmware is stored in RAM/EEPROM, so it's not affected by any tinkering with the HDD.

[mkvf]

Thanks for that. I had looked over there, but clearly not well enough - there's a lot there.

Anyway, looking at that, it does seem that it would be a lot of work for not much benefit. Good to know that I can fiddle about with the HDD without risking causing any serious damage though.