Partitioning without Magic

1. I have an IBM Thinkpad A31p with 60GB HDD;
2. I have an MS X-P OEM OS;
3. IBM has its own embedded system files on the HDD;
4. I wish to partition the HDD for (a) X-P, with separate drives (c;d;e;f), AND (b) for a Linux distribution (probably Mandrake 9.x);
5. As this is a one-time partitioning, Partition Magic’s US$ 70.00 is exhorbitant. Is there another reliable partitioning software or work-around?

6. I can try moving all current systems/data files to CDs and possibly use F-disk,but I am concerned about the embedded IBM system files (no recovery CDs are provided).

7. Workable suggestions?

Thank you.