Black screen when installing Windows XP after Linux

So recently I realized that my old laptop has a FAR stronger video card than my new one(GeForce 6800m vs. Intel X4500HD), so I decided to install windows in the empty space on the harddrive to get some casual gaming in.

Well, pop in the Windows XP disk, and boot from it: Setup is now inspecting the hardware configuration... and then a blank, black screen.

The problem is not with Linux.

I come to figure out, after days of random tinkering:

The problem is that Windows expects at least 6mb of free harddrive space at the beginning of the drive in order to start the installer.

GO FIGURE.

So I booted back into Ubuntu (9.04!) and fired up gparted. Took 12mb off the front of my oversized grub partition and restarted.

TADAAA!

The windows installer starts up great.

Microsoft really doesn't like anything but a virgin harddrive, I guess.