1 Topic by david_d (edited by david_d 2011-01-04 02:28:38)

  • david_d
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Topic: [Solved ]Partition problem Windows 7 vs. GParted v. 0.7.0

I want to install Linux Mint Debian Edition (64 bit) on a HP G62 laptop running Windows 7. I am having some issues with partitions that I clearly need to sort out before doing this.

I actually had 5 partitions on my Windows 7 machine (not sure how this was possible). The factory install came with 4 and I added one: Data. After making recovery DVD's, I deleted the Recover partitions. I also changed the HP_TOOLS partition from FAT32 to NTFS, because I was not seeing it at all in GParted. This was mistake as I have since learned that this partition needs to be in FAT32.

Presently my Windows partitions look like this:

http://forums.linuxmint.com/download/file.php?id=5617

However, if I look at the disk using Gparted (v. 0.7.0 - on the LMDE Live CD) I get this:

http://forums.linuxmint.com/download/file.php?id=5618

GParted does not appear to see any unallocated space. There are numerous other differences. It appears to be labelling the Windows C: drive as Data. What is calling "SYSTEM" is not shown - is this the MBR? The HP_TOOLS partition seems to correspond to the amount used in the Windows "Data" partition.

Any help that would permit me to sort this out would be appreciated. And any ideas on how to to further reduce the number of Windows partitions would be appreciated. Would the use of logical partitions help here and how?

Can I get by with one partition for Linux? I know at least three would be best. Any thoughts on a strategy for a dual boot system here?

Thanks in advance. I will also be posting this on the GParted forum.

2 Reply by gedakc

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Re: [Solved ]Partition problem Windows 7 vs. GParted v. 0.7.0

Since you appear to have more than 4 primary partitions, it would appear that you have a GPT partition table, and not an MSDOS partition table.  Hence logical partitions are not needed.

Would you be able to provide the output from the following two commands?

fdisk -l -u

where one of the options is a lower case "L" and not the number one.

parted /path-to-your-device unit s print

where /path-to-your-device is something like /dev/sda.

3 Reply by david_d

  • david_d
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Re: [Solved ]Partition problem Windows 7 vs. GParted v. 0.7.0

The problem was Windows 7 Dynamic disk. When I added that 5th (my data) partition on Window 7, without any warning, Windows went ahead and changed my disk from Basic to Dynamic. Gparted was unable to recognize the dynamic partition information.

So, in order to reduce the number of partitions further and create a disk that could be worked on by Gparted, I had to convert from dynamic disk back to basic. Although Microsoft says that in order to do this you have to delete the partitions, there are various recipes out there for doing this without losing data. I tried TestDisk, but ultimately sprung for a shareware solution ($29) called Dynamic Disk Converter Professional. This tool worked in no time at all. Everything worked smoothly.

Once back to a basic disk, I backed up and then deleted the HP_TOOLS partition. I had already deleted the Recovery partition (having created the factory install dvds). Now I was down to 3 partitions (Including my data partition). I then used Gparted to create an extended partitions with the various logical partitions for LMDE, which I am now running with no problem. Dual boot works fine.

Too bad that HP on their laptops takes up 4 partitions. This is not reasonable. And too bad that Windows 7 does not properly warn when creating a dynamic disk (or did I ignore a warning? - I wonder). But all is well. Thanks for your help!

4 Reply by gedakc

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Re: [Solved ]Partition problem Windows 7 vs. GParted v. 0.7.0

Thank you david_d for reporting back with how you resolved this problem.  Other users in this situation can now benefit from learning how you solved the problem.

5 Reply by Allnsmth (edited by Allnsmth 2011-03-01 12:43:37)

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Re: [Solved ]Partition problem Windows 7 vs. GParted v. 0.7.0

Hi,
If you will be changing the main Windows partition backup anything important. It's rare but things can go wrong. Altering the partitions can be risky, be careful and know what you are doing - there is no Windows safety option.