Cannot Create Extended Partition for Ubuntu/Swap-area after OSX/Win7 Dualboot Setup
 

Okay so first of all, let me give you a background info.

I have an HP Mini 311 with a 250GB hdd and 2GB Ram. I have successfully setup a tripple-boot with SnowLeopard/Win7/Ubuntu10.10 By Partitioning my harddrive first with "DiskPart.exe" on my Win7 USB as follows:

diskpart.exe
list disk
select disk 0
clean
convert GPT
create partition EFI size=200
create partition primary size=(size in mb for OSX)
create partition primary size=(size in mb for Win7)
list partition (make sure Win7 partition is active, it should be partition#3)
format fs=ntfs quick

Okay so First, using "Disk Utility," I format the OSX partiton to Extended(journaled) and install OSX accordingly.
Second, I install Windows 7.
Third, I use Netbookinstaller to install Chameleon 2.0 onto the OSX partition.
Fourth, using DIskPart.exe i set the Win7 Partition(#3) as active and then run the Repair(and Restart) option in the Win7 USB install media, to fix some boot error I do not know much about. Then use "DIskPart.exe" again, to set the EFI partition(#1) as active partition again.

I now have a fully operational dual-boot with SnowLeo and Windows 7.

I setup a triple-boot with SnowLeo/Win7/Ubuntu10.10 by using GParted to add and format 2 additional partitions. The first formatted Ext4 for Ubuntu to be installed onto and the second i set about 4GB as "Swap" area.
Then i just install Ubuntu with the Grub bootloader being installed onto the same partition as Ubuntu.

I now have a fully operational triple-boot with SnowLeo, Win7 and Ubuntu.

So I saw this link about creating an additional "storage" partition, on a dual-boot system, and setting it up so that Windows 7 and Ubuntu can share the same files automatically.
Here is the Link:
http://lifehacker.com/5403100/dual+b...erfect-harmony

I really want to set this up on my triple-boot system, and here is the problem i run into: Simply adding another partition, messes up my windows 7 boot entirely. And i figured out the cause of this might be due to harddrives only being able to handle 4 primary partitions. So i figure that if setup Ubuntu and the Swap-area into an Extended Partiton, this would solve all of my problems.

I cannot figure out how to setup an extended partition on my harddrive without messing something use up irreparably.

This is only my second Thread, so if you have any tips about the actual thread, like placement or edict, please let me know.

ANY advice at all will be greatly appreciated.

I think your best bet would be if you have a live cd with gparted on it. I think you said that your very last partition was swap? If I remeber corectly the article was saying that you have a partition that windows and ubuntu can both access. So here is how I would do it.

Using gparted I would delete the swap after making sure it was unmounted( you can generaly boot a live cd with a no swap option, and since your swap is all temp stuff, deleting it for a bit shouldn't cause you any problems).

Use gparted to shrink your windows, OSX, and Ubuntu partitions untill you have the cumulative amount of free space that you would like.

Next use gparted to move the partition towards the front of the disk so that free/unalocated space ends up where the swap used to be(Note that shrinking and moving partitions should not destroy data as long as you don't shrink the partitions smaller than what is used, identified by the yellow on the partition).

Create an extended partition with the free space, recreate your swap, and make one more partition (probably fat32/NTFS?) for sharing between OS's.

Note: The moving/resizing will take a LONG time, so you may want to start in the morning and expect to do things inbetween. And I sugest you BACKUP Before you begin. :)

Hope this helps.

Can you explain what exactly it is "messing up?"

That's 3 you can only have 1 more primary.

I am using GParted though a live CD

When i initially setup my partitions, i set them up to the size i need, and leave room for Ubuntu, swap-area, and about 100GB for the "storage" partition.

I set up my dual-boot so that all necessary unallocated space is at the end of the drive already.

This is my main problem. GParted will not give me the option to add an extended partition nor a logical one, at all. Unless i create a new partition table using GParted.

Windows 7 will no longer boot and i am unable to repair using USB install media.

Yea thats why i started looking into Extended partitions, especially since Linux based operating systems do not need to be on primary partitions.

This should help you figure it out.
http://www.justlinux.com/forum/showthread.php?t=147959
http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/gparted.html
http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/grub-2.html

Yes i checked those out when you posted them in my other thread. i got a lot from the from them actually and bookmarked them for future scrutiny. The only thing is i didn't see anything in any of those links that explained why i cannot create an extended partition in GParted.

Are you sure osx isn't already extended (sda2)

post output of fdisk -l,

That's the reason there.

OMG i did not realize that i had already setup an extended partition! sorry i guess that is why i am in the "Newbie" forum. haha
So anyways now that i know mac is installed onto an extended partition, can i add local partitions inside of this one (for Ubuntu, swap-area, and "storage")?

Ps i am configuring my system like i stated in my original post so that i can post the output of the code you said earlier.

i chequered those out when you posted them in my different thinking. i got a lot from the from them actually and bookmarked them for time investigating. The exclusive feeling is i didn't see anything in any of those links that explained why i cannot make an protracted part in GParted.

what?

Okay so I figured out that mac will only install onto a GPT drive and it is not possible to put extended partitions onto a GPT drive, since i can have up to 128 primary partitions. I read this Here:
http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread218597.html

So I also read somewhere that you can transfer a GPT partition with mac already installed on it to a MBR drive. Maybe this would solve my problem?

I am now going to create a whole new partition table with LiveGpartedCD and see if i can get that to work.

I know i need and EFI partition for a GPT drive, but am i supposed to install grub2 onto that?

My computer will not output "fdisk -l" because my drive is formatted as GPT.
what can i do?