Need help with Partitioning on Linux Mint
 

Hello all :)
I really need help in partitioning. I have Windows 8.1 and Windows 7.
I want to tripple boot them with Linux Mint.
I ran the Installer but it says that I have too much Primary Partitions.
So I shrank one of my partitions and wanted to add the free space to an extended partition. But I don't really know how.
I'm new with Linux and really need help.

Here is a screenshot http://i.imgur.com/MTmPxL6.png.

I know it's a bit messy. But I share my notebook with someone else :P

Please help asap :3

The short answer is that you can't - not without a lot of grief. That highlighted unallocated space is orphaned, and can't be used for another partition. The only way it can be added to the extended parition is to move all intervening partitions (/dev/sda2 and /dev/sda3) to the left to allow the space to be merged into the extended partition (/dev/sda4).
I do *not* recommend you do that in this case - moving Windows boot code almost always causes failures. You can probably fix this from a Windows install disk, but I don't use Win8 so can't comment.
If you had only Linux partitions to move, no problem, but Windows is a mess.

Hello and welcome to LQ.

How about a different choice here. I'd suggest you consider a free virtual machine. This would avoid any newbie errors (or guru mistakes.) A virtual machine can run at the same time as windows. It is quite easy and quite fool proof. I use them. :)

If you insist we should be able to assist you but you should at least try a VM first.

The second safest way to run would be from a USB of some type.

You are in some unknown waters trying to shoe horn in another OS. (I can't access the link right now on my end issue.)

Generally windows 8 uses UEFI/GPT partitioning which allows more than 4 primary partitions. Apparently, you are using MBR to boot? You have unallocated space on your Extended partition between sda5 and sda6 where you can install it by creating a logical partition. Linux doesn't need to be on a primary partition. It would obviously be a smaller partition but should be enough to run Mint.

Linux does not require a primary partition. It can be installed to an extended partition and boot quite nicely.

Put them in a virtual machine, you'll save yourself a lot of trouble.

Thanks for all your help!
I managed to install it, by deleting the system-reserved partition. I thought I could easilly rebuild the windows bootloader from the install disk.
Anyways, now I am on Linux, but want to boot Windows again.

I already tried to chainload Windows but it says that the bootloader is missing.
Should I delete Linux again, let windows create the system-reserved partition, copy the files from it, and install linux again?
That would be really awesome :3

If you look at the image you posted, your initial post, the System Reserve partition is marked 'boot' so that' why you get the 'bootloader is missing' message. I don't use windows so don't know what you need to do but someone else may have a suggestion.

Move sda3 to the left
grow sda4 to the left
move sda5 to the left
(optional) move sda6 to the left
result 58G unallocated

are both windows systems broken?
https://social.technet.microsoft.com...w7itproinstall

His windows partitions look a little odd as the boot partition comes after a 108GB ntfs partition. His problem with windows is explained by his last post when he indicated he deleted the System Reserve partition, which is sda2 and also has the boot flag set. No more windows boot files.

Thanks for all your help!
I managed to get it to work, by rebuilding the Windows Boot Manager etc. the hard way https://neosmart.net/wiki/recovering...ws-bootloader/ (Attempt 3). Then my windows booted, and I edited the Bootloader again with EasyBCD. So I added Windows 7.

Then I recovered the Grub Bootloader with Rescatux, which I copied before on my usb flash drive.
Now in Linux I edited the Grub Bootloader with a nice tool called "Grub Customizer".

Now I have Grub showing up Mint, and Windows. And when I go to Windows I see two Windows' :DD

Again thank you for all :3