I am working with my Linux Mint machine, and i just noticed in the file browser window, on the left side, i have two partitions just floating around, doing nothing. I can only read, not write, even with sudo. The partitions are 2.6GB and 464mb. I tried using fdisk in terminal, but it only gave me the list of: Use -l to list partition tables, use -b for sector size info, etc etc, and when i tagged on a letter, terminal just sat blank. It didn't give me an error, but doesn't appear to be doing anything either. I still have my original Linux installation disk, does anybody know of a program native in Linux mint that can delete these two useless partitions, so they can go towards free space on the hard drive? The partitions showed up AFTER a friend of mine tried to install a triple OS, (Mint, Windows XP and some other linux distro.)

"The partitions showed up AFTER a friend of mine tried to install a triple OS, (Mint, Windows XP and some other linux distro"

I'd kind of wonder. Boot to a live cd and see what is on the area. Might be able to move it then. I'd also look at the partition number. Doubt there is any big deal or real reason to fix it even.

Mint should have gparted but if not and you have a bit of ram you can easily add it to the live cd to run it. Use package manager to add in gparted to the live cd booted.

Booting a live cd gives me the basic options, check integrity of CD, boot from local device etc. When partition manager is started, i se Dev/sda 1-7. The specific title of the partition that is 2.6 gb is:
e8e67e59-3bfd-4d37-8c9d-153a8cceec9a

And the 464mb :
2e7d7e42-d70f-4762-804d-3f74bde1e2ae
Also listed is my 30 gb NTFS partition for windows XP, and the 8 GB partition for Linux in EXT3.

May not be worth playing with but there is usually a way to make a simple change or two that one can go back and fix. Like changing the filesystem number or hiding the partition to see what happens.

I think that this install was stopped or some odd issue made data damage. Otherwise some malware. Very unusual number/names.

You could mount them to see what data in on them maybe.

Could make a ntbackup with system state to some usb drive and wipe the entire deal. Be sure to have the matching version xp to reinstall and then restore backup. Clonezilla may be able to do similar.

You could try the following cmds and post the output
as root (via sudo in your case I believe?)

Yes. i do believe the install froze atleast once, when the computer tried to activate a screensaver. It never woke up, though the HDD light was still flashing, so i let it sit for a few hours before shutting it off. I believe that was the failed 2.6gb partition, which is chalk full of system files and folders, mint marks most of them as damaged or unreadable. as for Fdisk, i have messed with that command so much, but whenever i tack a letter on, like fdisk -l for example, or any other fdisk command, it only gives me the brief tutorial on how to use the fdsik command with other letters. Consider me a terminal noob, i guess, even though i have been working with it for almost five years...
Oh, and i would just wipe it too, save for i do not have my windows xp cd. the computer never came with one.

You could use a live linux cd or live windows maybe to see if the filesystem could be fixed. Who knows what damage has been done. You may wish to make a ntbackup with system state right now and you could always borrow any similar xp disk to restore your data to correct geometry.

chrism01's suggestions may yield some clues also.