Solved Disk Management- Merging unallocated space

[Links Herz]

I dual boot Windows 7 with Ubuntu. I have allocated 10GB as a partition to hold Ubuntu and any of the relatively small amounts of data I would store there, Ubuntu had the ability to look at and open the files on Windows anyway-- but Windows cannot read the Linux partition format.

When I originally partitioned the drive, I noticed that I hadn't really done it efficiently, because 109GB of data became "unallocated", after being part of the Windows C drive. I ignored this back then, because I couldn't fix it with Disk Management. Now I would like to get the partitions in order, but I have no idea what to do without risking making my computer unbootable (its happened before).

My partitions are split as follows:
12.7GB to pqservice, Acer's backup files are stored here, to allow factory resetting.
100MB to System Reserve.
157GB to C Drive
10GB to Ubuntu
And, because the maximum number of partitions is 4, 109GB unallocated.

Windows Disk Management, of course, won't let me extend C drive by 109GB because the unallocated space is not next to it. I cannot create a new partition, because the maximum is 4, and I cannot merge any of them either.
So how am I supposed to extend C Drive by 109GB through Disk Management, or any 3rd party program, for that matter?

 

[Infinite]

A screenshot of your Disk Management would be nice:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/9733-screenshots-files-upload-post-seven-forums.html

 

[Links Herz]

Here's the Disk Management screen, the data is a bit off for the Linux partitions, because it cannot read the .ext format.

 

[Infinite]

Do you need the Recovery Partition? It is safe to delete unless you use that feature a lot and do not have an Install disk then I would leave it.

Try the free EASEUS Partition Master Home Edition

 

[Links Herz]

Okay, I've only used the factory reset once, and that was a year and a bit ago. I don't have the install disk because Windows came pre-installed, but I do have a Windows system repair disk that I burnt.

And I happen to have already used EASEUS disk partition, at least the free version. I'm not sure how it extend Drive C, though.

 

[Infinite]

Right Click on C and click on Resize/Move Partition.



And just so you know, I am not experiencing the same issue as you, it is just because I resized my C Partition a while back for Linux, added Linux and forgot to make the Unallocated Space as my Data Partition

 

[Links Herz]

Extend Volume is blanked out in Disk Management, and on EaseUs, there's only a "merge" option. I've tried that, it can only merge with partitions next to it. The unallocated space is not next to C Drive, and it can't be made into a new partition because of the limit.

 

[Infinite]

Try deleting Other, then try merging it with C.

 

[Links Herz]

No, only the recovery disk made through the Windows 7 disk repair program. It's a bootable disk that allows access to system restore, command prompt and other useful features, but it's not an install disk.

 

[Links Herz]

Ah, it's tempting to do that... Unfortunately, "Other" is also known as "Ubuntu"... >_>
It has to do with the way it was installed, then- it left the unallocated space to the right, not the left, of Ubuntu. If I delete "Other", not only am I deleting Ubuntu, but also "GRUB" to bootloader that comes with Linux to switch between Windows and Linux. I did this once before, to get rid of a different type of Linux I had installed. It made the system unbootable "Grub failed to load".

So I luckily had my Windows repair disk, booted off that and used command prompt to fix the way Windows booted. I could do it again, but then I'd have to go through the hassle of backing up all my Ubuntu files, spending 30 or so minutes reinstalling it. As well as use the command prompt from the disk and enter in a few codes and hope that they work. Surely there's an easier way?

 

[Infinite]

Couldn't you download the Wubi Version instead, that makes an ordinary partition as you can see in my earlier partition screenshot and it works fine.

 

[Links Herz]

No, I hadn't known of Wubi when I first installed Ubuntu, so I just created a partition and installed it on there... I also didn't know that during the Install, Ubuntu offers to create a partition anyway, would've been a much cleaner experience than with Windows Disk Management...