Partition problem

hi;

I purchased a used laptop with win 7 installed on a 300Gb hdd.

I downloaded the win10 installation program and successfully installed 10.

I tried repartitioning the hdd and foolishly deleted some necessary partitions. The installation media fixed it.

Now the hdd has a large extended partition that I can't get rid of because 10 says there isn't enough space left to do it.

Must I start over with a clean install and if so, will 10 remember the 7 license? My intent was to dual boot XP, linux and 10 but linux says I have NO partitions.

Roger

dalchina said:

Hi, don't know why Win 10 won't let you in this case, but if you want to delete it try (e.g)
MiniTool Partition Wizard Boot CD.

from outside Windows. Always pays to have a bootable partition manager handy.

Once Win 10 has been installed it can be reinstalled on the same hardware - basically the MBO. E.g. you can swap the disk with impunity.

Thanks, I'll try it.

I use Parted Magic but it can't see the 10 partitions at all.

Roger

Computer Chicken said:

Do you have Windows 10 Home or Pro? Because only Pro allows you to do that. :)

Don't know, came installed on a used laptop. Now win7 is gone so I can't start over.

Guess I'm stuck with win10.

Why can I shrink a partition but not expand it?

Roger

dalchina said:

If you use a 3rd party partition manager, you will find it a lot easier to use.

Some operations require to be done either on via a restart, or via the partition manager's boot medium.

Had you created a disk image of your laptop as it was when you bought it you could have restored that and had Win 7 back any time you wanted.

Granted but that's like backup; I always think of it after I need it.

Win10 says it will restore the previous OS but it was in one of the partitions I deleted to make room for other versions

Roger

If you post a screenshot of disk management, we can help more:
Disk Management - How to Post a Screenshot of - Windows 10 Forums