Can't see/resize ubuntu partition

[sinusance]

I am dual booting Windows 7 and Ubuntu on my laptop, and I'm trying to resize my ubuntu partition to make it larger. When I boot from the GParted Live disc , however, It only recognizes the existence of my 160 Gig windows NTFS partition which has ~15 Gigs of free space, which I want to reformat and expand ubuntu into (I freed that space by shrinking my windows partition from inside windows 7). I know my Ubuntu partitions are there (I'm in Ubuntu now, plus my HD is 200 Gigs not 160), but I can't see them.

I have a feeling this has something to do with my resizing of my windows partition from windows, but I'm not sure.

more info:


sudo fdisk -lu

Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
240 heads, 63 sectors/track, 20673 cylinders, total 312581808 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x1950c5c0

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 2048 279813807 139905880 7 HPFS/NTFS


This is my first post, so if I haven't given enough information, please let me know.

[oldfred]

Welcome to the forums.

Do you have a full install with partitions or a wubi install that is just a file inside your windows NTFS partition?

If when you boot you get the windows choice first then a second menu from grub with Ubuntu or windows you have wubi.

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/WubiGuide
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Wubi
The Windows-based Ubuntu Installer (Wubi) allows you to install and uninstall Ubuntu from within Microsoft Windows. It lets a Microsoft Windows user try Ubuntu without risking any data loss due to disk formatting or partitioning.

[Mark Phelps]

If you can still get into Ubuntu, then you could only have installed it via Wubi -- which does NOT partition the drive at all; instead, it creates a large file INSIDE the NTFS partition that Ubuntu then treats as a partition. You can't resize this using partitioning tools because it's not actually a partition.

[sinusance]

Thanks for the quick responses guys!
You are right, I am using Wubi. I've re-formatted this drive and re-installed windows/ubuntu so many times I forgot how I had installed it this time.

[oldfred]

If it is really a 200GB drive then the 240 heads shown may be part of the issue as drives are all LBA and the default then is 255 heads.

Windows/NTFS needs 20-30% free space to keep working well, so you do not have a lot of room.