How do I extend mint root partition using a previous un allocated size?

Question

I want to extend sda5 using sda8 with out losing any data.

Answer 1

You won't be able to resize any partitions that are actively in use (i.e. the packaged version of Gparted is typically used for changing partitions of external storage devices).

To extend your partition, you should reboot into a live environment. The Gparted project provides one such Debian-based live ISO that is used for this purpose. Simply burn the ISO to any boot-able media:

for CDs use sudo dd if=/path/to/gparted-live-xxxxx.iso of=/dev/sr0

for USB devices use sudo dd if=/path/to/gparted-live-xxxxx.iso of=/dev/sdX, where X is the letter of your particular device. Make sure this is correctly identified. USB devices are usually NOT /dev/sda.

for DVDs use sudo wodim -eject -tao dev=/dev/sr0 /path/to/gparted-live-xxxxx.iso