Dual Boot New Laptop Windows 7

[snowishberlin]

Ok. This is driving me crazy. I just got a new Lenovo P580, and got a really good deal on Microsoft Office Pro via my work, so I don't want to give up Windows. Sadly.
I want to set up this new laptop to dual boot Windows 7 home premium, which came on it, and Linux Mint (the newest, and I don't care if it is Cinnamon or Mate at this point).
I've been using Ubuntu since 2007, and since 2010 I think it has been awful, so I am ready for a switch. I installed Mint 13 Cinnamon on my other laptop clean, and I love it. But I really want to preserve Windows, mostly for the Office suite, and I can't. So please help me.
When I use unetbootin or anything else like that I can't get a dual boot option when I boot the live USB. I don't know much about partitioning in Windows or Linux because Ubuntu did it for me years ago, and Mint won't. Or, at least, the directions aren't clear.
This new lappy has a 750GB harddrive, with 4(!!!) partitions already: a SYSTEM_DRV of 200MB; Windows7_OS (C:) of 653GB with boot, page file, crash dump, and primary partition; Lenovo (D:) 25GB primary partition; and ________[no identity] 19GB OEM partition.
Can someone please guide me through setting up good partitions - and I don't care about space on either side - and installing the dual boot system? I have read the pdf on installing; doesn't help. I can't find specific enough help in these forums. I don't want to run virtual machines for either.
Thank you!

[keith.aranjuez]

you can use mint4win to install linux from inside of windows as an application, albeit with some drop in disk performance

[DaComboMan]

Did you find directives yet?

What I've been doing for a while now is:
1. Install EasyBCD and backup settings under BCD backup/repair.
2. Create unformatted space to host your LM distro with Windows (right-click Computer/Manage to shrink your system).
3. Insert your live LinuxMint DVD and restart your computer - hopefully you burned a .32bit file to it.
4. Click install and follow the procedures.

That's the basics. If you get "bored" of LM, you go back to EasyBCD, go to BCD deployment and write MBR then delete the partitions LM created (don't delete your two basic Windows partitions of course).

Welcome to LM forums!

Presently Manjaro user.

[olle]

This new lappy has a 750GB harddrive, with 4(!!!) partitions already: a SYSTEM_DRV of 200MB; Windows7_OS (C:) of 653GB with boot, page file, crash dump, and primary partition; Lenovo (D:) 25GB primary partition; and ________[no identity] 19GB OEM partition.

You have one too many primary partition. There can be only 4 partitions in a system. You need to remove one of the primary partitions, move and rezise the remaining 3 to create an unallocated partition. Then you need to create an extended partition using that unallocated partition, and create the necessary partitions for linux as logical partitions under that extended partition.
"gparted" on your live installation disk is a good tool, but be careful !
If you have Windows installation disk then that 19GB might be unnecessary, it might be the recovery partition.
Please run gparted and report the names / labels and sizes of the partitions found.
We then could possibly help further ...

[snowishberlin]

Yeah, I am trying to get the full benefits of a real install... I might try mint4win as a last resort. Thanks.