Perhaps the problem is not with Linux but with Microsoft? Make the leap and ditch the unstable mess that is Windows.
@ThomasMann , Format the partition(ext4, etc) you want for Mint. Then install Mint and use the manual install. Point the install to that Mint partition and install. It will recognize Windows partition and any other OS.
That is the kind of advice that makes Linux so popular with people trying to become new users. "Format the partition(ext4, etc) you want for Mint." If I could simply understand what that in practical terms means, and do that, I would not be asking the questions... It is exactly the quality of instruction that the Mint website also gives. And every time you try to install double boot, you will find that what happens on the screen is not at all, what Mint tells you. The Easy Linux Link shows clearly that what I say is the sad truth about Linux...