Share data with Windows
If you plan to continue using Windows and Ubuntu alongside each other, it pays to set up a dedicated data partition, then make it easily accessible to both operating systems. Use GParted from the Mint installer to set up a NTFS partition, then boot into Windows and browse to your user folder. Right-click each key data folder – Documents, Pictures etc – in turn and choose Properties > Location, then point them to the equivalent folder on your new data partition, moving the data across when prompted.
You should also disable hibernation in both Windows and Linux – data written to the shared partition while one OS is in hibernation may be wiped when that OS is next woken up. In Windows, open a Command Prompt (administrator), type powercfg/hibernate off and press Enter to enable this setting.
Once done, switch back to Mint. Disable hibernation by opening System Settings > Power Management and ensuring ‘Never’ is selected under the second drop-down menu. Next, open the Disks utility via the Dash. Select the disk containing your data partition in the left, then click on the partition on the right and make a note of where it’s mounted (this tends to follow the format /media/ <username>/<partition name>).
Finally, go to www.ubuntu-tweak.com and install the Ubuntu Tweak (yes, parts of it work in Linux Mint!). Open it from the Administration section of the Menu, then select Admins > User Folder to manually point your data folders to the folders stored on the data partition you created and identified earlier.