Bootloader for Windows 11, 7, and XP?

[Parabellum117]

So I'm working on a project right now... I've got a "spare" computer that I am working on installing older versions of Windows on. Currently, I have (working) copies for Windows 11, Windows 7, and Windows XP Professional installed. All are x64 copies. After installing XP, the computer will either boot to

 

A: A older Windows boot loader (not the newer blue-screened one from Windows 10) that gives the option to boot from Windows 7 or 11

B: Boots to Windows XP only

 

Since drives can only be created with a maximum of 4 partitions, Windows 7 and Windows 11 are housed on an SSD (1 EFI partition, 1 System Partition, 1 Windows 11 OS partition, 1 Windows 7 OS partition) and the XP install is housed on a separate partition on a HDD. I know that is likely the issue (Bootloader for 7 and 11 wont read off 2 different drives), since it wants to boot off one drive or the other. The order of which they were installed was: Windows 11, then 7, then XP. I realize now that it might have made sense to do that in the reverse order, but oh well...

 

My question is, what should I do to make the bootloader show all three Windows versions and ensure it boots to the loader? Surely there is some way it can show the operating systems on multiple drives in the bootloader... or maybe the default windows bootloader can't read XP? I have looked at installing a boot loader such as rEFInd, but I can't seem to find a (safe) file download for that... I've heard that older versions of Windows have compatibility issues with other loaders like GRUB (maybe I am wrong), so I am looking for something that is compatible. Would love any help y'all can offer!

 

To get this out of the way, since I know some are going to ask: yes, I know that VMs are likely a more reliable solution. However, this is a project primarily for fun (and running older software) so I am not interested in VMs since this is not my main PC and I prefer running it fully off the physical hardware.

[Parabellum117]

I'm going to try installing service pack 2 (latest for Pro x64)... maybe that has some drivers that will help w/ windows bootloader recognition?

[rockyroller]

I found I had issues  install Vista then adding XP pro as a second boot drive. This was my fix.

Vista was already on 1 drive so I turned the drive off in the bios and then reboot with a second blank HDD and installed XP Pro on it.

Next with both drives now turned on in the BIOS, Vista the 1st drive, XP the 2nd, it still wouldn't duel boot.

So I searched the web looking for a solution and discovered what I was experiencing was common for Vista users, and based on what I read I purchased OSL2000  When installed OSL2000 on the Vista HDD, it managed the duel booting flawlessly by offering the choice of what OS I wanted after boot.

 

I can't see why the boot manager wouldn't work with 7 and XP, and probably 11. But I'm hearing that 11 works badly with AMD Ryzen so hold on 11 for a month or more if you use one of those CPUs. 

[Parabellum117]

On 10/6/2021 at 8:59 PM, rockyroller said:

I can't see why the boot manager wouldn't work with 7 and XP, and probably 11. But I'm hearing that 11 works badly with AMD Ryzen so hold on 11 for a month or more if you use one of those CPUs. 

I did a reinstall and got it working... the windows bootloader now works fine and detects all three. Turns out I did not have the system partition for XP setup correctly.

[rockyroller]

That's great. MS must have fixed the featured bugs