Do I need to install Windows XP and/or Windows 2000 to the first primary partition, or is it possible to install it to eg. the second primary so, that when the first primary is hidden, all the boot and system files will be placed to the same partition (eg. second primary)?
So I don't want to divide those boot and system files between P1 and P2 (being first and second primary), and I don't want to use the first primary. The P1 would be hidden or possibly even partition ID changed to gnu hurd type or something, that W2k/XP don't recognize, if needed.
I'm asking this, because the above is the way I have done my multiboot systems with W7/W8/W10 - using small P1 for grub4dos. However, when I once installed XP to an old computer, I put it to P1, generalized the BCD and used the image for cloning it to another partitions. So I put the grub4dos files to the P1 with the original XP installation. I did it because at least at the time, I thought XP was impossible to install straight to P2 (so that all the boot and system files would be there at P2 too, for easy generalizing & imaging & restoring to other partitions).
Now I'm planning to use another old computer for W2000/(possibly XP too)/linux multiboot system, because an old game needs W2k, so if I can install W2k/XP straight to P2 and P2, using P1 only for grub4dos files, it would be less hassle.
Another question: I don't necessarily need to clone W2k/XP images to logical partitions (that I did with W7/W8W10), but is it possible to boot W2k/XP from logical partitions so, that all the boot and system files are there too, at the same partition? The way it is possible to do with W7/W8/W10, aka generalizing BCD first before cloning it from primary, then respecializing it to the destination logical partition where the image is restored (without need for things like editing partition tables or other tricks, because correctly respecialized BCD is the key, at least for Vista and later OS's).