Halp! Trying to Triboot 7, XP, Ubuntu

So I got to a point where I finally got where I got both Win 7 and XP installed following this guide:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/8057-dual-boot-installation-windows-7-xp.html
(Why is the WinXP bootloader in the S drive)?

Where Win 7 is installed first. A couple things, XP is currently installed on a logical drive, is this bad? Second, I first tried installing with an SP1 disk and I got a stop error(0x000000B). I did some searching and appearently someone else had this error by trying to install a version before SP2. I don't know if this is because I put it on a logical drive or if it is because Windows 7 is installed. Would SP1 install on a primary partition? I then downloaded an SP3 image and that worked fine, but my SP1 CD key didn't. Not sure what to do.

So, I skipped the key entry (30 days only) and had it dual boot between XP and 7. But when I installed GRUB, it didn't recognize both XP and 7, just the generic 7 bootloader, which would boot into its default. Not sure what to do at this point.

Also, when I changed the system reserved drive letter from F to S with EasyBCD in XP, and then loaded EasyBCD in 7, it was still drive F.

Why does a relatively simple concept such as this have to be so COMMMMPPPLICCATTEDDD?!?!?!
 
Partition letters aren't "real". They're just entries in the registry of the running system. When you boot a different system, with a different registry, it will have its own idea of what all the partition letters are, which is not related to, or affected by what any other OS thinks.
EasyBCD can't change a partition's letter so I'm not quite sure what you were trying to do, or what you actually did.
Which boot manager do you want to use, grub or W7 bootmgr ?
If bootmgr, you need to use "advanced" options during the Linux install to prevent it overwriting the MBR.
XP can be installed to a logical drive (as can any later Windows, but not 9x), but it can't be booted from there. Its boot files must be in a primary, so the XP install will look for the "active" "system" partition in that case.
 
I used Disk Management to change the drive letter. Is there any reason to put the XP install on a primary partition or is it fine as is?

So let's say overwrite GRUB with EasyBCD and get my installs back. How do I go about restoring the Ubuntu boot without overwriting the MBR?

Or should I use GRUB? Is it more robust?
 
Both are perfectly robust.
Grub will find and boot Windows, but bootmgr won't return the compliment.
That might seem to make grub the better choice, but unfortunately, if you use grub, then install a Vista SP, Vista will break the boot because of its assumption that it must be in charge.
At least if you use bootmgr, Linux won't break it in the same way.
You can do things with grub (like hide partitions) that bootmgr won't do.
You have a nice GUI for bootmgr (EasyBCD). Grub you'll need to manage by yourself.
Your choice.
 
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More likely to be a lack of SATA drivers. They weren't included till SP2.
You'll need to download the SATA drivers and use F6 to include them in the install from a floppy drive
(assuming that you've got SATA HDD(s))
 
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