W2K SP4 dual boot problems


I've been nursing along a W98 2ed (on C:) W2K SP4 ( on D:) dual boot
system since Y2K.

My back-up method involved ternary rotation of hard drive sets. This
produces a working hard drive for C and D, a most recent individual
back up for each, and a previous back-up of each. Backing up involves
cloning the current drive's contents onto the oldest back-up drives,
installing the recent clones into operation, and retiring the working
drives to most recent back-up position.

Every time I do this, I get some kind of problem. Usually this
involves an inaccessible W2K or W98 OS. Repair usually involves using
W2K setup disc set, to fixmbr (default) from the command console, then
sys C: from W98 boot disk. I'm uncomfortable with DOS, so my ability
to manipulate files is limited.

Recently I found myself unable to produce a dual boot start-up screen.
The Functional default was a direct boot into W98 without a boot
option. With the assistance of a floppy loaded on boot with NTLDR,
NTDETECT.COM, BOOT.INI and BOOTSECT.DOS on it, I could generate a
start-up menu with a valid W2K option, but an invalid W98 or Command
Console option. This disk was created two years ago, when I had the
same situation temporarily. I don't recall how the disk was created or
how I dug myself out of the hole.

I let it ride, booting daily for specific tasks only into W2K, until
today when the W2K floppy boot disk displayed a disk read error.
Simply loading the same files, with the same datestamps onto a floppy
doesn't recreate a working floppy. (invalid system disk)

Can anyone suggest how to fix the floppy 've been using as a crutch?
I'm pissed off that the W2K disks can't be used as a simple boot disk,
as my crutch did. I effectively have no access to the W2K OS or drive
partition.

Better still, can anyone suggest how to restore the dual boot?
Should I use the W2K set-up to fixmbr of a specific hard drive,
rather than a default?

The BOOT.INI in non-functional setting reads as it always did in a
functional set-up.

My last W98 back-up still allows normal dual boot function when
installed as C:. Direct file transfers (same datestamps) doesn't
improve anything.

Disk D W2k SP4 is NTSF, with two FAT32 data partitions.
Disk C: W98 2ed is FAT32.

RL
.

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