On Mon, 31 May 2010 14:15:01 -0700, Andrew
wrote:

3. If I understand properly, Win98 doesn't tolerate another primary active
partition on the system*.

I assume that by "active" you mean the bootable indicator is set (0x80).
You're right that multiple active partitions are a no-no (only primary
partitions can be active) but it is the code in the MBR that will catch
this. Anyway, it's a silly thing to do even if the O/S doesn't catch
it. However Win98 (and others) have no problems with multiple primary
partitions. In the volume list (e.g. in Explorer) the first primary
will appear, then all the logical volumes (in the extended partition),
and then all the other (max 2 I guess) primaries.

If you want to test this while the system is set to run XP, run ptedit
from a DOS floppy, change the first primary from 0x1C to 0x0C, then set
the boot flag in the first partition and reset the boot flag in the
second. When the PC boots it should start Win98 and the XP volume will
appear as drive F. If you later boot from the floppy again and flip the
boot flags the PC should start XP when booted. If this doesn't happen
then there is something strange with your setup and we'll have to check
further.

I'm in a hurry at the moment and haven't read all of your post. Also,
if the doomsayers are correct, this newsgroup might be dead and we'll
have to move to alt.windows98. I'll follow up later.

Cheers,
--
Steven