Been out and missed a bunch of this, but this sounds suspiciously like
what I got into with one of my son's little adventures.  First clue is
that FDISK can't seem to change the MBR.  What I finally tracked this
to was a @#$%^ boot sector virus on the HD - it was brand new,
purchased with WIN98 installed from a reputable dealer, but there it
was bigger than life, and hosing up every attempt to clear the disk,
including the so-called low level Seagate utilities.  Hey, nothing else
has worked so it's worth a try!

Will Honea 
--- Maximus/2 2.02