Brian - it looks as if the config is ok.
Have you got/tried 'Fdisk'?
Which 'MS Boot Disk' is it?
Which directory does the boot disk leave you in? - 'A:> or what? It sounds as if there may be an 'autoexec.bat' file on it? Does that show in 'DIR'? Can you use 'edit.com' to read that file?
Can you read the 'config.sys' file too?
What happens when you type 'C:'?