I was thinking about installing Windows NT 3.1 (Beta 404) on an old system which has the following specs:
Pentium II 333MHz MMX cpu
256MB ram
Two 8GB HHD's (Master&Slave) Master--FAT32 format; Slave--two 2GB partitions FAT16 format.
Two CD-ROM drives
One 3.5 floppy drive

Currently I have Windows 98 (first edition) installed on the Master hard drive, and I actually use this computer almost everyday.

My first question would be is it possible to get this version of Windows NT to run on this machine, and is it going to be a nightmare in trying to do so? According to the Microsoft Collection Book web site I guess it is feasible to run Win NT 3.1 on a Pentium II with the aid of some work arounds.

My next question would be is it possible to manually install Windows NT 3.1 on the slave hard drive rather than going the traditional route? By 'manually' I mean copy the files over to the hard drive and create the necessary directory tree. I realize that it would be more involved than just simply copying over the files, but I was hoping it might make the install process easier.....

NT needs a C: drive to store the boot files on. If the master drive is FAT32, that's a barrier to NT. So the short answer is: no.

Yeah, I read somewhere that the hard drive needs to be FAT format....That's why I was going to use the slave hard drive for Windows NT. My plan of attack was to put Windows NT on the slave drive and leave Windows 98 on the master drive. So, when ever I want/need to use Windows NT I would make the 'slave' drive the master.

Make the slave drive the master? As in, opening the computer and resetting the jumpers every time you want to change operating system? That seems like a huge hassle to me... but I digress.

You have a Pentium II, so you'll need the Pentium II patch. As for the rest, I step aside for someone who's actually installed beta 404 and has more experience than I do.

you can install 2000 beta builds on the FAT32 partitions.
NT4 or 3.51 need drivers and a newer NTLDR.

and make sure you apply the Pentium II and higher patch on setup.inf and initial.inf if you want to install it on your computer.

Thanks guys for all the insight....I'll probably try loading the OS later today.

Loaded up the OS following the guide at the Microsoft Collection Book site and all went perfectly. Forgot how 'bare bones' these old operating systems were; wow.