i had xp running okish on a 233 cpu, but you need an absolute minimum of 128MB ram, 512 would be more like it. i wouldn't bother, buy a new pc or if money is tight, install
ubuntu linux which is free & should run fine on that old pc
installing 98 is a ROYAL PITA...
Format Hard Drive & re-install Windows 98
Stage One: Remove any current partitions and then recreate a single partition.
You will need: Windows 98 Boot Disk or boot from the cd.
Whilst the machine is powered down, insert the Boot Disk and turn on the machine. Within a minute or two, you will see a menu.
1. Select the first option, START COMPUTER WITH CD-ROM SUPPORT with the arrow keys on the keyboard and press ENTER/RETURN.
Wait until the machine finishes booting and returns with a prompt, A:\>
Type FDISK and the press the ENTER/RETURN key. Wait while the partitioning software boots up.
2. If you get a message, "Your computer has a disk larger than 512MB. and almost a screenfull of other text, press Y, and then ENTER/RETURN.
3. Select option 3 to DELETE PARTITION OR LOGICAL DRIVE and then option 1 to DELETE PRIMARY DOS PARTITION.
4. You will see information on screen and in the lower part of the screen will see a warning and a prompt for a number. Enter 1 followed by ENTER/RETURN, then when prompted for the VOLUME LABEL, type what appears in the information above under the heading VOLUME LABEL and press ENTER/RETURN. Then answer Y to the following question.
5. You will then be told the partition has been deleted and prompted to press ESC to continue. Do so and you will be returned to the main menu.
6. Now select option 1 to CREATE DOS PARTITION OR LOGICAL DOS DRIVE. And then option 1 to CREATE PRIMARY DOS PARTITION.
7. The software will start to check the drive for problems, which should only take approx. 20 seconds. Answer Y to the question of maximum available size and it will run through the check again. Once complete it will tell you that the drive letter has been assigned to the drive and to press ESC to continue. Press ESC as many times as necessary until you reach the prompt A:\>
8. Re-Start the machine (Type RESTART), the partition has been created and will need formatting.
Stage two: Re-install Windows 98 fresh onto your system.
1. Insert the boot disk into your floppy disk drive and turn it on.
2. When the start up menu appears, select option 1. START COMPUTER WITH CD- ROM SUPPORT. After a few seconds and a few messages on screen, you will be presented with the prompt, A:\>
3. Type FORMAT C: followed by ENTER/RETURN. After a short wait a warning message appears, type Y and then press ENTER.
4. After formatting has completed the system will display a message, at this point insert your Windows98 CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive and press the ENTER/RETURN key until you receive the prompt A:\> again.
5. Type E: followed by ENTER/RETURN and then type SETUP followed by ENTER/RETURN. If your CD-ROM drive is F: or G: then you will need use that letter in piece of the E: at the beginning of this step.
6. Windows98 set-up now starts. Press ENTER to allow scandisk to check your hard disk drive. After scandisk has completed, use the arrow keys to select EXIT and press ENTER/RETURN.
7. You will now see the graphical interface of Windows98 set-up on your screen welcoming you, click CONTINUE. Follow the prompts to continue installing Windows 98 onto your system.
8. You will be asked at one stage to enter your CD-Key which you will find located on the front of your Microsoft Windows 98 Guide that came with your Windows 98 CD- ROM. Enter the code and click NEXT. Ensure that you get the code exactly light otherwise it will not accept it.
9. Follow the rest of the prompts answering the questions as necessary. It will ask for things like your Name and/or Company. It may also ask whether you wish to create a recovery disk. Answer NO to this question. After this, there will be a period of copying files to your hard drive. This may take anything up to 30 minutes depending on the speed of your machine.
10. When the file copying process is finished, remove the floppy disk from the drive and follow file prompts to restart your computer and continue set-up. Windows98 should now be set-up and functioning on your computer.
alternatively, better illustrated guides
here
ubuntu is easier to install.
