update--
I reformatted the HD and reinstalled win98. I downloaded all the recommended software and have it installed and ran searches to make sure everything was clean. I then did a registry backup using spybot. finally, I can get back to playing poker.

Thank you guys for all your help and suggestions. You have been most helpful.

If anyone has a student discount on XP, I am still interested.

one more question...
Why would it be recommended to use IE to sign up to new poker sites through an affiliate instead of using Firefos?