Binos,
Some other thoughts to try and future proof your clean install.
Make a boot disk which includes fdisk.exe and format.com then fdisk and format /s the C drive. This first step is because MS didn't include format on the 98 boot disk...it runs it from the CD once setup starts.
Insert the 98 boot disk and select the start with CD option.
run the command a
xcopy32 X
win98 c
win98 where X is the CD drive letter
cd C
win98 and run setup.exe from there
This saves the problem of needing the 98 cd for any hardware you install later. You can do a registry hack to change the default path of the win98 dir later if you don't want to do this two step.
Once windows is installed and BEFORE you install ANYTHING else go to control panel /system select the CD and change the drive letter to K or something lower down than the default D or E that it will be. This will allow you to add/remove hard drives at will (either via caddy or more permanently) later without screwing the CD drive letter. It also allows USB memory keys/external HD etc to fit in easily to the drive structure.
MAx