Sounds like a bad install of windows. Win98 should come preloaded with those componets. One more question.
Was this an upgrade?
If not than try to reinstall the SB software.
If yes check the Preformance tab in Systems Properties, for file system and virtual memory. These s/b 32 bits. The windows media player is the default for win95.
Hope this helps. [This message has been edited by aoerana (edited 01-16-99).]