Chances are it will be disabled in Bios or your firmware isn't compatible. To get into bios you usually press "del" or "F2" when you switch your pc on. There may be an option to disable or enable your usb port. If there isn't anything to do with USB in your bios you may need a bios update.
There is a handy Windows 98 USB troubleshooting guide on Microsoft.com:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/263218
or you could try this website which seems to have some good tips too:
http://www.usbman.com/Troubleshooter%20General.htm
Hope this helps
Kelvin
March 2008