I think the file you mention must belong to the utility CD for your sound card. How did you install it? Maybe the required files are packed and you need to run a setup.exe or install.exe instead of directly installing the hardware via Windows hardware manager.

MSPQM.SYS = Microsoft Streaming Quality Manager Proxy. Part of MS DirectX I believe.

Thank you very much, MiniMax. I haven't had time to see if my sound card will work now, though. At first, I searched the .cab files of DirectX 8.1, but was unable to find it. Afterward, I d/l'd DirectX 9.0b, and the file was inside the dxnt.cab file. However, it was NOT in ANY .cab files of v8.1 including its dxnt.cab file. 'Tis strange, no? Furthermore, why would Win98 ask for a file that's apparently part of NT, i wonder?

I am as confused as you, Darren. Are you sure the driver you are trying to install is for Win98?

The sound card driver - is that one you have unpacked into a temporary directory before the installation? Do you see any INF-files there? Do you see any references to MSPQM.SYS in the INF-files (or any other files)? Perhaps there is a comment explaining why it is needed?