I reformatted and reinstalled Windows 98 on my little brother's computer, as I had no legal copies of anything to provide, and he connects to the internet via a Netgear Phone Adapter (PA101), which I wasn't able to find any Linux support for, a didn't want the hassle of figuring out anything difficult.
Unfortunately, Windows didn't have the display adapter, and I couldn't find the driver online for the life of me. So, I found the restore disk, which didn't seem to give me any way to restore just the drivers, so I reinstalled again from the restore disk this time. It installed a whole bunch of crap I had to uninstall again, but at least it worked.
Lesson learned: for the most part, Linux is a much easier install than Windows 98. I'd also consider it an upgrade in terms of usability and desktop environment. I'd not say the same thing comparing Linux to Windows XP, but it's certainly getting there.