Office installation shuts down by itself

Hi,
I reinstalled windows 98SE on my machine and after that my Microsoft Office XP programs did not work. There is also no entry for Microsoft Office in the Add/Remove Programs Properties. So, I did a search for all related directories and files and deleted them. Also removed any related entries in the Registry. Then, tried to install Office XP but every time I try, the installation just shuts down on its own. Is there a file on the system that is preventing me from reinstalling Office? Pleasehelp!!!

System specs:
Tyan motherboard, Athlon 1.1GHz, 256MB SDRAM, 32MB ATi Rage Fury Pro, WD 20GB HD