win98 works xp doesnt

I recently purchased a skylink 8 port n-way switch to share dsl and network just two computers(for home use) i connected the dsl to the uplink port on the switch and the win 98 confuser into port 3.It works great. I connected the xp confuser and and.nothing i ran network wizard…..nothing…is it the cable im using is it software..is it me slipping into madness?