problem with IE and not able to download

Hi,

I've been having a problem with IE as of late, and I've also been
unable to download any new programs, so I'm hoping that someone may
have some suggestions as to solve my problem. But here is background
into the situation...

I'm using Windows 98, and have internet explorer 5 intalled on the
computer. For a while now, whenever I'm logged on to AOL, a notice or
a tag appears on the screen that says that has the initials "IE" in the
top left hand corner and reads something like, "this program has
committed an illegal operation and will be shut down" or something like
that. And you can click a little box for details or to shut it down
and etc.

This tag appears on the screen whenever I become inactive on the
computer while on internet or when another program is opened. For
instance, if I leave for about 15-30 seconds to go get a snack from the
fridge, then the tag appears. It doesn't appear while I'm typing or if
I'm actively using a function such as searching for a file, but the tag
on the screen appears on the screen if I stop for about 15-30 seconds
without doing anything.

I'm also having problems downloading new programs as well, and I think
it is probably connected to what I described above. I've tried to
install a new scanner and other new hardware, but while I'm
downloading, the screen will just freeze up after some time. It won't
fully download new programs any more.

So I'm just curious if anyone might have any suggestions or ideas as to
how I can fix this problem. As for the problem with IE, I have tried
to de-install IE 5 using the "add/remove", but it won't do it. I
wanted to remove IE 5 because of the problem I just described with the
tag appearing on the screen (I downloaded IE 5 off a disc a short while
back..perhaps it was corrupted?) and have the computer reinstall IE 4
(which was the original browser) but I've had no success with any of
this. I hope someone can please help me here with the problems I just
described.

thanks