OK, here's the latest....
I ended up writing to Teac America support about the subject, and here is the reply: (a better reply than Gooberslot got, anyway!)
"Unfortunately, Windows 98 is NOT as stable for high speed recording (32x-40x) as Windows 98SE is. This is why the minimum system requirements state that you must have Windows 98SE or above so that you don't have any recording conflicts. After all, what you want is to be able to record without having any conflicts provided by limitations on your Windows 98 OS. Yes, the CDW512EB works fine in Win98, but this is drive more than three times slower than the CDW540E.
By the way, this is not a TEAC issue. This will be the same regardless of the High Speed 40x drive you purchase.
Thank you,
TEAC America, Inc."
Everyone understand now?!!?
Cheers --