Most of the USB sticks I use have a indicator light to show when they are powered on. In 2000, XP or 2003 when I tell windows to stop the stick for removal, the light goes off. In any 98 system that I have used wih a memory stick, that had the stop/eject option, it pops up and says the stick is safe to remove, but the power light never turns off on the stick. So I do not have much faith in ejecting sticks from a 98 system.
That said, I've not had issues either way, so far.