Looking good CodeTrucker - as Ralf says though get a good solid drive image before anything else and write down all the steps you used to resolve the issues. You might want to burn a drivers disc too so you have it handy for future reference.

One last thing you might want to do - go to Start > Run and type EVENTVWR.MSC and check if there have been any problems since you last rebooted under System and Application categories.

If you have pages of errors dating back to all your fiddling right click on the categories and delete the logs and when they are empty reboot - then go back and have another look.

If you don't have any errors or warnings then you are set to go. Defrag your system and do a full image using somthing like Acronis TrueImage so that in future you can simply install with a couple of clicks. Get another image once you have installed all of your main applications too.

No problems with  EVENTVWR.MSC that I can tell.

Interesting. I took a look at your exported file and there is no information in it about your video card. It should be in the Components -> Display section. But yours is empty. That was one of the main things I thought it would provide to assist you in finding the correct drivers.

I need to do a similar thing.
Have a Gateway MT3421 Lappy. Love it. Hate Vista.

QUESTION ABOUT IMAGING?!
To create my hard disk image of the current setup, don't I need to create some free space?! ie. another partition big enough FOR the image?
Or can it be created and burned to DVD, like, live?!
I've never had to create an image before, but this seems the inevitable first step to UPgrading to XP SP2. haha.

SIW under Hardware/Video may give you the video adapter model?

If CodeTRUCKER &/or jammo are still working on this, & In case it helps...

Might check out Paragon softwares backup program -- believe that they have a trial. I was turned on to it a while back from one of the posts at DC, and it is a very decent program that will create a bootable image for you on discs or network drive etc.

For external drives you might want to consider buying a standard drive and housing separately if that's the way you decide to go -- it has to do with the warranties, or lack thereof.

For laptop drivers, it's iffy at best and involves trial and error, but there are a lot of components shared from one brand to another, and if you're lucky another company might have taken the trouble to post XP drivers. I've also tracked down drivers by reading the developer's info in dll files, though in some cases it was like following clues in a murder mystery.