Maz,
That is a good point. That too is one of the advantages of WinXP, it usually has most of the drivers to run notebooks right from the install. Usually with a notebook, using WinXP will recognize the NIC and Modem right from the install. From there it is easy to get on the Internet and download any Drivers you need.
Take Care,
Richard
P.S. boofhead, if you give us the make and model of the notebook we could help find drivers and better assist with options.