BOAC and EI-WAT many thanks.
BOAC, I think I've found the registry cleaning prog so will try a bit of hacking.
EI-WAT, that sounds just like the sequence I was talked through to sort out the laptop after the disastrous driver update. I tried something similar on the D/T but no joy. Will try the registry clean, then an XP non-destructive re-install and then your sequence and see if that can sort things. Will advise when done.