Like you empathy, I also recently did a fresh format and re-install of WinXP (on my older, K6-III+ secondary box).

I installed the latest VIA chipset, ATI display and NIC drivers, then got all the updates from Windows Updates. Similarily, there was no additional SB driver shown/available from Windows Update at any point.

I also was planning on just using the default Windows drivers, hoping I could avoid the VIA chipset/SB Live! crackling issue, but found devldr32.exe kept loading at startup and found this thread when I went to Google to investigate. I read your post(s) and decided to give the updated Creative livedrvuni-pack a shot, just to see what would happen... devldr32.exe has been replaced with cthelper.exe, lol. One step forward, one step backward. Now I've got to research cthelper.exe and find out if it's necessary.

This is the first time I've installed this latest SB driver update on this system so I'm hoping the crackling issue has finally been solved. After I've installed and tested a few games I'll post back and report the results.