I know there's a special method to update drivers, involving safe mode and a comepletly driver removal program, but I can't remember what it is. Can anyone help? Thanks.

The real question is "Just what are you trying to remove and/or update from your devices? And what type of symptoms/problem do you have?"

If, for example, you go to Device Manager, "Uninstall" a driver, then reboot, and it seems the driver reappears and just reinstalls itself
=> Start by first looking in Control Panel->Add/Remove Program
=> Is there an entry associated with the device or device manufacturer (e.g. if you want to remove your sound card is there an Add/Remove Program entry for Soundmax or Relatek or.. etc.?)

If you're trying to update a device, what device is it?

I'll take a blind guess, just in case I get it in one

Driver Sweeper

And that;s a good guess too! (for uninstalls)

But am curious if you could tell us just what's the issue...

Sorry for butting in into the conversation, but I have a similar question: I want to remove old ATI drivers from my XP Professional computer. In addition to the Driver Sweeper, is there any other dedicated driver removal software that you would recommend?

If you follow the instructions for Driver Sweeper, it should handle the job the old ATI drivers. If you find you're having a problem removing ATI just give a shout (alot with details of your problem)