Yes, Anahata, my motherboard has a driver even on Windoze, and some programs don't work perfectly without it installed. Obviously optimised for Microsoft. I'm not currently using a graphics card, it died, just using the onboard. Still, Opera works better, and it's the browser that I use most, anyway.
The boot invariably demands my UID, and again if I want to install or change anything. Obviously a setting.

Dan, I did download 9.0something, tediously, but as I said, it didn't install, but suggests that I make a bootfloppy. "Old bios' need one." Wouldn't have thought of a 2.6 as old, myself.
I could, of course, BUY the latest disk.
Chris.