I am having a very similar problem. I just did a reinstall of Win 2k, build 2195, SP4 to solve some issues with upgrading DVD copy. My system is now seriously hosed, giving me the blue screen of death and the identical message "dxapi.sys could not find" blah blah blah. I can boot up under safe mode, but I can't find any mystery drivers to uninstall. I'm not sure what a mystery driver looks or smells like. I did delete one that had a ? next to it, with no benefit.
I am having issues with Roxio 5 trying to install itself over and over. Funny thing, I don't ever remember installing it in the first place! I can't find the original discs, the uninstaller wants them, and it is frustrating me. What is Roxio anyway?
My hardware is amazingly similar-you must read the same reviews.
AMD 1.53, Epox 8k7A+, RAID level 0, two 60 Gb maxtors, ATI 9600 AIW, Plextor 708a DVD. This thing was rock-solid until I caught the downloader.gk virus, and hasn't been the same since. I got rid of the virus, but maybe I threw the baby out with the bathwater. Or Norton did.
Did I mention that booting under safe mode with networking won't give me internet access? I have to use my wifes computer and burn files onto CDs to get access to drivers etc. Stupid Roxio, whatever it is.
HEEEEEEEEELP!
