Downgrade Nightmare....

Ok, while I'm trying to figure out the retrofit on my BP BOSS CNC,
Windows has gotten in the way (as usual).

Believe it or not, this is what I've been through.

I usually run Mac's, but I purchased a PC (HP) for Cad/Cam. It is a
800mhz Pavillion and came with Windows ME. All my buddies told me
that "ME" is junk, so I upgraded to Win2kpro.
Then I moved....
Since then, I have gotten into this retrofittting. I bought the CNC,
the Gecko's, and have demo's of various controller
software...including Master5 which I would like to try first.
I purchased a newer computer (1.5ghz Sony) so I could use the 800mhz
HP as the machine controller. The Sony runs XP.
Now M5 wont run on Win2k so I'm looking around for my Win ME discs
and I cannot find them since the move. I do however find Win 98, so I
install it. Well, it works, but Win 98 doesn't have the video adapter
drivers for the HP (win 2000 did) and I can only get 640X480 which is
awful when trying to see M5.
I really want to get the software up and running before continuing
with the retrofit, so now I'm in the position where I will have to go
out and buy Win ME for the drivers (which is crud otherwise).
Ok, so I'm ready to do this and Art posts that M5/XP/2000 is close at
hand.....at least that's how I understood it.
So what now? Do I go buy ME (which I already own), or wait for the
2000/XP version of Master5 (I don't actually know when this will be
available)?
My new computer is XP and doesn't like 2000 for networking (or 98
really) so I'd actually prefer to make the HP an XP machine.
<sigh>

What should I do?

Sean (who is frazzled with installing and re-re-installing OS's)