8800 GS drivers

Question

Like many others I am suffering freezes and BSOD's whilst gaming. I have isolated the cause to the 8800 GS driver (although using wireless mouse/keyboard made it worse).
When I check what driver I have via the XP control panel/systems/device manager etc. it tells me I have a NVidia 8800 GS, version 6.14.11.6763, dated 1/24/2008.
When I use the Auto Check on the NVidia site it tells me that I have a 8800 GS and the current installed driver is version 167.63. As the last five numbers are the same as detailed in Windows, at least both checks are giving the same result. (I would not have been surprised if they were different!)
My first question is this. Where did this driver come from: It is not listed in Boot Camp 2.0 which I have installed (but not 2.1). Was it on the OS X installation disc or perhaps the Win XP SP3 disc?
I also used the Nvidia website to tell me what update I needed for my 167.63 driver. The recommendation was:
"Latest Geforce Release for Notebooks Version 179.28 - Release date 18 Dec 2008" . And of course the drivers included in that update are all "M" type including 8800 M GS
So my second question is: Why is NVidia recommending a Notebook update when it has identified my existing driver as a desk top version? I would have expected it to refer me to the Jan 8 2009 release of update 181.20 which included my 8800 GS!!
Confused from England!

Answer 1

Dealbata,
I am at work currently and dont have access to my Mac, but I found the imac's 8800 specs (cant remember where) and matched them to the specs of the 8800M GTS specs supplied by nvidia. I had also read that the iMacs use the notebook version of both CPUs and graphics cards because the of the lower power consumption and heat output. It is necessary to keep those both low due to the confined space of the imac.
Personally, when I update the drivers I use the drivers for the 8800GS (desktop version) because they are the newest drivers and are not Beta such as the notebook drivers are. They function great for me. ALWAYS REMEMBER TO SET A SYSTEM RESTORE POINT BEFORE UPDATING JUST IN CASE!!!! It is a little tricky to install the drivers and I am going off of memory here but here goes:
1. Download the newest drivers for the 8800GS
2. Extract to a folder where you will remember the location
3. Click on start, control panels, then system. Go to the hardware tab, and device manager. Once the window opens, double click on display, then nvidia 8800. Click on driver in the new window, then update driver button.
4. When windows wants to connect to windows update click no not this time. >click next, Then Click on Install from specific location. >click next. Then click choose specific location >click next.
5. in the next screen you should see the nvidia 8800gs in the list. Click have disk and navigate to the folder where you extracted the new driver you download.
6**Windows will give you a warning saying this driver might not be supported and may yield unwanted results, etc. Click ok and install the driver. Once the driver installs, you will need to restart.
7. After restarting the new driver will be installed. You can verify the new driver version as well.
Good Luck!