Hitting F5 or holding it down as Windows loads should put you in safe mode, and IIRC F8 brings up a boot menu. The problem with removing drivers in normal mode is that at least some of the files will be in use, so Windows will not let you delete them. Installing generic drivers and rebooting would do the same thing as booting into safe mode, just a bit more involved.
I don't know if DirectX is corrupt or if there is just a conflict with something else. Apparently only some of the functions cause a problem, which Morrowind does not use.
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />
