Should i run xp or vista 32bit

If you have a copy of Vista already then go for it.

But i only have 2gigs of ram and it takes like 700 ram+ in process tab when im not running games and only running aim and firefox

Vista is really good about using RAM. And yes it does use more at idle but thats because its preloading software. 2 GB is more than enough to run Vista smoothly.

Hard Drives and cd rom drives don't need special drivers.

Yea i know but on xp its using 2001 drivers which are hella old and vista uses newer ones i think 2007 i believe. So should i just stick with xp or go with vista once again.

edit: oops didnt see you already has xp and had issues /end edit
I would personally go with XP and wait for windows 7 retail then go anywhere

Those are just the default drivers that are built in. If you like XP then stick with it. If its giving you problems and you have a copy of Vista laying around, I would try it out.

Sata Drivers? I've loaded XP on 100's of systems and never once had to load sata drivers.

Your config should do better with XP. The age of the drivers does not explain your symptoms. As was already kind of stated.

This rush to newer drivers is a little out of control. Driver updates usually address issues, as such to update just to update without issue is at best useless at worst can create issues.

One recent example (today) Empire Total War recent NVidia drivers have issues because the updates where not available for testing prior to game release. Example of older being better.

If you run Vista turn of Aero and you should be fine or Home Basic should be fine with 2GB RAM. That said even Premium should work fine but the purists want 3GB's for improved performance.

I would stick with XP and try and figure out what is really going on.

Edit: Why do you want your RAM to not be used? Saving it for a rainy day. 700MB's of 2GB's does not seem to be an issue to me.

i think il stick to xp since it tends to run faster. I have a 80gig partition duno what to run i think windows 7 beta or linux.

Drive issues and OS lock ups... do I understan you correctly?
If I am, it sounds more like a PS with a low rail!

XP Definitely.
32-Bit XP or 64-Bit Vista