So there is no good answer here, except for hardware manufacturers to continue to support drivers for newer machines with XP installed.
(dayglored -- not trying to play devil's advocate here; just trying to understand the problems/solutions to this issue. If I buy a new computer with Vista, wipe the hard drive, install XP and continue to use existing XP-compatible hardware, I should be o.k. It's only the newer gear that's affected if a manufacturer is stupid enough to not provide a driver for the most popular operating system currently in use. Definitely buyer beware.)
You’re still wrong. If you buy a new machine with Vista, wipe the hard drive, and install XP, you’re still screwed unless the computer maker includes XP drivers for the new computer or the drivers are on the XP disk (good luck with that idea).
New machines are starting to come only with Vista installed.
However, if you buy a new Mac, you can slick the hard drive, install Windows XP, use the APPLE-SUPPLIED DRIVERS FOR XP, and use it as a Windows XP machine and NEVER have to see Mac OS X. (As much of a pity as that would be.)
You're right about peripherals.
But watch out for customized Vista-only notebook video and audio. Vista-only video and audio are becoming commonplace in laptops. You could easily find yourself working with a blind, deaf, and dumb machine, unless XP drivers exist for the highly-customized laptop hardware.