I'm not so sure where I could even begin to debunk the nonsense being asserted in that post.
I particularly like the guy going on about what the rundll32 command for ProcessIdleTasks does, and hits so wide of the mark of what the command really does it's beyond comedic. ("That command essentially cleaned up and 'defragged' your Boot Sector, helping you achieve maxiumum boot speed")

Then again, I'd be wary of any "solution" that purports to fix a problem with a registry cleaner. The fact that your install is pretty much a clean install makes the likelihood that it is the cause rather low. Then again, if it's a clean install I imagine you haven't a lot to lose, either.
Yes, both in normal and safe-mode. What part of the registry contains the drivers to load? So I can find those three drivers.
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control contains system configuration settings.
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services contains driver and service configuration information.
Though I don't think mucking about there is a good idea...