XPS 8700 - driver updates causing problems

I've been having problems with my audio (only 2 of my 5 speakers working) so i updated the drivers, as seems to be the only response dell gives me to fix anything. Updated Realtek audio, still only 2 speakers work, and now I've lost the Maxx Audio functionality, which was the only way I think I was able to have 5.1 in the first place (out of the box it worked fine). So now I don't have maxx audio or all my speakers working. (I tried rolling back the driver, still only 2 speakers would ever work despite the 'maxx360' option being checked. when UAC would pop up it would suddenly make all 5 speakers work for a second, and random actions i.e. opening a program would kick in the 5 speakers & make them work but only for a moment - tells me 5.1 CAN work but for some reason it just doesnt?)

Also updated my nvidia driver and for some reason my graphics look alot worse? (Haven't tested too much 3d as of yet but simple image quality on websites & my harddrive is worse)

Is there any way to get whatever oem stuff came with my computer while not having painfully outdated drivers? Also is there anyway for me to get full speakers working & graphics back to normal without reinstalling windows? (which stops at 98% for me and says it can't find cmd.exe while restarting...yes I've tried resetting my pc a few times still can't get anything to work like when I first got it. I don't think I could have 'broken' it after less than 2 months, and if updating the drivers 'breaks' it then lol wut).

Any reason why updating drivers could make it worse? And can I get whatever oem 'enhancements' my computer came with, after the fact.

thanks in advance if you can make heads or tails of this rant, i havent had any luck with any other kind of technical support so i came here.. starting to regret this computer