No and Yes are the answers respectively.

Well, there ARE programs that claim to do what you want for #1, but the general consensus seems to be that they're more hassle than they're worth, so probably better to just suck it up and do it manually.

As for #2, there is a long standing bug in XP where some of the power settings occasionally don't stick. A quick fix is often to just change the setting to something else, hit apply, then change it back to whatever you wanted. Most often this involves settings like the screensaver timeout period or putting the display into power save mode after the screensaver has been on for X minutes. So since that's quick, easy, and free you should probably try that first. If it doesn't work, then when you install XP, if you format the drive beforehand, you will need to provide some kind of proof of a qualifying upgrade product, such as your Win98 or Me (they were two different versions) install disc. If you don't have one of those, then you're SOL, and will have to try and find one of the OEM copies of XP still for sale on ebay and hope you don't get ripped off with a counterfeit.

If you do decide to go ahead and reinstall Windows, do remember to make all the necessary preparations beforehand.