Hi guys,
Thanks again for your replies... all the info is in the opening post... yeah, I should have made it shorter/perhaps more concise - it's quite longish... anyway:

-Soundblaster 16 *ISA slot*, model CT 4170
-Windows 2000 - SP3
-PIII-667, Asus CUV4X MoBo, ATI-Rage128Pro, Conexant Modem
-CT4170 appears in the HCL at Microsoft's site as FULLY COMPATIBLE with Win2k

tripinfool- tried the vibra NT driver - does not work under Win2k
ceebee- Asus_CUV4X MoBo>no onboard audio - Still need to look for it and disable in bios?...Where?

NEW INFO - I have in one of my computers another *ISA* card(not Soundblaster) and the same happens with it. Win2k recognizes the card - new hardware found - automatically installs the Windows WDM drivers and although everything seems fine(no conflicts reported) the sound does not work... I got to the conclusion that it's not a drivers problem... it must be some specific setting in the BIOS that should be changed in Win2k when working with ISA CARDS or maybe I'm doing something really stupid ( like letting the volume to zero or something alike)...
Where can I find info on STEP BY STEP troubleshoting - ISA+Win2k conflicts? Thanks...