Also, Since you are still stuck in version 1.04, which was the first public release version and folks did not start releasing addons and islands and such until after the updated versions such as 1.06 or better, then you may never find any addons or islands that are configured properly for your verison.
With all of the problems that you have been experiencing in both OFP and Arma, I would feel safe in commenting that if you truly enjoy the games, it would be well worth your money to purchase the original content. You may be able to find a deal on amazon.com. If you could come up with a mailing address. Then the games will become far better than what your experiencing and way more enjoyable.
I'm sorry we can't be much more help to you.