9 Beeps followed by ntvdm.exe error

Hi guys,

I've been trying to boot from a Linux distro for a while now and, where normally it'd boot right up - I'm now getting 9 beeps followed by XP loading with a "NTVDM.EXE" error message - totally bypassing the normal POST on screen display.

I reset the CMOS and started again but as soon as I tell the BIOS to boot from DVD the same thing happens... any ideas guys?

Thanks,

AKira.