restarts at XP splash screen - help

[petrefax]

i have the following machine

MSI k8T Neo
WD Caviar 1600 SATA
2 x 512mb Crucial DDR400
sapphire radeon 9800 pro
liteon CD/DVD combo
soundlaster of some description

the machine starts up & gets to the "windows did not start properly" screen where you can select safe mode, last known good logon etc, but whatever option i select it gets as far as the XP splash screen then restarts

i've swapped the RAM around & tried a different stick cos i've heard the board can be a bit fussy, but no joy there

any suggestions gratefully received.

[Lee H]

Are you overclocking ?

This can occur if you are using the on-board sata such as Silicon Image ( AND OTHERS ) and raise the FSB past a certain ceiling which then causes the data read from the discs to be read incorrectly and thus windows doesn't load.

[Dougal]

I sometimes get the same problem. Just disable the SI controller should get round this or does it happen with the VIA VT8237 too?

[unrealrocks]

Have you run memtest86?

Was the installation of windows done with the current setup or have things been upgraded?

Did it work with this configuration before and suddenly started going wrong?

It does sound like something like a memory problem but could be all sorts, if its just started occuring it could be the hard-drive.

[petrefax]

thanks for the responses fellas

a few answers to your questions - not overclocking at all, running at stock speeds

problem happens with the VIA drivers

was working OK, no major upgrades as far as i know, just stopped working one day (according to its owner)

will be having another look at lunchtrime, if i get any more info i'll post it, the help is much appreciated!