very confused now! changed boot sequence to boot from xp disk but it reset just as i was typing fixmbr which effectively means i can't even try to format and reinstall xp doh!
But then i tried to startup in safe mode and presto it seemed to boot ok and work for a while. I did a system restore back to the day i opened the box and it seemd fine but a lot of the mobo features (like sound and network controllers etc. ) wouldn't work without installing the drivers from the mobo disk. once i'd installed these i tried to run both company of heroes and oblivion and i started to get the the blips then reboots i got originally.
Does this indicate a fault on the mobo somewhere or a driver conflict? any ideas