Problem accessing registry then reboot w

I have a new system here that comes up with a message saying that it is having trouble accessing the registry and then reboots with an old version of the registry. Here is the exact message:

Windows encountered an error accessing the system registry. Windows will restart and repair the system registry for you.

Specs:

– PIII, ASUS MB w/ Via Chipset
– Matrox G400 Video
– SB 128 Live Sound Card
– Maxtor 30GB Hard Drive (Primary/Master)
– LS-120 Drive (Primary/Slave)
– AOPEN 50X CD-ROM (Secondary/Master)
– DVD (Secondary/Slave)
– Win98 2nd Ed.

Any ideas?