new AV8, windows won't boot

I switched out my old mobo for an Abit AV8, everything is hooked up right, I can access bios and everything.
Every time I try to boot to Windows, I get a very quick BSOD and it reboots. If I try safe mode, I get a long list of files that the system cannot find, and I have no choice but to reboot. I've tried repairing my boot sector with the recovery console, and even reinstalled windows (NOT clean install, since I hate to lose data). Even after reinstalling I get the same problem.
I do NOT want to format.

Any suggestions?

I have another harddrive, so I could hook mine up as slave and get my precious data off of it, but I hate to go through a format, even though I know it's the best thing...Ugh.

Clear the cmos?

If that didnt work I would format and start over.

^^Thanks for the reply...I cleared the CMOS, but, of course, all that did was reset my bios.

I formatted and installed WinXP w/SP2 and HATE IT!

*looking for my SP1 disc...*