This is a known problem with WinMe. You are not alone. I have a bran new 8100, and have the same problem with WinMe, not with Win2000pro.

David W

I have had this problem with a new dimension 4100 866 with windows me for a couple
of weeks. It it a very complex matter. They may first say that it is caused by AOL or
Norton Antivirus, but mine was not.
My problem is a driver devldr16.exe related to the soundblaster sound card installed
by Dell, that continued to run preventing a clean shutdown. I learned that you can't
disenable it because it keeps reloading, and windows won't let you remove this driver,
and a download from creative did not correct it. After much work, the conclusion is that
no one knows how to fix it. From the posts here, a lot of people are having similar
problems. Call dell tech support and push for a resolution. I have spent a couple
difficult weeks on mine, contacting dell, aol, norton, and microsoft.