Problems with Windows ME

[PatD]

A relative has given me a P.C. for my kids. It is running Windows Me which I have not used before. When I start it up all I get is a desktop background photo of the previous owners. No taskbar or desktop icons. I have tried starting in safe mode with the same result. The only thing I can access is the task manager. The previous owner did not have the startup disk to give me. Is there anything I can try or am I wasting my time? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Alan]

when the machine hangs, have a look at the hard drive light, if it is staying lit then first thoughts are that windows is corrupted or you have bad sectors on the hard drive. In both cases I would recommend formatting the hard drive and installing windows again.
If the light goes out, have you got a mouse pointer?