Hallo Adrienne:

[If anyone has any suggestions regarding clients which seem to cause the least number of problems with Windows ME]

There are too many good servents (client+server) out there, so it is very hard to suggest one to you. I think the best advice I could give you is this: Download many and test them all to find out which one fits your needs best - not only in stability and performance, but also one with an user interface you will like.

In terms of stability I would suggest you use one of the 'bigger' clients like Limewire or Bearshare*, whose forums are well inhabited too, so that it will be easier for you to gather help if needed.
Have a look also on Gnucleus (which is my personal favourite) or Phex - both are clients under development with very promising future, but maybe not the right ones for beginners. Take also a look on Gnotella - a small client with some good features.

The chosing of a servent is highly subjective and personal, though. So do not be disappointed if you hear 'this is best' - 'that is best' from other people. As said, get some, test some, which suits you best you keep.

[My system has 128mb ram, 20 gig hard drive, 56k dial-up modem.]
This is truly enough for gnutelling. The only bottleneck ( a little :) is the modem. So I suggest you limit the number of connects to 3 maximum - the more you connect, the more bandwidth is eaten. The programs you are using are ok. An antivirus is a must, a firewall is good - keep them.

Yes, the messages here are really a little brisk sometimes, esp. in Bearshare forum. You will recognize fast, I think, which people like to flame and which ones do not. This can not be mended, I fear, only ignored. But you will never get a brisk answer from me ;), and feel free to ask again if you have more questions. So:
good gnutelling, and many

Greetings........



*Bearshare: There are some 'privacy' and 'adware' issues. It is not my point here to discuss them. Besides these issues it is a very stable, reliable, good-written client which is surely worth a try. In v2.2.4 there is also the possibility to NOT install the bundled by-products.