First off, I've now got sound , thanks to your advice(s).
I'm still running WIN ME on some of my caddied hard drives. My old software works with it and is simple enough not to need constant use (I forget how the complex stuff works all too easily). I don't need a Ninja PC and have, in fact, stocked up with spare Win Me-capable computers at stupidly low cost from eBay etc.
I found an old set of Win XP service packs on a CD I made yonks ago. I started again from scratch and, instead of downloading SP2 and 3 from the Web, I used the CD. The sound driver on the motherboard CD still didn't work, so I downloaded V3.0 from the Web.
I now have a Win XP computer with no glitches and sound. Problem is, I think it may be running slower with XP, compared to ME, but I'm not certain, yet. Unfortunately, I need XP because a lot of internet stuff won't now run with ME (sob!).
Thanks, guys and gals, for all your superb help! 