Windows ME Won't Allow Box To Shut Down

Like all/most boxes these days I guess, my box running Windows 98 would automatically shut down (even if I might briefly see the screen say, "It's safe to shutdown your pc"); since there is no on/off position (i.e. the button always springs back).

Well, I formatted the drive and installed Windows ME, but now I get the screen telling me it's safe to shutdown, but my box does not automatically shutdown (Problem 1). Although generally lazy, even I will lift my finger to press the "off" switch. When I do this, the box shuts down, but then it restarts (Problem 2).

To keep it off, I have been pressing the switch immediately after the first beep as the box is restarting. Later on, when I press the switch to turn on the box, I get Windows telling me that it has to run scandisk because I didn't shutdown properly.

Any ideas how to solve Problem 2, but better yet, to solve Problem 1?

I've no experience with ME, but it sounds like your software shutdown is faulty - perhaps you might even have a faulty power switch although I think thats idle speculation.

The only change to your system is the OS? you've not changed the PSU or cranked open the case for any other reasons?

The only change was the OS. I reformatted because I suspected some corrupt files, then I installed WinME.

What the heck, I'll ask about this too:
On a different machine running Win98, I either installed new hardware and/or software with opening the box and now when I say shutdown, I have to hit the ctrl button before it continues. (I found out when I was about to do Ctrl+Alt+Del), That box has a 2 position switch, so I have to turn it off after it says it's "safe".
The same thing on restart.
But, some software apps ( I think they were installation apps) have rebooted without me hitting Ctrl.

This isn't a regular Windows ME thing. Sadly, I'm running ME as well, and it shuts down itself. Infact, I never even see the "It's safe to shut off blah blah" screen. It just does it. So I'd say it has to be something other then the OS causing the problem.