Finally manage to get new one installed (dunno how, but I think it has to do with me opening any log i can find in the installer and WATCHING it install). Now the dropdown menus don't seem to wanna open. I click on menu, get the whirly 'wait/working' cursor for about a minute, then it stops, no menu. At least in the pinstripes theme, where the menus are on the OsX menu bar instead of on the LW browser.

But even so, I can't change skins w/out using menu command key combos, many of which I never bothered to learn. Not only that, ever since installation, I can't seem to open menus in several OTHER programs! PictureViewer and GarageBand so far! WHAT is that?! Solutions? Theories? Please?

'Some' skins require a re-opening of LW I think (not all) before they will take effect. Or problems may disappear after re-opening. Are you using the media player at the time you attempt to do this?

How much ram do you have & which OSX version?

Well, I've had this problem for about a week, and I've tried everything under the sun: restarting LW, rebooting machine, reinstalling LW, repairing permissions...

RAM: 640 MB (I think, it's a five-year-old G4)
OSX: 10.2.8

Then try deleting the limewire preferences folder whilst LW is closed. Found here: /Users/your_username/Library/Preferences/LimeWire
But make a note of all your preferences settings before you do this b/c you'll need to reset them next time you re-open LW.

Nothing wrong with the older macs. Mine's not new & is a G4 Quicksilver.