I've been struggling with this same type of problem. I have carefully followed all the advice here and still can only get the Limewire flash screen.

I have gone to C:/Documents and Settings/my name/ and tried to create a new folder named .limewire it will not let me. It says "you must type a file name." It will not allow a folder name to begin with a period. Limewire cannot create the folder either.

I have Limewire PRO installed on two other computers on this same network. They work perfectly. Is this a problem with XP Media Center Edition?

You don't need to create the preferences folder, that happens automatically. If you're using LW 4.9.34 or later, the default location for the preferences folder is C:\Documents and Settings\your name\Application Data\LimeWire (this folder's hidden by default).

C:\Documents and Settings\your name\.limewire was the location of the preferences folder for LW versions 4.9.33 & older

Try deleting your preferences folder when LW's properly closed. See point 3 below & also point 2 if you've used much older versions of LW in the past.
Fixes for LimeWire

If that doesn't help, reinstall Java & use the JRE offlilne installer for this version. Remove your current Java version before you install this other one!
Java SE Downloads - Previous Release - JDK 5

If you're still stuck then change compatibility (point 5 in the 'fixes' thread).

Thanks,

I went back through all the steps and reinstallation for the third time and it's working now. I must have missed something before because I was getting an error that said that .limewire couldn't be created.

Thanks for the help.