uhm. i kind of have this weirder problem where like it starts up, then closes, but then there never is some kind of pop up. it's a problem and i'm pissed.

Hi, I've been having trouble with Limewire for over a week now. It starts up and shuts down sometimes within a few minutes and sometimes it stays on for a while and then crashes. I noticed when I run a file search, it crashes. I just updated my java to the newest update. My error report shows:

#
# An unexpected error has been detected by Java Runtime Environment:
#
# EXCEPTION_STACK_OVERFLOW (0xc00000fd) at pc=0x7c90e8c5, pid=516, tid=1360
#
# Java VM: Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (10.0-b19 mixed mode, sharing windows-x86)
# Problematic frame:
# C [ntdll.dll+0xe8c5]
#
# If you would like to submit a bug report, please visit:
# HotSpot Virtual Machine Error Reporting Page
# The crash happened outside the Java Virtual Machine in native code.
# See problematic frame for where to report the bug.
#
--------------- T H R E A D ---------------
Current thread (0x03573000): JavaThread "ManagedDownload" daemon [_thread_in_native, id=1360, stack(0x0ad70000,0x0ae70000)]
siginfo: ExceptionCode=0xc00000fd, ExceptionInformation=0x00000001 0x0ad70e98
Registers:
EAX=0x00000204, EBX=0x00000000, ECX=0x00000000, EDX=0x05c935bd
ESP=0x0ad70e9c, EBP=0x0ad710b0, ESI=0x0ad71100, EDI=0x00000017
EIP=0x7c90e8c5, EFLAGS=0x00010216
Top of Stack: (sp=0x0ad70e9c)
0x0ad70e9c: 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
0x0ad70eac: 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
0x0ad70ebc: 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
0x0ad70ecc: 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
0x0ad70edc: 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
0x0ad70eec: 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
0x0ad70efc: 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
0x0ad70f0c: 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
Instructions: (pc=0x7c90e8c5)
0x7c90e8b5: 00 50 8b 44 24 10 89 6c 24 10 8d 6c 24 10 2b e0
0x7c90e8c5: 53 56 57 8b 45 f8 89 65 e8 50 8b 45 fc c7 45 fc

Stack: [0x0ad70000,0x0ae70000], sp=0x0ad70e9c, free space=3k
Native frames: (J=compiled Java code, j=interpreted, Vv=VM code, C=native code)
C [ntdll.dll+0xe8c5]
C [USER32.dll+0x8dbc]
C [USER32.dll+0x182c4]
C [USER32.dll+0x22162]
C [spi.dll+0x53595]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
C [spi.dll+0x53c67]
...<more frames>...
Java frames: (J=compiled Java code, j=interpreted, Vv=VM code)
J sun.nio.ch.Net.connect(Ljava/io/FileDescriptor;Ljava/net/InetAddress;II)I
J sun.nio.ch.SocketChannelImpl.connect(Ljava/net/SocketAddressZ
J org.limewire.nio.AbstractNBSocket.connect(Ljava/net/SocketAddress;ILorg/limewire/nio/observer/ConnectObserverZ
v ~BufferBlob::Interpreter
J org.limewire.net.LimitedSocketController.connectPl ain(Ljava/net/InetSocketAddress;Lorg/limewire/nio/NBSocketFactory;Ljava/net/InetSocketAddress;ILorg/limewire/nio/observer/ConnectObserverLjava/net/Socket;
J org.limewire.net.SimpleSocketController.connect(Lj ava/net/InetSocketAddress;Lorg/limewire/nio/NBSocketFactory;Ljava/net/InetSocketAddress;ILorg/limewire/nio/observer/ConnectObserverLjava/net/Socket;
J org.limewire.net.SimpleSocketController.connect(Lo rg/limewire/nio/NBSocketFactory;Ljava/net/InetSocketAddress;Ljava/net/InetSocketAddress;ILorg/limewire/nio/observer/ConnectObserverLjava/net/Socket;
v ~BufferBlob::Interpreter
v ~BufferBlob::Interpreter
v ~BufferBlob::Interpreter
v ~BufferBlob::Interpreter
v ~BufferBlob::Interpreter
v ~BufferBlob::Interpreter
v ~BufferBlob::Interpreter
v ~BufferBlob::Interpreter
v ~BufferBlob::Interpreter
v ~BufferBlob::Interpreter
v ~BufferBlob::Interpreter
v ~BufferBlob::Interpreter
v ~BufferBlob::Interpreter
v ~BufferBlob::StubRoutines (1)
--------------- P R O C E S S ---------------
Java Threads: ( => current thread )
0x05f1b000 JavaThread "TCPConnectBack" daemon [_thread_blocked, id=3460, stack(0x0ae70000,0x0af70000)]
0x0e050400 JavaThread "UDPHostRanker" daemon [_thread_blocked, id=3416, stack(0x0ab70000,0x0ac70000)]
0x05ff3000 JavaThread "Message-Executor" daemon [_thread_blocked, id=872, stack(0x0b070000,0x0b170000)]
0x05ff3400 JavaThread "BlockingVF" daemon [_thread_blocked, id=2444, stack(0x0b810000,0x0b910000)]
0x0608b400 JavaThread "DiskPieceReader" daemon [_thread_blocked, id=3804, stack(0x0c230000,0x0c330000)]
0x0608a400 JavaThread "DiskPieceReader" daemon [_thread_blocked, id=3064, stack(0x0c130000,0x0c230000)]
0x060bc400 JavaThread "Thread-11" daemon [_thread_in_native, id=3624, stack(0x0c830000,0x0c930000)]
0x003d5400 JavaThread "DestroyJavaVM" [_thread_blocked, id=1048, stack(0x00030000,0x00130000)]
0x0344c400 JavaThread "JmDNS.RecordReaper" [_thread_blocked, id=836, stack(0x0d430000,0x0d530000)]
0x0346d000 JavaThread "JmDNS.SocketListener" [_thread_in_native, id=1680, stack(0x0c630000,0x0c730000)]
0x05fef800 JavaThread "HSQLDB Timer @9ac272" daemon [_thread_blocked, id=208, stack(0x0d230000,0x0d330000)]
0x03522000 JavaThread "RefQueueWorker@org.apache.http.impl.conn.tsccm.Con nPoolByRoute@18faa02" daemon [_thread_blocked, id=2200, stack(0x0cf30000,0x0d030000)]
0x05f16800 JavaThread "QueryUnicaster" daemon [_thread_blocked, id=2784, stack(0x0c530000,0x0c630000)]
0x03592c00 JavaThread "MulticastService" daemon [_thread_in_native, id=3636, stack(0x0bf30000,0x0c030000)]
0x02bbac00 JavaThread "QRPPropagator" daemon [_thread_blocked, id=1444, stack(0x0be30000,0x0bf30000)]
0x05f59400 JavaThread "ContentProcessor" daemon [_thread_blocked, id=2460, stack(0x0bd30000,0x0be30000)]
0x05f5a800 JavaThread "Thread-4" daemon [_thread_in_native, id=2416, stack(0x0b340000,0x0b440000)]
0x0617a800 JavaThread "Swing-Shell" daemon [_thread_blocked, id=3896, stack(0x0b170000,0x0b270000)]
=>0x03573000 JavaThread "ManagedDownload" daemon [_thread_in_native, id=1360, stack(0x0ad70000,0x0ae70000)]
0x0356b800 JavaThread "TimerQueue" daemon [_thread_blocked, id=492, stack(0x0ac70000,0x0ad70000)]
0x035ac400 JavaThread "Deadlock Detection Thread" daemon [_thread_blocked, id=3472, stack(0x06420000,0x06520000)]
0x03594c00 JavaThread "NIODispatcher" daemon [_thread_in_native, id=3516, stack(0x059f0000,0x05af0000)]
0x06039800 JavaThread "Timer-0" daemon [_thread_blocked, id=3640, stack(0x062e0000,0x063e0000)]
0x03510c00 JavaThread "AWT-EventQueue-0" [_thread_blocked, id=512, stack(0x05af0000,0x05bf0000)]
0x02c2b400 JavaThread "AWT-Windows" daemon [_thread_in_native, id=3740, stack(0x05890000,0x05990000)]
0x02c2a000 JavaThread "AWT-Shutdown" [_thread_blocked, id=3568, stack(0x05790000,0x05890000)]
0x02c29400 JavaThread "Java2D Disposer" daemon [_thread_blocked, id=768, stack(0x05690000,0x05790000)]
0x02b65c00 JavaThread "Low Memory Detector" daemon [_thread_blocked, id=576, stack(0x03230000,0x03330000)]
0x02b57c00 JavaThread "CompilerThread0" daemon [_thread_blocked, id=2836, stack(0x03130000,0x03230000)]
0x02b56800 JavaThread "Attach Listener" daemon [_thread_blocked, id=4040, stack(0x03030000,0x03130000)]
0x02b55c00 JavaThread "Signal Dispatcher" daemon [_thread_blocked, id=3820, stack(0x02f30000,0x03030000)]
0x02b51400 JavaThread "Finalizer" daemon [_thread_blocked, id=1096, stack(0x02e30000,0x02f30000)]
0x02b4d000 JavaThread "Reference Handler" daemon [_thread_blocked, id=3188, stack(0x02d30000,0x02e30000)]
Other Threads:
0x02b4bc00 VMThread [stack: 0x02c30000,0x02d30000] [id=1692]
0x02b67000 WatcherThread [stack: 0x03330000,0x03430000] [id=3496]
VM state:not at safepoint (normal execution)
VM Mutex/Monitor currently owned by a thread: None
Heap
def new generation total 4608K, used 752K [0x1e960000, 0x1ee60000, 0x1f330000)
eden space 4096K, 12% used [0x1e960000, 0x1e9dc9e0, 0x1ed60000)
from space 512K, 49% used [0x1ed60000, 0x1ed9f8f0, 0x1ede0000)
to space 512K, 0% used [0x1ede0000, 0x1ede0000, 0x1ee60000)
tenured generation total 61024K, used 46437K [0x1f330000, 0x22ec8000, 0x26960000)
the space 61024K, 76% used [0x1f330000, 0x22089710, 0x22089800, 0x22ec8000)
compacting perm gen total 23552K, used 23418K [0x26960000, 0x28060000, 0x2a960000)
the space 23552K, 99% used [0x26960000, 0x2803eb90, 0x2803ec00, 0x28060000)
ro space 8192K, 62% used [0x2a960000, 0x2ae62a28, 0x2ae62c00, 0x2b160000)
rw space 12288K, 52% used [0x2b160000, 0x2b7a86b8, 0x2b7a8800, 0x2bd60000)
Dynamic libraries:
0x00400000 - 0x00425000 C:\Program Files\LimeWire\LimeWire.exe
0x7c900000 - 0x7c9af000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\ntdll.dll
0x7c800000 - 0x7c8f6000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\kernel32.dll
0x7e410000 - 0x7e4a1000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\USER32.dll
0x77f10000 - 0x77f59000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\GDI32.dll
0x77dd0000 - 0x77e6b000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\ADVAPI32.dll
0x77e70000 - 0x77f02000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\RPCRT4.dll
0x77fe0000 - 0x77ff1000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\Secur32.dll
0x7c9c0000 - 0x7d1d7000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\SHELL32.dll
0x77c10000 - 0x77c68000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\msvcrt.dll
0x77f60000 - 0x77fd6000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\SHLWAPI.dll
0x76390000 - 0x763ad000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\IMM32.DLL
0x773d0000 - 0x774d3000 C:\WINDOWS\WinSxS\x86_Microsoft.Windows.Common-Controls_6595b64144ccf1df_6.0.2600.5512_x-ww_35d4ce83\comctl32.dll
0x5d090000 - 0x5d12a000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\comctl32.dll
0x6d7c0000 - 0x6da10000 C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_05\bin\client\jvm.dll
0x76b40000 - 0x76b6d000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\WINMM.dll
0x7c340000 - 0x7c396000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\MSVCR71.dll
0x6d270000 - 0x6d278000 C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_05\bin\hpi.dll
0x76bf0000 - 0x76bfb000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\PSAPI.DLL
0x6d770000 - 0x6d77c000 C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_05\bin\verify.dll
0x6d310000 - 0x6d32f000 C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_05\bin\java.dll
0x6d7b0000 - 0x6d7bf000 C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_05\bin\zip.dll
0x6d000000 - 0x6d12e000 C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_05\bin\awt.dll
0x73000000 - 0x73026000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\WINSPOOL.DRV
0x774e0000 - 0x7761d000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\ole32.dll
0x5ad70000 - 0x5ada8000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\uxtheme.dll
0x73760000 - 0x737ab000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\ddraw.dll
0x73bc0000 - 0x73bc6000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\DCIMAN32.dll
0x10000000 - 0x10006000 C:\DOCUME~1\HP_Owner\LOCALS~1\Temp\IadHide5.dll
0x74720000 - 0x7476c000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\MSCTF.dll
0x755c0000 - 0x755ee000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\msctfime.ime
0x6d210000 - 0x6d263000 C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_05\bin\fontmanager.dll
0x05c00000 - 0x05c17000 C:\Program Files\LimeWire\lib\SystemUtilities.dll
0x77120000 - 0x771ab000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\OLEAUT32.dll
0x6d570000 - 0x6d583000 C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_05\bin\net.dll
0x71ab0000 - 0x71ac7000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\WS2_32.dll
0x71aa0000 - 0x71aa8000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\WS2HELP.dll
0x05c40000 - 0x05ca6000 C:\Program Files\Ashampoo\Ashampoo FireWall\spi.dll
0x71a50000 - 0x71a8f000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\mswsock.dll
0x662b0000 - 0x66308000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\hnetcfg.dll
0x71a90000 - 0x71a98000 C:\WINDOWS\System32\wshtcpip.dll
0x68000000 - 0x68036000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\rsaenh.dll
0x769c0000 - 0x76a74000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\USERENV.dll
0x5b860000 - 0x5b8b5000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\netapi32.dll
0x76f20000 - 0x76f47000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\DNSAPI.dll
0x76fb0000 - 0x76fb8000 C:\WINDOWS\System32\winrnr.dll
0x76f60000 - 0x76f8c000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\WLDAP32.dll
0x16080000 - 0x160a5000 C:\Program Files\Bonjour\mdnsNSP.dll
0x76d60000 - 0x76d79000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\Iphlpapi.dll
0x76fc0000 - 0x76fc6000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\rasadhlp.dll
0x6d590000 - 0x6d599000 C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_05\bin\nio.dll
0x068f0000 - 0x068fb000 C:\Program Files\LimeWire\lib\tray.dll
0x06a10000 - 0x06a2e000 C:\Program Files\LimeWire\lib\jdic.dll
0x78130000 - 0x78257000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\urlmon.dll
0x78000000 - 0x78045000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\iertutil.dll
0x76fd0000 - 0x7704f000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\CLBCATQ.DLL
0x77050000 - 0x77115000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\COMRes.dll
0x77c00000 - 0x77c08000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\VERSION.dll
0x77920000 - 0x77a13000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\SETUPAPI.dll
0x77b40000 - 0x77b62000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\appHelp.dll
0x77a20000 - 0x77a74000 C:\WINDOWS\System32\cscui.dll
0x76600000 - 0x7661d000 C:\WINDOWS\System32\CSCDLL.dll
0x0b440000 - 0x0b705000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\xpsp2res.dll
0x6d340000 - 0x6d346000 C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_05\bin\jawt.dll
0x0b2b0000 - 0x0b2bb000 C:\PROGRA~1\MYWEBS~1\bar\1.bin\mwsoestb.dll
0x605d0000 - 0x605d9000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\mslbui.dll
0x6d180000 - 0x6d1a3000 C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_05\bin\dcpr.dll
0x6d750000 - 0x6d758000 C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_05\bin\sunmscapi.dll
0x77a80000 - 0x77b15000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\CRYPT32.dll
0x77b20000 - 0x77b32000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\MSASN1.dll
0x325c0000 - 0x325d2000 C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\msohev.dll
0x36f10000 - 0x36f1d000 C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\OFFICE11\MSOXEV.DLL
0x78050000 - 0x78120000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\WININET.dll
0x06530000 - 0x06539000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\Normaliz.dll
0x76d40000 - 0x76d58000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\MPRAPI.dll
0x77cc0000 - 0x77cf2000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\ACTIVEDS.dll
0x76e10000 - 0x76e35000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\adsldpc.dll
0x76b20000 - 0x76b31000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\ATL.DLL
0x76e80000 - 0x76e8e000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\rtutils.dll
0x71bf0000 - 0x71c03000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\SAMLIB.dll
0x6d4c0000 - 0x6d4c9000 C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_05\bin\management.dll
0x73080000 - 0x7309d000 C:\WINDOWS\system32\rsvpsp.dll
VM Arguments:
jvm_args: -Xms32m -Xmx128m -Dorg.apache.commons.logging.Log=org.apache.commons .logging.impl.NoOpLog -Djava.net.preferIPv6Addresses=false -Djava.net.preferIPv4Stack=true -ea -Djava.library.path=lib
java_command: lib\LimeWire.jar
Launcher Type: generic
Environment Variables:
CLASSPATH=.;C:\Program Files\Java\j2re1.4.2_03\lib\ext\QTJava.zip
PATH=C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_05\bin;C:\WINDOWS\system32;C:\ WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\System32\Wbem;c:\Python22;C:\Pr ogram Files\PC-Doctor for Windows\services;C:\Program Files\QuickTime\QTSystem\;;C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\MU VEET~1\030625
USERNAME=HP_Owner
OS=Windows_NT
PROCESSOR_IDENTIFIER=x86 Family 6 Model 10 Stepping 0, AuthenticAMD

--------------- S Y S T E M ---------------
OS: Windows XP Build 2600 Service Pack 3
CPU:total 1 (1 cores per cpu, 1 threads per core) family 6 model 10 stepping 0, cmov, cx8, fxsr, mmx, sse, mmxext, 3dnow, 3dnowext
Memory: 4k page, physical 458224k(74384k free), swap 1082084k(575828k free)
vm_info: Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (10.0-b19) for windows-x86 JRE (1.6.0_05-b13), built on Feb 22 2008 01:16:53 by "java_re" with MS VC++ 7.1
time: Wed Oct 01 18:09:42 2008
elapsed time: 2164 seconds

anyone have an idea why it crashes?

Unless you have picked up a virus which has corrupted operations, I'd suggest removing your Java versions & replacing with the most recent one. Use the OFFLINE installer which is about a 15 MB download; Download Java software from Sun Microsystems



BTW before re-installing Java, a good idea to run this utility to clean up the registry: Microsoft Windows Install Clean Up. An alternative is Crap Cleaner

does this include removing Java Runtime Environment or just the java updates?

Removing all versions via the add/remove programs control panel. You will need to have downloaded the suggested files before you do this, then remove Java & then re-install.

I just tried everything you said and still no luck, should I uninstall and reinstall limewire?

That's an idea yes. I have heard LW tech sometimes suggest using add/remove control panel to remove LW which is odd because it doesn't use that type of installer. (Usually use the Start menu -> All Programs -> LW -> Uninstall option.) But I would clean registry after uninstalling. Both the above registry cleaners are good.

I did get the impression looking at the above bug report the error was in Java, something not correct about its installation, but if you have reinstalled it & did a registry clean in between then perhaps the problem was the LW installation. Make sure you delete all files related to LW on the computer (except for offline installer.) Get offline LW installer here http://www9.limewire.com/download/LimeWireWin-full.exe which is safer than the normal installer.

can I keep incomplete music/video files before I uninstall, like save them to my desktop and then uninstall the rest

Yes ... move the entire folder .. important to keep the download.dat & download.bak files within that folder, else the incomplete files will not mean anything to the new limewire. Those are the download history files.

However, and this is VERY IMPORTANT, install the new LW, then if it opens ok, close it. Then replace the new incomplete folder with the old one. This MUST be done whilst LW is closed, else the download history files will be zeroed. Make a back up of those download.dat & .bak files just in case.