There's always Phex but it's not as intuitive to use for new users. It takes a little to get used to. But does have certain advantages of LW.

As for your problem, hmm not sure if I fully understand it, but you could try deleting your LW Preferences folder whilst LW is closed; instructions here: 3 in Fixes for Limewire[/url] (sample image included at bottom of page.)

Not sure if this will confuse you, but check Filtering file types??? How to get more options for filtering!!!?