When LW was opening properly, were you using Java 1.6.0_02?? Quite a few people had the same problem with update 1...if you've recently updated your Java, just try this earlier version instead. Use the JRE offline installer & remove your current Java version before you install this one.
Archive: Download Java 2 Platform Standard Edition (J2SE) 5.0 Update 11

If that Java version doesn't help, it's easy enough to reinstall Java 6 update 2

Next thing to try: If that doesn't help, delete LW's preferences folder when LW's properly closed. See point 3 here & also point 2 if you've used older versions of LW in the past (there could be a folder in either location).
Fixes for LimeWire
This will kill all of your settings within options, you'll have to go back through afterwards & reset things. If you're not sure of your settings, go through LW's tools > options & write them all down, so that you can reset things later.

Otherwise, try changing compatibility to Win 2000 or NT (that's point 5 in the 'fixes' thread).