hi guys
i have same problem, i think.
repetitive problem!
I installed Windows XP Professional, all works fine (SP1! have NOT installed
SP2!!).
after a few days, when i enter control panel, either from the My Computer
icon, OR from Start, Control Panel, the control panel window closes before
all icons are displayed.
it simply closes, just like the original post-er said.
if i re-install WinXp Pro again it is ok for a few days and then same
problem occurs.
I have added no additional software in between reinstall of WinXP Pro and
the problem re-occuring.
The machine has an AMD 1.3ghz processor, with 1gb ram and 240gb of hard disk
space, the system partition is 8gb, and is formatted Fat32 - as i use other
machines with older OS on my network which need to access this machine.
very strange and very frustrating.
Time to move to Linux i think, or back to Win2000, and return WinXp Pro to
Microsoft wrapped around a house brick

thanks for any help
Paul