Display Issue..

I have a friend that can not access his display properties.
He is the Admin for his computer.
NOTE: He has XP Home so gpedit is not an option.
When he clicks on properties from the desktop after right click,
NOTHING happens.
If he goes to Start/Control Panel/ Appearance and Themes and chooses any
of the options, Nothing happens at all.
You can see that his computer thinks for a second, then no response.
Is there a way or is there something that needs to be enabled to have this function working again??
Thanks for any help in advance...