i have the same problems too sometimes. the icon will display in the task bar and it will continually blink, but squeezecenter won't start. i have to close it and then reopen it before it will work. it's only happened a couple of times, but it always works on the second start. i'm using squeezecenter 7.0. unfortunately, i have no suggestions as to how to get it start right the first time every time.
kevin t