Try this program. Not only does is allow you to modify the system colours, it gives you finer control and allows you to change colours that the standard control-panel applet doesn't. Plus it comes with a bunch of cool schemes.
heres the http://http://jotenet.jaceherring.com/
hmm, they seem to be down for the moment, but you can get it from Tucows: http://www.tucows.com
Hope this helps.
PS: I've never had a crash due to windowblinds. Could be because I'm running W2K..
Just my 2 cents.
