Why won't this code work?

Question

All I want to do is resize the select panel to the same size as east panel. Why won't it work?
Space.java_____________________________________________
import javax.sound.sampled.*;
import java.awt.*;
import javax.sound.midi.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.util.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.io.*;
public class Space extends JFrame implements ActionListener, Runnable{
     //Sound
     Sequence currentSound;
     Sequencer player;
     Thread soundCheck;
     boolean check = true;
     public void start(){
          soundCheck = new Thread();
          soundCheck.start();
     public void run(){
          try{
               File bgsound = new File("Sounds" + File.separator + "Space.mid");
               currentSound = MidiSystem.getSequence(bgsound);
               player = MidiSystem.getSequencer();
               player.open();
               player.setSequence(currentSound);
               player.start();
               checkSound();
          } catch (Exception exc){}
     public void checkSound(){
          while(check){
               if(!player.isRunning()){
                 run();
               try{
                    soundCheck.sleep((player.getMicrosecondLength() / 1000)-player.getMicrosecondPosition()); // sleep for the length of the track
               }catch (InterruptedException IE){}
     //Screen Variables:
     Dimension SCREEN = Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getScreenSize();
     final int SCREENWIDTH = SCREEN.width;
     final int SCREENHEIGHT = SCREEN.height;
     //Panels:
     JPanel select, main, north, south, east;
    //Buttons:
     JButton instructB, cheatB, playB, exit, about;
     //Labels:
     JLabel open, cheat1, cheat2, cheatInstruct, i1, i2 , i3, aboutLabel;
     //The container and frame:
     static Space jframe;
     Container content;
     //The Constructor:
     public Space(){
          super("Space");
          //set  container attributes:
          content = getContentPane();
          content.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
          //init panels:
          main   = new JPanel();
          select = new JPanel();
          north  = new JPanel();
          east   = new JPanel();
          south  = new JPanel();
          //set panel attributes:
          select.setLayout(new GridLayout(3,0,10,10));     
          select.setBackground(Color.black);
          main.setBackground(Color.black);
          north.setBackground(Color.black);
          //add panels:
          content.add("West", select);
          content.add("Center", main);
          content.add("North", north);
          content.add("East", east);
          //Image Icons:
          Icon exit1 = new ImageIcon("Images" + File.separator + "exit1.gif");
          Icon exit2 = new ImageIcon("Images" + File.separator + "exit2.gif");
          Icon about1 = new ImageIcon("Images" + File.separator + "about1.gif");
          Icon about2 = new ImageIcon("Images" + File.separator + "about2.gif");
          //init buttons, add their listeners, and set their attributes:
          instructB = new JButton("Instructions", new ImageIcon("Images" + File.separator + "ship.gif"));
          instructB.setContentAreaFilled(false);
          instructB.setForeground(Color.yellow);
          instructB.addActionListener(this);
          select.add(instructB);
          cheatB = new JButton("Cheats", new ImageIcon("Images" + File.separator + "cheat.gif"));
          cheatB.setContentAreaFilled(false);
          cheatB.setForeground(Color.yellow);
          cheatB.addActionListener(this);
          select.add(cheatB);
          playB = new JButton("Play", new ImageIcon("Images" + File.separator + "ship2.gif"));
          playB.setContentAreaFilled(false);
          playB.setForeground(Color.yellow);
          playB.addActionListener(this);
          select.add(playB);          
          exit = new JButton();
          exit.setRolloverEnabled(true);
          exit.setIcon(exit1);
          exit.setRolloverIcon(exit2);
          exit.setBorderPainted(false);
          exit.setContentAreaFilled(false);
          exit.addActionListener(this);
          north.add(exit);
          about = new JButton();
          about.setRolloverEnabled(true);
          about.setIcon(about1);
          about.setRolloverIcon(about2);
          about.setBorderPainted(false);
          about.setContentAreaFilled(false);
          about.addActionListener(this);
         north.add(about);
         //Labels:
         open = new JLabel("", new ImageIcon("Images" + File.separator + "open.gif"), JLabel.CENTER);
          main.add(open);
          cheat1 = new JLabel("<html><h1>tport</h1></html>");
          cheat1.setForeground(Color.red);
          cheat2 = new JLabel("<html><h1>zap</h1></html>");
          cheat2.setForeground(Color.green);
          cheatInstruct = new JLabel("<html><h1>Type a cheat at any time during a game, and press the \"Enter\" key.</html></h1>");
          cheatInstruct.setForeground(Color.blue);     
          i1 = new JLabel("<html><h1>The arrow keys move your ship.</h1></html>");
          i1.setForeground(Color.red);
          i2 = new JLabel("<html><h1>The space-bar fires the gun.</h1></html>");
          i2.setForeground(Color.green);
          i3 = new JLabel("<html><h1>The red circles give upgrades.</html></h1>");
          i3.setForeground(Color.blue);
          aboutLabel    = new JLabel("", new ImageIcon("Images" + File.separator + "aboutImage.gif"), JLabel.CENTER);
          //centerPanel();     
     private void centerPanel(final int width, final int height){
          try{
               Runnable setPanelSize = new Runnable(){
                    public void run(){
                         east.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(width, height));                    
               SwingUtilities.invokeAndWait(setPanelSize);
          } catch (Exception e){}
     public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e){
          //if the play button was pressed do:
          if(e.getSource() == playB){
              //do something
         //else if the cheat button was pressed do:
          else if(e.getSource() == cheatB){
               //remove and add components
               main.removeAll();
               main.setLayout(new GridLayout(3,0,0,0));
               main.add(cheat1);
               main.add(cheat2);
               main.add(cheatInstruct);
               main.repaint();
               main.validate();          
          else if(e.getSource() == instructB){
               //remove and add components
               main.removeAll();
               main.setLayout(new GridLayout(3,0,0,0));
               main.add(i1);
               main.add(i2);
               main.add(i3);
               main.repaint();
               main.validate();          
          else if(e.getSource() == exit){
               jframe.setVisible(false);
               showCredits();          
          else if(e.getSource() == about){
               main.removeAll();
               main.setLayout(new FlowLayout());
               main.add(aboutLabel);                         
               main.repaint();
               main.validate();
     public void showCredits(){
          try{
               String[] args = {};
               Credits.main(args);
          }catch (Exception e){}
     public static void main(String args[]){
          jframe = new Space();
          jframe.setUndecorated(true);
          jframe.setBounds(0, 0, jframe.SCREENWIDTH, jframe.SCREENHEIGHT);
          jframe.setVisible(true);
        jframe.show();     
        jframe.setResizable(false);
           jframe.setDefaultCloseOperation(EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
         jframe.centerPanel(jframe.select.getWidth(), jframe.select.getHeight());
         jframe.run(); //start music
} 

Answer 1

The reason it wasn't working was because you were calling the method after you had set the frame visible, so you saw no change. On top of that, jframe.select.getWidth() only works after the frame is visible in this case. So it's best to set a fixed size for one of them, then use getWidth, or as I did... it's the same thing. I also changed the centerPanel method, I'm not sure if all that's exactly needed, but you can change it back if you think you'll need it.
import javax.sound.sampled.*;
import java.awt.*;
import javax.sound.midi.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.util.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.io.*;
public class Space extends JFrame implements ActionListener, Runnable{
//Sound
Sequence currentSound;
Sequencer player;
Thread soundCheck;
boolean check = true;
public void start(){
soundCheck = new Thread();
soundCheck.start();
public void run(){
try{
File bgsound = new File("Sounds" + File.separator + "Space.mid");
currentSound = MidiSystem.getSequence(bgsound);
player = MidiSystem.getSequencer();
player.open();
player.setSequence(currentSound);
player.start();
checkSound();
} catch (Exception exc){}
public void checkSound(){
while(check){
if(!player.isRunning()){
            run();
try{
soundCheck.sleep((player.getMicrosecondLength() / 1000)-player.getMicrosecondPosition()); // sleep for the length of the track
}catch (InterruptedException IE){}
//Screen Variables:
Dimension SCREEN = Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getScreenSize();
final int SCREENWIDTH = SCREEN.width;
final int SCREENHEIGHT = SCREEN.height;
//Panels:
JPanel select, main, north, south, east;
    //Buttons:
JButton instructB, cheatB, playB, exit, about;
//Labels:
JLabel open, cheat1, cheat2, cheatInstruct, i1, i2 , i3, aboutLabel;
//The container and frame:
static Space jframe;
Container content;
//The Constructor:
public Space(){
super("Space");
//set  container attributes:
content = getContentPane();
content.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
//init panels:
main   = new JPanel();
select = new JPanel();
north  = new JPanel();
east   = new JPanel();
south  = new JPanel();
//set panel attributes:
select.setLayout(new GridLayout(3,0,10,10));
select.setBackground(Color.black);
main.setBackground(Color.black);
north.setBackground(Color.black);
//add panels:
content.add("West", select);
content.add("Center", main);
content.add("North", north);
content.add("East", east);
//Image Icons:
Icon exit1 = new ImageIcon("Images" + File.separator + "exit1.gif");
Icon exit2 = new ImageIcon("Images" + File.separator + "exit2.gif");
Icon about1 = new ImageIcon("Images" + File.separator + "about1.gif");
Icon about2 = new ImageIcon("Images" + File.separator + "about2.gif");
//init buttons, add their listeners, and set their attributes:
instructB = new JButton("Instructions", new ImageIcon("Images" + File.separator + "ship.gif"));
instructB.setContentAreaFilled(false);
instructB.setForeground(Color.yellow);
instructB.addActionListener(this);
select.add(instructB);
cheatB = new JButton("Cheats", new ImageIcon("Images" + File.separator + "cheat.gif"));
cheatB.setContentAreaFilled(false);
cheatB.setForeground(Color.yellow);
cheatB.addActionListener(this);
select.add(cheatB);
playB = new JButton("Play", new ImageIcon("Images" + File.separator + "ship2.gif"));
playB.setContentAreaFilled(false);
playB.setForeground(Color.yellow);
playB.addActionListener(this);
select.add(playB);
exit = new JButton();
exit.setRolloverEnabled(true);
exit.setIcon(exit1);
exit.setRolloverIcon(exit2);
exit.setBorderPainted(false);
exit.setContentAreaFilled(false);
exit.addActionListener(this);
north.add(exit);
about = new JButton();
about.setRolloverEnabled(true);
about.setIcon(about1);
about.setRolloverIcon(about2);
about.setBorderPainted(false);
about.setContentAreaFilled(false);
about.addActionListener(this);
    north.add(about);
    //Labels:
    open = new JLabel("", new ImageIcon("Images" + File.separator + "open.gif"), JLabel.CENTER);
main.add(open);
cheat1 = new JLabel("<html><h1>tport</h1></html>");
cheat1.setForeground(Color.red);
cheat2 = new JLabel("<html><h1>zap</h1></html>");
cheat2.setForeground(Color.green);
cheatInstruct = new JLabel("<html><h1>Type a cheat at any time during a game, and press the \"Enter\" key.</html></h1>");
cheatInstruct.setForeground(Color.blue);
i1 = new JLabel("<html><h1>The arrow keys move your ship.</h1></html>");
i1.setForeground(Color.red);
i2 = new JLabel("<html><h1>The space-bar fires the gun.</h1></html>");
i2.setForeground(Color.green);
i3 = new JLabel("<html><h1>The red circles give upgrades.</html></h1>");
i3.setForeground(Color.blue);
aboutLabel    = new JLabel("", new ImageIcon("Images" + File.separator + "aboutImage.gif"), JLabel.CENTER);
east.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(125, SCREEN.width));
//centerPanel();
/*private void centerPanel(final int width, final int height){
try{
Runnable setPanelSize = new Runnable(){
public void run(){
east.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(width, height));
SwingUtilities.invokeAndWait(setPanelSize);
} catch (Exception e){}
private void centerPanel(final int width, final int height)
     east.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(width, height));
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e){
//if the play button was pressed do:
if(e.getSource() == playB){
    //do something
    //else if the cheat button was pressed do:
else if(e.getSource() == cheatB){
//remove and add components
main.removeAll();
main.setLayout(new GridLayout(3,0,0,0));
main.add(cheat1);
main.add(cheat2);
main.add(cheatInstruct);
main.repaint();
main.validate();
else if(e.getSource() == instructB){
//remove and add components
main.removeAll();
main.setLayout(new GridLayout(3,0,0,0));
main.add(i1);
main.add(i2);
main.add(i3);
main.repaint();
main.validate();
else if(e.getSource() == exit){
jframe.setVisible(false);
//showCredits();
else if(e.getSource() == about){
main.removeAll();
main.setLayout(new FlowLayout());
main.add(aboutLabel);
main.repaint();
main.validate();
/*public void showCredits(){
try{
String[] args = {};
Credits.main(args);
}catch (Exception e){}
public static void main(String args[]){
jframe = new Space();
//jframe.centerPanel(500, jframe.select.getHeight());
jframe.setUndecorated(true);
jframe.setBounds(0, 0, jframe.SCREENWIDTH, jframe.SCREENHEIGHT);
jframe.setVisible(true);
        jframe.show();
        jframe.setResizable(false);
      jframe.setDefaultCloseOperation(EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
    //jframe.centerPanel(jframe.select.getWidth(), jframe.select.getHeight());
    jframe.run(); //start music
}Sorry I lost all the indenting :) I guess you can take a look at the few lines I changed and copy those lines.