There's one way to find out. After LW has been running for at least 30 mins do this test: Bug Report instructions & sample image If your response in True then you won't need to Force IP. If False, then there is something partially blocking LW. That may be your softw firewall or it may be your modem-router. If it's your soft firewall then it should be configured to allow LW & Java full access: http://www.limewire.com/english/content/firewalls.shtml But if it's a modem/router issue, then you'd need to forward a port (ie: open port 6346 to allow LW full access.) You would also need to force ip. Force ip is only one part of the process.