Okay...JD:

Your advice was not just constructive - it solved the problem, completely, although the actual numbered port, mentioned, was itself left unmolested. Norton can be moody, at times.

I uninstalled Black Ice Defender and Norton Personal Firewall and got on first time, EVERY try of many. It was obviously, as you thought, a firewall problem.

I reinstalled Black Ice Defender and reset its options exactly as they had been and I still got on Gnotella, perfectly.

So, to be certain, I completely removed every trace of NORTON from the Registry and just reinstalled it. This time I DIDN'T SELECT NORTON'S AUTOCONFIGURE OFFER DURING THE ACTUAL INSTALL STAGE (something I'd selected only 2 weeks ago during another re-install!) AND JUST SET IT UP TO HANDLE GNOTELLA IN THE OLD WAY.

PERFECT CONNECTIONS, EVERY TIME. Thanks for the advice. I put this follow-up here in the hope that others may benefit from your advice.

TO JD: Thanks for saving me from the jaws of almost certain Napster.

Ian.

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