Hi

Well, the good news is that it's a lot worse on OS10.2.5. So, let's be constructive about your situation.

Don't use 2.9.8, drop back one or two upgrades (see other threads for the addresses of older versions).

This is a temporary fix because, sooner or later, the mainstream development of Limewire will start to actively discriminate against older versions but, for a while, you will find both the screen display and the system's performance to be more stable.

However, you cannot use LW passively. You must be highly active to maintain a connection once you have found one that works. Be prepared to kill and restart the download from the original download list (do not allow relevant lists to drop off your system by default). If rapidly repeated requests fail, leave the incomplete file in the window and re-search for the exact file name. This will sometimes reconnect you (and sometimes to additional hosts if the file name is reasonably generic). If you can get a reconnection, always try to browse the host. If this works, subsequent download requests can then be tried between the original, the re-searched and the browsed listings. Usually, one of the three will work to restart and then maintain the download until completion. However, this is a game requiring concentration — the longer you leave the "catch" the less likely you are to achieve reconnection.

Alternatively, use Acquisition until LW proper gets its act more together.