My operating system is Windows XP Home, my ISP is Patriot Media, my connection is a cable modem, my computer is a custom-built desktop. I do not use a router. I downloaded limewire basic version 4.12 and it never connects. It attempts to download files at 8 KB a second, then it slows down 1 KB at a time until Im downloading at 0KB then limewire tells me I do not have an internet connection when in reality I do. I understand you guys are overwhelmed with threads such as this, but I see a variety of fixes and before I make matters worse I just need some specific help. It's not just with limewire, I cannot use Bittorrent either and I can barely keep a stable connection with AOL instant messager (but let's solve one problem at a time).

What I have done: I opened the gnutella ports that the limewire website told me to on the Windows SP2 firewall, it still refuses to connect.

Do this test & see if it works
http://www3.limewire.com:6346

If you can't use Bittorrent either, it might be an issue with your ISP.
Is the XP firewall your only software firewall (not a good idea to run 2 together)?
Do you see the firewall icon (brick wall in front of the blue earth)?
What's the brand & model of your modem?
Read through this, it has lots of info about connection problems
Connection problems? Check here first!

It worked.

Yes, the XP firewall is the only firewall I have, the firewall icon is on.

My modem is a Toshiba PCX2500 cable modem, if you need them I have SN numbers and other numbers I can give you straight off the modem itself.

I just got off the phone with my ISP, they basically told me that Patriot Media closes no ports so limewire should have no problem communicating with my modem. They told me that a customer service rep who use Patriot Media can connect to limewire with no problem and whatever problem is on my end ... this is not the case because I have downloaded stuff from limewire on occasion, and if it were on my end no internet would work.

There's not too much info around about your modem but it seems to have no firewalls. You aren't using a router at all? If you're seeing the firewall icon then either a software firewall or firewall within some hardware is being detected!!
Some ISPs give customers a firewall as part of their service - any chance that yours did?

You could try using a higher port to connect. No guarantees though & this won't help you get rid of a firewall... that's a separate issue. See below for port numbers to try. If you do change listening port, you'll have to also change ports allowed within the XP firewall.
Alternative Ports

I do not use a router I am directly connected to the internet via cable modem. Not sure about a software firewall since the only processes I run while connecting to limewire is AVG antivirus (free edition) and Spybot Search and Destroy (which might be the prob'm). I made the firewall accept port 6346 and the limewire program, in all logic it cant be the XP firewall. If it would help I could make a desktop screenshot of all the applications running when I open up the Windows Task Manager.

I dont know about a firewall within hardware, and my ISP has not installed any firewalls on my computer to my knowledge. My guess is it's either client-side, or the fault of the programs which makes little sense to me because limewire, bittorrent and AOL Instant Messager would all have to be screwed up. I will try changing the ports.

Hi...I am also having a problem connecting to LW. Back in March we tried to go through Vonage for our phone service. They sent us a router which was supposed to work and never did get it to work. We spent hours and hours on the phone with them changing all kinds of settings, etc. Didn't dawn on me then, but that is about the time we started having problems connecting to LW. I have tried almost everything I know to get it to work and it's still not working. I have the Windows Firewall and have even tried disabling it to see if it would connect, and it still showed a firewall being used. The only other program I can think that may have a firewall is AVG Anti-Virus, but tried disabling that as well, still nothing. I am very frustrated and don't know what else to try. Anyone help me please?

Win XP
No Router
Cable Modem (Arris Brand)

Do you get any green connection bars at all? Do this test & see of it works
http://www3.limewire.com:6346

Double check that your Windows firewall's configured properly (no need to turn it off)
Firewall setup

What's the model of your modem? Have a look through the manual & see whether it has an internal firewall, this could be what LW's detecting. If so, you should think about using it with UPnP enabled or port forwarding. There's a lot of info about these in the thread below
Connection problems? Check here first!

If you're still stuck, post back with all your details

OS(Win XP etc)
LW & Java version (help > about LW & you'll see)
Firewall you're using
Modem/router brand & model
ISP
Connection type (DSL etc)
Where you connect from (home, school etc)
Are you sharing a connection with other computers
Is this your first try with LW

No to the green lights
No to the test, unable to connect to host
Went through the help thread prior to posting, nothing worked
Win XP
LW Version 4.9.23PRO (but have tried newer/different versions)
Windows Firewall (Only one I am aware of)
Modem - Arris CM450A
ISP - Ygnition Cable
Connection Type - Cable
Connect from home
No sharing, one cpu only
Not my first try with LW

Hope that info helps out, thanks for the input.

Well something's blocking your access to LW's default port...possibly your ISP.
Have you ever tried to use any other p2p apps & if so, did you have problems?
A couple of people have had trouble with Ygnition. Have a look at the article below (scroll down to post from KW33D), it suggests they're traffic shaping.
http://www.dslreports.com/comments/2599

Maybe you should give their help desk a call, try & find out if they're shaping or blocking you. You could try using a different port, see the suggestions below
http://www.gnutellaforums.com/showpo...00&postcount=2
If you do change ports, you'll also have to change port numbers allowed within your firewall.


There's not much point in trying to sort out your firewall until you know that you'll be able to use LW

That is the wierd part. I have tried changing the ports, no luck.
A buddy that I work with uses a USB mini-dish of some sort to connect to the internet via a wireless network (basically piggy backing someone else's wireless network). Anyway, he brought it over the other day and we installed it and found a wireless connection to use. I unplugged my modem so that I knew we were going through the wireless network and still could not connect to LW