When I lived in the college dorms, I used Limewire and had absolutely NO problems whatsoever-******D IT! However now that I'm living off-campus in an apartment complex, I can't connect, let alone get rid of that "brick wall blocking the globe". I've turned off the XP firewall, opened ports, turned off my McAfee firewall, did the whole "http://www3.limewire.com:6346/" thing (which worked successfully), and even attempted getting a static ip in order to port forward.

I ran into some trouble with the last few steps within obtaining a static ip, but.... really I'm not sure. All I know is I'm PISSED as hell that my ISP is calling the shots and infringing on my right to choose whether to illegally file-share or not. :P Seriously though, I can't switch ISPs because they have a contract with my apartment complex... plus it would be an overly-expensive ordeal for this poor college student.

If ANYONE has any suggestions on how to get rid of that blasted firewall symbol (and have the patience to assist with any other immediate problems) I would TRULY appreciate it.

You need a static IP

You choose your static IP according to which router you use

Usually the IP's that you have the choice of using are almost the same IP as the router only the last number between 101 and 199. Many routers show what IP's you can use in their settings somewhere.

E.g. If your routers gateway IP is 192.168.2.1 your static IP should be a number between 192.168.2.101 and 192.168.2.199

Just to be safe make a note of your current settings before changing anything, because if you do this wrong then your internet won't work

hey i am also having trouble with the fire wall issue.you sound like you have a bit more knowldege than me..can you help me..i would like to know if you have dial up or dsl..i have dial up and two fire walls any help would be greatly appreciated..thanks my name is stephanie.

hello i am having issues with my fire wall..i have two fire walls and really need some help..your help will be greatly appreciated..

I have adsl but one thing I can tell you for sure is that running two firewalls at the same time is not the smartest thing to do. They will most likely work against each other. Choose one and turn the other one off. Then configure the one you got left to allow Limewire.

yea im having trouble with the firewall as well, once i get onto lime wire it pops up an error report saying "your machine doesnt have an actice internet connection or a firewall is blocking limewire from accessing the internet.LimeWire will automatically keep trying to connect you to the network unless you select disconnect from the File menu" i know that my internet connection is up, and im running on internet cable from comcast, but i dont know what to do with the firewall, can some1 plz help

Have you configured your software firewall (like Sleepless says, only use 1)?
Firewall setup

You'll find a heap of info about firewall/connection problems in this thread
Connection problems? Check here first!
High speed modems & routers have their own internal firewalls... see the sections about enabling UPnP & port forwarding.

If you're still stuck, post back with 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

yea man ive done the firewall thing, when i do it, the listening
port changes to a different number and the firewall thing on LW doesnt
go away
OS(Win XP etc)
Windows xp
LW Java version (help > about LW & you'll see) LW v 4.12.6
Firewall you're using mcafee
Modem/router brand & model i dont know what this is?
ISP comcast
Connection type (DSL etc) cable
Where you connect from (home, school etc) home
Are you sharing a connection with other computers nope
Is this your first try with LW no ive used it before but it didnt have the problems that it does now

I too have been using Limewire free for some weeks, and been amazed and impressed - however, since 5 or 6 days ago I can no longer connect [it showing half of the first bar only, bottom left, says (you are connecting to the network)]. I use WindowsXP home Serv Pack 2, and connect through a radio connection (with extra gain aerial installed Friday giving me 95-97% link and -67db - whatever that means but am told is good!). The Windows firewall is set up as per your tech advice to allow Gnutella in both TCP & UDP, and has both Limewire boxes checked. Even turning off the firewall makes no difference, so what the h**l is going on? Would it help to change the Port being listened to by Limewire, and if so, to what?
It is so frustrating when something works well, then just goes downhill or stops working. I would upgrade to Limewire Pro, but even that will not accept my credit card and insists on Paypal which I found untrustworthy when I used it for eBay.

Don't buy PRO until you get basic running. If basic doesn't work then PRO won't either.

If your listening port changes then just change it back

Also you say cableconnection. Doesn't that mean that you get connected through a router or modem ? You might need to portforward or turn on UPnP in the router

Have you changed any hardware lately ?

In limewire go to tools>options>firewall config and tell us what in checked (UPnP, Portforward or Nothing)

Also go to tools>options>bugreports and press view example bugreport then copy paste it in a reply here (use Ctrl+a and Ctrl+c since rightclicking doesn't work in limewire to get those options)