Hello,
I am using Limewire, and I'd like my friend to direct connect to me. but here is the problem i am having

1) I go to direct connect and it says this
so I have disabled all my firewalls and such, and restarted Limewire, but it DTILL doesnt work.. I use wireless internet through a wireless router as well, and i use a Belkin 54 G for it.

can someone please tell me what steps i must take to be able to have a friend direct connect to me?

Direct Connect is fussy. If there's any firewall detected then it definitely won't work. Don't disable your firewall. Instead configure it: (advisable not to have 2 active firewalls b/c they can interfere with each other); Firewall configuration instructions (click on link)

2. Most wireless devices have internal NAT firewalls. Forward a port on your belkin: go here http://www.portforward.com/routers.htm. I don't think Belkin supports UPnP. I searched their support site & came up zilch. Also history on the forums shows Belkin users are much better off port forwarding for reliability.

BTW if you're firewalled, then you won't see your external ip at the top of the direct connect search box. How to Direct Connect, Browse & Chat

You both need to have available upload & download bandwidth & slots to be able to direct connect. Another good way of connecting together is using a magnet link. Then when you connect, browse them. And vice versa thru the upload window. But chat should be enabled for browsing. How to use Magnet Links & Direct Connect

Hey, thanks but nothing that I've done has helped it

I have set up port fowarding, on LW here are my settings for that
http://img465.imageshack.com/img465/3804/1ee7.png
I have also done it for my router.. here are the settings for that
http://img225.imageshack.com/img225/6842/2pq0.png

I have also added the needed exceptions on my personal firewall.
Here are the settings for that
http://img488.imageshack.com/img488/7619/2dg0.png
http://img20.imageshack.com/img20/6571/2vx9.png

is there something that im not doing or not doing right?