OK, here it goes, going to try to fill out the questionnaire. I've tried rolling back Java, checking my firewall, changing my port listening number. The thing I don't understand is this forwarding issue, and I'm NOT tech savvy enough to try to go through all those steps on that link provided without screwing up my settings. I'd rather just change to another download program. But if there is a simple way of solving my connection problems, I'd appreciate it. Otherwise, I'll say thanks Limewire for the great 3 years it was awesome during the time I used it...
1. what OS version? (eg: Windows 98, XP,OSX, Vista) Windows XP
2. What firewalls you have ? Norton Internet Security 2007
3. How much ram ? 512 MB
4. Hard Disk space available ? 55 GB overall, 7.4 GB available
5. Connection type (eg: dialup, broadband, cable, etc.) ? broadband
6.Modem what brand name & model numbers ? Speedstream 5200
7.Router brand name & model numbers ? Linksys WRT54G (but mine is primary connection...ie I don't connect through the router I think)
8. Where are you trying to connect from (house, apartment complex, school, student accommodation, work, etc.) ? Home
9. What version,LimeWire & Java, are you using. Go to L/W's Help/About L/W, THIS show both LW & Java version.? limewire 4.12.11 Java 1.5.0-11 (I had 1.6, tried to roll it back with the update 11)
10. Who is your ISP provider (Internet Service Provider) ? Sympatico
11. Do this test click here: http://www3.limewire.com:6346/ should say 'Your test worked!. What happens ? It works
12. Are you sharing the connection with other computers or p2p sharing programs? If yes, please give details of set up. No
13. Is this your 1st try at LW, or is this a new problem with an experienced user.? Never had this problem for 3 years then I stopped using it for a few months, upgraded to the new version and cannot connect
14. Do you see a brick wall in front of the blue world icon at the bottom of LW's interface ? Yes
15. Have you given full permissions for LimeWire to pass through your Firewall ? Yes
16. XP users, Please state XP firewall on or off.? Off
17. In Start & remove Programs, Is this update Installed, "Security Update for Windows XP (KB931261)" ? I don't see it there
If Windows Updates are not seen Tick the box at top of page, (show updates)
18. Are you using Manual Port faward OR UPnP ? According to the Limewire page, I have UPnP ticked off, but I have no idea what this means

Good luck to the rest of you. If this doesn't work, I'll try another program, Bearshare trial seems to be working without problems so far, if it does well, I'll upgrade to the paid version.

One thing though, I'm sorry I refuse to do the port forwarding thing and rummage through 2 pages of tech stuff to find a "static IP address" and go through the entire page of instructions to forward the port. I totally would screw up the process and end up screwing up my computer and it just isn't worth it.

Thanks for anyone's help.

I just want everyone to know that I just came across this old posting just now, I'll repost it, from Limewire, I don't know why it worked, but obviously Limewire still has problems, NOT the ISP. Why we would have to delete our preferences is beyond me. This is why Bearshare worked and Limewire didn't. The only thing is I hope it doesn't happen again, where I have to keep relaoading my preferences every time I boot my computer. Good luck to those who had to change all their settings.

For those who are having trouble connection to the Gnutella network using LimeWire, we have a potential fix. You need to delete your WHOLE LimeWire preferences directory. The directory can be found in the following locations:

OS X:
/Users/your_username/Library/Preferences/LimeWire

Windows:
C:/Documents And Settings/your_username/.limewire

Linux:
~/.limewire

Please shutdown any instance of LimeWire you may have running, delete the whole directory, and then restart LimeWire. You should be able to connect.

I'd love to hear how this works for everyone.

Thanks!
Susheel Daswani
Software Engineer
Lime Wire LLC