LimeWire won't connect!

[bridgestree]

I downloaded LimeWire Friday, Dec. 11, 2007 and attempted to load it to my Windows Vista Home Edition system. It would never get off the *Starting Connection*. I moved the download file to my Windows XP laptop system on Sunday Dec. 13 and installed it there. It still would never get off the *Starting Connection*. I disabled my Windows Firewall (and rebooted), but LW still shows that it has detected a firewall and it is still stuck on *Starting Connection*. I reconfigured my router for port forwarding as described in other forum postings and rebooted, but LW still shows that it has detected a firewall and it is still stuck on *Starting Connection*. I terminated LW and exited from the system tray icon, waited 10 minutes, but LW still shows that it has detected a firewall and it is still stuck on *Starting Connection*. I terminated LW and exited from the system tray icon and deleted the preferences folder, and then rebooted, but LW still shows that it has detected a firewall and it is still stuck on *Starting Connection*. I terminated LW, exited from the system tray icon, downloaded a new gnutella.net file and stored it in the LimeWire preferences folder plus in the LimeWire folder in "Program Files", and then rebooted, but LW still shows that it has detected a firewall and it is still stuck on *Starting Connection*. After the first time I disabled Windows Firewall, I have not enabled it again until this point (hey, nothing has worked so why not enable it).

I forgot to say that I also re-installed Java, and gave my laptop hardwired ethernet port a fixed IP address (192.168.1.138) and configured the port forwarding for that port. Still have the same problems after reboots with the Windows Firewall turned off (LW stuck on *Starting Connection* with Firewall detected).

I also forgot to say that I only use Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.1.11) Gecko/20071127 Firefox/2.0.0.11 for my browser, and Thunderbird version 2.0.0.9 (20071031) for my email.

I believe this accurately describes everything I've done but still have no connectivity in LW. What else could I try?????

1. OS version? Windows XP Home Edition 2002 Service Pack 2
2. What firewalls you have? Windows Firewall (but I disabled it)
3. How much ram? 504 Mb
4. Hard Disk space available? 10.9 Gb free
5. Connection type? Cable
6. Modem & router brand name & model numbers? Router: NetGear WGR614 V6, Modem: Ambit model U10C018
7. Where are you trying to connect from? Home
8. What version of LimeWire (LW) & Java do you have? LW 4.14.12 Pro, Java 1.6.0_03
9. Who is your ISP (Internet Service Provider)? Time Warner Cable (my daughter also has the same TWC provider - we both live in the same city - and her LW is functioning properly now that she downloaded a new gnutella.net file, unfortunately that did not work for me)
10. Do this simple test for us. Using your browser go here: http://www3.limewire.com:6346/ The page should say 'Your test worked!'. What happens when you go there? It said 'Your test worked!'.
11. Are you sharing the connection with other computers or p2p sharing programs? If yes, please give details of set up. Home network, 3 computers. 1 Laptop (this system) running Windows XP, 1 desktop running Windows XP, 1 desktop running Windows Vista Home Premium. All 3 systems connected via 10 base-t ethernet cable, the laptop also has wireless.
12. Is this a your 1st try at LW or is this a new problem with an experienced user. This is my 1st set of trials with LW (I've also tried installing on the Vista system with the same results), but I am a retired Network Administrator and web designer.
13. Do you see a brick wall in front of the blue world icon at the bottom of LW's interface? _Yes, even after I turned Windows Firewall off!
14. For those using a modem/router, how is your modem/router set up...are you port forwarding or is UPnP enabled? My router is UPnP enabled, plus I have also set up port forwarding as described in other forum postings.
15. What security programs are you using (antivirus etc)? Avast! version 4.7 Home Edition antivirus, with virus definition file compile date of today. Spybot Search & Destroy version 1.4 Resident. Windows Firewall
16. What country are you living in? Sometimes there are ISPs with the same name in more than one country. United States of America