Hey everyone.
I'm new to Limewire and I have been having some difficulty getting my download speeds up. I'm using WinXP Home SP2, have a cable internet connection, a linksys wireless B router, and the Windows Firewall. I've configured the firewall to open the LW port, but that isn't helping. I've been trying to download from multiple users on T3 connections just so I could get the most bandwidth possible, but i'm maxing out at like 5kb/s...d'oh! Anyone have some troubleshooting advice so I can open up the bandwidth and download some files in under 17 days...?

Thanks,
Dusty

I was curious to find out how much of my actual bandwidth I'm using on my connection, and it seems that I'm peaking at around 1.5% of my 11Mb/sec wireless connection, based on the graph in the Networking tab of Windows Task Manager...

In LimeWire, my file download is peaking at a speed of about 5kb/sec when downloading from 5 hosts...that seems ridiculous considering I'm on cable internet and i'm downloading from T3 hosts...

Not ridiculous if they have only allowed a small upld bandwidth or are sharing b/w too many people. T1 & T3 are potentially very fast conncetions but if they only allow a small upld bandwidth then that explains how cable/dsl, etc. can be even better to dwnld from sometimes.

You seem to have lots & lots of firewalls affecting your connection. For a start, SP2 limits the no. of simultaneous connections. See Verdyp's comments here: This post & the following one by Verdyp.

You should double-check your configuration of your XP firewall to give both Java & LW full & not partial access: http://www.limewire.com/english/content/firewalls.shtml (instructions)

What model no. of Linksys router do you have? Many Linksys router modems use a NAT firewall & should be port forwarded to allow LW full access.

Update your Java: Java 1.5 (take the JRE)

Leave LW on for up to 30 mins & do this test: Bug Report instructions & sample image Is it True/False?

Well, I got the XP firewall all configured as per the instructions above, and i'm still suffering from slow download speeds. I believe my router does NAT (linksys model#: BEFW11S4).

Would bypassing the router by plugging into the ethernet straight from the cable modem and then turning off the XP firewall solve these problems? I know it's stupid to leave the computer that vulnerable, but for short periods of fast downloading, it could be worth it...

Many but not all people have had issues with SP2. Some people have solved it by uninstalling SP2. There's no telling this is your issue though. You might also see Points A & also Points B about sp2.

I wouldn't leave yourself vulnerable without a firewall. If it's properly configured you should be fine.

Forwarding a port (opening a port for LW) will help. Yes that model does use a NAT firewall. It will enable others to upld from you & thus you will get better search & dwnld results.

1. 1st you'll need to set up a static ip: How to set up a static IP address with the Linksys Router

2. Port Forwarding instructions for the Linksys BEFW11S4 V4, BEFW11S4-CA V2 & V4

3. Within LW you'll need to force ip: Force IP instructions & sample image

If still having problems you can do tests in the following thread. Post your issue there: (the same thread as the 1st link below.)

Some hints: A well set-up LW can start to automatically continue its dwnlding after it's settled down perhaps 2 out of 3 times you open LW. Optimising LW & Maximising Uplds & Dwnlds A (1st post only) & also Part B which is even better & last & least are search & dwnld hints. The latter one I've been thinking about re-writing for some time. That's just for playing it safe. eg- I show all speeds & qualities.

Thanks for all your help, LoTR.
I've done my tinkering with everything you mentioned and i've been getting consistent downloads at 20-30kb/s which is a huge improvement over my previous attempts.

Thanks once more,
Dusty