my searches work fine and it says my connection is at its highest but nothing will download. it says either connecting... ,need more sources, or awaiting sources for everything i try to download and it never used to do that. like all of a sudden it started doing that. some random things will download here and there but thats about it and its really slow when it does. anyone have any ideas why its doing this?

There are lots of fake files around now. If you're looking for new releases/really popular files, you're likely to see a high percentage of fakes. These often have lots of sources (up to 100 per file) & will sit connecting for ages before going to 'need more sources'.
Stay away from files with huge numbers of sources... try going for files with 10 sources or less. Also vary your search terms a bit & try the All Types search. If some things are downloading, I'd say you're just seeing more fake files (as we all are).

As for your really slow downloads, are all your downloads slower than usual?
As a test, download a file from here & see what speeds you get
http://www.magnetmix.com/video.shtml

Do a speed test & tell us the result
http://www.dslreports.com/speedtest?more=1

Who is your ISP? Have you tried using other p2p apps & if so, does the same thing happen?

my downloads arent that slow.. id say they are normal now that i think about it. as for the fake files idea, i dont think that is the reason.. i have over 100 files from 2 artists and pretty much all of them just say connecting.... or need more sources. (i no its not becuase i have so many waiting to download becuase it worked before)

my isp is PenTeleData and my download is 2.20 Mpbs and upload is 1.22 Mbps. ive tried frost wire but it acts the same as limewire and bearshare didnt work as i expected. i tried filepipe and that completely didnt work. and now that i think of it shareaza hasnt been working right either

o also... sometimes it wont always get to a turbo charged connection... or excellent for the matter

Do you see the firewall icon (brick wall)?

You've tried 5 p2p apps & none of them are working well... doesn't sound good. I can't find any evidence that your ISP's currently anti p2p, if that was the case then your download speeds would probably be woeful. One thing you could try is deleting the LW preferences folder (when LW is properly closed). I'm not sure that it's gonna help, given that you're having the same probs with other apps but... give it a go. See points 2 & 3 below for instructions
Fixes for LimeWire

What are your details (excuse the repeat questions!)

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

yes, i see the firewall icon. i tried deleting the preferences folder and its still messed up.


OS(Win XP etc) - Windows XP Media Center (w/ recent updats)
LW & Java version (help > about LW & you'll see) - 4.12.4 Pro and Java is 1.50_06
Firewall you're using - I have ZoneAlarm but I've turned if off and tried it too.
Modem/router brand & model - Motorola Cable Modem and Linksys BEFSX41 Router
ISP - PenTeleData
Connection type (DSL etc) - 2 Way Cable
Where you connect from (home, school etc) - Home
Are you sharing a connection with other computers - Yes sometimes
Is this your first try with LW - No im a long time LimeWire user, nothing like this has ever happened to me before, though

Try port forwarding your router. That should get rid of the firewall icon & hopefully improve things for you. See the link below for instructions. Don't forget to set up a static IP address, you'll see a link for that within the instructions.
http://www.portforward.com/english/r...1/Limewire.htm

got rid of it but nothing changes

It should! Did you set up a static IP? Have you got both listening port & forwarded port with the same number? If you've got ZA back on, the ports allowed through that should also be the same number.
Try rebooting, see if the icon disappears. If not, go back through the port forwarding instructions... it's easy to miss a step (I've done it).

ok its gone and my downloads seem to be alot faster... if that makes sense. for some reason the bands ive been trying to download wont work but i tried others and they all work fine again.

Maybe you are seeing some fake files, or maybe some sources are firewalled... a push through a firewall isn't always successful! Just keep searching & varying your search terms like I suggested earlier. In time, you might find new sources for these files. Don't forget to search at different times of day... as people in different time zones log on & off, new files become available