I am a new user no matter what search I do the file sizes showing are less than 50 MB - is this a standard limitation? I could not find anywhere that I could alter settings to this extent ... is this normal or is it a feature only of the later version? Do you recommend an earlier version or some fix / settings feature I am missing?

I'd recommend an earlier version for sure. The new owners of BearShare/Bearflix built in limitations within the program. They work side by side with the RIAA so ... you can imagine its limits. Use this version: http://www.gnutellaforums.com/open-d...sabotaged.html which is Bearshare 5.2