Sometimes you have to try for quite a bit to get a stable connection. Try entering all of the addresses I mentioned in the preferences (Tools>Options>Connections) and then restart Limewire. If you still don't get a connection then try entering each of them manually in the connections window - try each one several times before giving up.

As you probably know, some ISPs and a lot of university servers block ports commonly used for file sharing (Limewire uses port 6346). To check whether this port is available on OSX (you can't do this on OS9 or earlier) , do the following:

1. Open the folder Applications>Utilities and double click on Terminal

2. With your Internet / Ethernet connection active, type in 'telnet 64.61.25.171 6346' and you should get a message 'Gnutella OK'

If you don't get this message then the port is blocked and you can't use Limewire.