When I start limewire and tell it to search, it seems to be running and the lime spins, but when the progress bar reaches the end and the lime quits spinning, no resuls pop up. it doesn't matter what i search, it copmes up with nothing... what's up?

Sounds like an ISP issue if there's no search results.

Try downlding a magnet link from here so see if you can downld it http://www.magnetmix.com/video.shtml

Does the connection bar at the bottom of the window say it's connected with green bars? See sample Connection Bar at bottom left of window sample (click on link)

Have you seen this thread yet: Connection problems? Check here first! (click on link) which will help you set up & configure your firewall & modem.