I've tried this test several times without success: my connection times out.

As I have posted this, I obviously don't have a problem connecting to the web generally. Nor has LW been behaving unexpectedly.

I have searched (as far as is practicable) for more information on the purpose of this test and what it's failure implies without success so I'd be grateful for your help.

The rest of the suggested trouble-shooting information is as follows:
1. OS version? (eg: Windows 98)
Windows XP SP2 Home Edition.

2. What firewalls you have?
Zone Labs Zone Alarm (Windows firewall disabled).

3. How much ram?
512MB DDR.

4. Hard Disk space available?
40GB.

5. Connection type? (eg: dialup, broadband, cable, etc.)
Broadband 1,071-1877kbs down/225-239kbs up.

6. Modem & router brand name & model numbers?
Wireless, make & model 'tba'.

7. Where are you trying to connect from (house, appartment complex, school, student accomodation, work, etc.)?
[FONT="Arial Black"******.[/FONT]

8. What version of LimeWire (LW) & Java do you have? (Go to LW's menu Help>About LW...) Will show both LW & Java version.
LW: 4.12.6; Java: 1.5.0_09

9. Who is your ISP provider (Internet Service Provider)?
BT.

11. Are you sharing the connection with other computers or p2p sharing programs? If yes, please give details of set up.
One other PC uses the same router (but was not connected at the time of the test).

12. Is this a your 1st try at LW or is this a new problem with an experienced user.
The latter.

13. Do you see a brick wall in front of the blue world icon at the bottom of LW's interface?
Yes (see '2' above).

Thank you in advance of your kind assistance.

Turn your modem/router upside down it should have the info under there...
Also where your connecting from didn't show up...

__________________


If you dont live for something...
You die for nothing...

Thanks for your prompt response WW.

1. It is a domestic conection.
2. The router is a BT Voyager 2110 Wireless ADSL.

Before trying to resolve my specific problem, I'd be most grateful if you could, briefly, explain what this test achieves ie what is being tested and how.

Thank you again.

It's to see if you can connect to Port 6346, as that is limewire's default port...

__________________


If you dont live for something...
You die for nothing...

The link is a port test to see if port 6346 (the default Gnutella port) is open or not. If you can't reach that test page, it means the port is blocked. If so, it will either be due to your connection device's internal NAT firewall or else your ISP is blocking this port. A very minor chance the reason is your software firewall.

To my knowledge, BT voyagers are best port forwarded. Instructions Port Forwarding for the BT Voyager 2091 (the same instructions as yours) (click on link). Don't forget to save settings, reboot device if it's required, & restart LW. Step 1 of setting up a static ip is the most important step.

Also ensure you set up your XP firewall properly; Firewall configuration instructions (click on link)

Thank you both for the explanation and assistance, I'll follow your advice and report back.

In the meantime I am curious: as LW appears to be working correctly, it is evidently using another port; what are the implications of this: conflict with another application perhaps or a possible security breach? It doeasn't appear to have affected performance.

Thanks & regards.

I have previously read some postings regarding ISP restrictions and couldn't find anything untoward with regards to BT, so the router seems the likely candidate: what does NAT stand for?

Thank you.

Hmm not sure. I wonder if your router is using UPnP. If it is then that's fine. UPnP is a setting in your router that allows an internet program to request a port or several ports to be opened & the router does this. However it will only open them whilst the program is open. I guess one way to check is to go to LW's menu bar, Tools>Options>Advanced>Firewalls & see what ports are listed for connecting & listening. If you are properly connected & see 5 green or blue bars & no brick wall in front of the blue world icon then you're fine. I wasn't sure if your model supported UPnP or whether it was reliable. Most people in past on this forum using BT Voyagers solved issues by port forwarding.

BTW if you did manual port forwarding, I'd suggest you do it for both TCP & UDP; ie: one for each. The portforward.com instructions only show TCP. TCP is more important for LW but LW does also use UDP.

NAT = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network...ss_translation

I have followed your instructions and am pleased to report that everything is (at the time of writing) running smoothly but the whole process has thrown up some anomalies.

Firstly (and just for your future reference) the Portforward instructions do refer to UDP as well as TCP (but neither the syntax nor the layout are clear) they immediately follow those for TCP.

However, they suggest you enter the two data sets at the same time rather than entering the TCP data, acknowledging that and then repeating the process for UDP.

Anyway, I have noticed that I have lost the brick wall indicating the presence of a firewall: I know you wouldn't have directed me to expose a port to the perils of the web so what has happened?

Does LW block this port itself and if so what happens when it's shut-down?

With regards to my IP address, now that it is static I am curious as why Speedtest.net (for example) appears to be displaying my previous address! Is there a conclusive test I can run?

Finally, there appears to be a problem with the 6346 test page! Have a look at this from October http://www.gnutellaforums.com/showth...highlight=www3

It's the same for me as for 'Only A Hobo': I cannot get a succesful test result unless I delete the ':6346' suffix, so I'm wondering if the whole process was required (I have since discovered the router is UPnP)! Who can check this out?

Thanks again for all your help: even if it was an unneccesary excercise it wasn't futile as I have learned plenty today!

Best regards.

You're right, there is a problem with that page. I'll notify the appropriate people.

The brick wall is not healthy for LW. It means an unconfigured firewall. A properly configured firewall allows LW but stops everything else. Similar is true for port forwarding. It means that whilst LW is open that port is open also. But all other ports are closed.

But all the same you can make sure you're properly protected with your normal antivirus, antispyware, etc. utilities. Also if you're interested is Peerguardian (FREE). If you'd like to see what we recommend, see WARNING: Viruses on network you should be aware of! (click on link)