I am running Windows XP with a Bellsouth DSL connection connected via an ethernet wire in the back of my computer... Firewall is OFF... I have even UNINSTALLED AVG Free Edition and Bearshare still won't work... I am getting the following message when I open Bearshare 5.2.5.1

"You have not been able to successfully connect to the gnutella network. This indicates there is a problem. Would you like to see more information that might help you fix this?"

I clicked on Yes and it brought me to the Bearshare Help Website... It told me to turn off my firewall, but then it was talking about the Ports which I have NO Idea how to change or adjust...

Then the message goes on to say something about AOL which I Do Not use...

I read the guys post just before me, but I don't think it has to do with my problem... I went into my firewall, like I said, and Turned it off, then there was something under "Exceptions" in my computers network connections user panel and Bearshare is check marked to be allowed to access the internet.... I've shut down my computer, uninstalled bearshare, reinstalled it and I'm still getting the Same Message... Is it something about the version of Bearshare that I'm running??? I prefer the older versions because I haven't heard very good things about the new version... I don't like a lot of spam or advertisements...

Any help is Much appreciated!

Thanks,
Jon

Ethernet connection from a home network? What brand & model of router are you using?

Apparently BS 5 did not have UPnP abilities, thus port forwarding will most likely be required.

Was it working before? If you're using it for the first time you'll need a fresh list of nodes
to connect with, like this one: http://www3.telus.net/Aaron_Walkhouse/connect.zip

Unzip it to the /db/ folder of the BearShare program while it's not running.

For port-forwarding, here's a good site: [Configure your router for BearShare]

Bearshare was working before, but I got a virus from some website and lost everything on my hardrive... The virus wasn't from bearshare, it was from some foreign website that I opened up like an idiot... Anyway, I completely reloaded my computer and downloaded bearshare again and now it doesn't work...

I am using Westell Versalink Model 327W Router... I am HARD WIRED, not wireless... (just in case that makes a difference of not..) And YES, this is my HOME Internet connection and I am only loading Bearshare to this one Dell computer Inspiron E1505.

I am really Not sure what you mean by "Port Forwarding"... I just want to be able to access Bearshare and I'm not sure what to do to get it working...

I also have no idea what you are talking about when you say "UPnP abilities"...

Thanks for your help!

If BS was working before, then obviously UPnP/Port Forwarding was not an issue before. As AW suggested, your connection cache is probably out of date. See his link above for fresh nodes to connect to.

UPnP is irrelevant right now. You can read up on it at Wikipedia if you're curious.

Try the two things I suggested and see if that works. Don't stop if one works because
both are necessary for performance reasons.