You could try either of a few other connection lists.
I have a couple at very bottom of post here http://www.gnutellaforums.com/host-c...bearshare.html The rar & zip are same. But two options for each. One came from Windows 2000 & other from Win XP. The first is probably the best.
My Win 2000 BS 5.1 beta connects in seconds. Runs better than either of my other win installations.

File_Girl also has one. But I'm not sure where she's posted it. Though she did post http://www.gnutellaforums.com/host-c...d-version.html quite some time back. That cache posted with it is probably too old now. No idea.