So I'm on a school network, and it says I'm connected at 100Mbps. There is no wall in front of the globe, so it's not being blocked by a firewall that I know of. I did the speed test at speakeasy.net and it says my download speed is 1440kbps and my upload speed is 1576kbps. However, when I try to download a song on limewire, it only downloads 5KB/s, while my roomate, who is on the same internet, but a different connection in the room, downloads files at 50KB/s or higher sometimes. He has a Sony ****, and I have a Dell Inspiron E1505, both with XP. Also, I don't think it's my computer, because I usually download files and programs from the internet at 25-50KB/s or higher.

I followed the forum on configuring limewire to get max download speed, but that didn't help at all...except maybe adding 1 or 2KB/s.

What am I doing wrong? Why is my speed so much slower than his?

I tried that, and it still only downloads at about 6 or 7 KB/s. And yes, I did delete my limewire preference folder (i.e. the .limewire folder).

Do you and your roommate use the same LW client (must be something less than 4.12 if you still have the " .limewire " folder)? And what did you mean with " a different connection"??
Have you both been using LW for a while, or have you used it longer than your roommate??
How about the Java you both use; is it the same version (i.e. 1.5.0_06)??

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"Never Argue With An Idiot. They Will Drag You Down To Their Level, Then Beat You With Experience"

Well, I have the most recent version of java (1.5.0_06), and I now have LW 4.12.6, and it's still slow (3-7KB/s). By a different connection, I mean that my roomate is connected through his wireless router, which is connected to a different jack than mine is. Even when I use that wireless on my computer, it still downloads slow. I have McAffe Personal firewall plus, but LW is allowed full access. When I downloaded LW today, it went at speeds of up to 125KB/s on Internet Explorer.

The most recent Java version is 1.5.0_08. If youn want to install it than make sure you've uninstalled all previous versions and rebooted. Then use the JRE offline installer to install the new one. You can get it here:
http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/download.jsp

The preference folder of the 4.12.6 LW version is called " LimeWire" and is located in the hidden Application Data Folder (explanations about it in the link I gave you above).

It is also possible that the McAfee is properly configurated. You should add the listening port of LW to the list of exceptions.
LW>Tools>Options>Advanced>Firewall.....there you'll find the listening port.

__________________

"Never Argue With An Idiot. They Will Drag You Down To Their Level, Then Beat You With Experience"

Ok, I downloaded the newest version of Java from that link. Set the ports to what LW says in McAfee. Deleted the hidden preferences folder, restarted my computer a couple of times, and still, it tops out at 8KB/s. I'd turn McAfee off, but I have no idea if that's the problem, or what that would do to my system. I'd buy LW Pro, but I don't want to do that until I make sure it's going to work the way it should.

Well, he just downloaded 2 songs at abotu 45KB/s, and when I try to download that song, I get it from 7 hosts (there's over 60 for the song, at T3 or highger speed), and it downloads at a max of 8KB/s. And no, I do not have Windows firewall running at the same time as McAfee. And yes, I do have UPnP enabled in LW. His LW currently says he is behind a firewall, but yet he downloads files far faster and from less hosts.

This might be a big thing to ask but ... Why not try an experiment & use his wireless device (you will prolly need to install the drivers & then enable it within the system & then enable UPnP), & connect thru his connection & without him using LW or another p2p program at the same time. See what happens. It might be a big favour to ask of him, but at least this will show whether the problem is on your system & its set up or something else. Also, try to temporarily disable McAffee firewall & have XP's firewall on instead, instructions for configuring XP's firewall: Firewall configuration instructions (click on link)

As suggested by FOTH, do the magnet test also.

BTW I hope you don't normally run with 2 firewalls running. And is your McAffee the full version or a trial version or ... ?
I've heard of people having McAffee problems before.

Ok, I turned McAfee off, Windows Firewall on, configured it, tried both UPnp, and port forwarding using the port it says it's listening on. Connected to his wireless (which is simple, because all I have to do is turn my wirelss on on my laptop and it automatically connects to it because he gave me the password), without his computer connected to the router, and yet I still only get speeds of about 7KB/s, whether I download from 1 host, or 10. I also ran the magnet test, and got the same results.

And no, I do not normally run with both firewalls running. And I'm not entirely sure if McAfee is a trial version or not, it came already installed on the computer.

I'm not sure what your problem is. It seems something on your system is disallowing the faster speeds for LW to access. You could try the SP2 patches: MS & 3rd party patches

Why not try FrostWire or Phex & see if you have the same problem?