I fear UKBobboy01 may be correct when he says that its a mystery as to why the static IP address should make a difference. It may well be that the static IP address was not the answer.

When I tried to go onto the internet today, my connection did not work so I had to switch back to the "Obtain an IP address automatically".

When I tried Limewire it was back to the 1 bar and the brick wall. I took the same steps as I had previously (using Wondering Why's link) but so far no connection has been established.

I suspect that it is down to the F-Secure Firewall. Its not the easiest thing to configure and the on-line Help does not appear (at first read) to be very helpful. I think I will concentrate on the firewall element and see if I can find any useful documentation that will help me sort this out. Its very frustrating