Hi mick360,

Your version of LW doesn't have a firewall indicator. In LW go tools > options > bug reports > view example. Scroll down to 'recieved incoming this session'...is it true or false? If it's false, you can't recieve incoming connections from other computers & there's probably a firewall problem.

First thing to try: Delete LW's preferences folder when LW's properly closed. the preferences folder is located in C:\Documents and Settings\your username\.limewire
This will kill all of your settings within options, you'll have to go back through afterwards & reset things. If you're not sure of your settings, go through LW's tools > options & write them all down, so that you can reset things later.

Also make sure that you have LW set to connect when the application starts...tools > options > connections. Make sure 'connect on startup' is ticked.

Make sure that the XP firewall's configured to allow LW.
User Cant Connect - LimeWire

Next, try installing this version of Java. Use the JRE offline installer & remove your current Java version before you install this one.
Archive: Download Java 2 Platform Standard Edition (J2SE) 5.0 Update 11

Have you tried connecting with a later version of LW? The latest stable release is 4.12.15 & the latest Beta version is 4.13.13. You can download either version at the official site here.
Lime Wire » Download LimeWire
If you don't have the 4.8.1 installer saved, you'll lose that version if you install another version of LW.

I can't find any much info about your modem (the Next G network is a bit of a mystery to me...I'm not a Telstra customer), so I'm not sure whether yours has an internal firewall. I'm guessing not. You could always call BigPond & ask whether there's an internal firewall & if so, how to port forward for your modem.

Damn...I'm too slow