I meant your actual devices not the softw or source you connect thru. I know little about aol. Your computer will be connected to a modem device of some type - well, not necessarily I guess if it's the equivalent of TV cable. Is it possible to contact your ISP provider to find out what type of device you go thru?

Here's what I can help you with at the moment: With XP it will have its own firewall. You will need to access it & allow LW access thru it. Instructions can be found here: http://www.limewire.com/english/content/firewalls.shtml

By the way, it's normal for LW to take a little while to stabilise its connection. Depending upon how many incomplete files you have, it can correspondingly take longer. I suppose sometimes it's like trying to start your car on a very cold day perhaps after snow.