"starting connection" glitch

[pye]

hi, i have used limewire for ~2yrs on freebie version; ~4weeks ago when lw opened got just 1 small green bar and "starting connection" message but it never connected. i upgraded to pro thinking this would solve problem but NO, still doesn't fully connect.
i've looked in threads but only suggestion can find left to do is delete "lw preferences file" manually or using downloadable jar file- i'm wary of this since couple of replies have had problems after doing this.
here's my set up- please help me, i'm dying to get some new tunes!

1. OS version? (eg: Windows 98) windows xp; 4 users on xp, 3 have lw
2. What firewalls you have? xp firewall
3. How much ram? 504 mb
4. Hard Disk space available? 205 gb
5. Connection type? (eg: dialup, broadband, cable, etc.) wireless
6. Modem & router brand name & model numbers? phillips adsl wireless modem router sna 5630 ns/05
7. Where are you trying to connect from (house, appartment complex, school, student accomodation, work, etc.)? house
8. What version of LimeWire (LW) & Java do you have? (Go to LW's menu Help>About LW...) Will show both LW & Java version. pro v 4.12.15, java 1.6 0_01
9. Who is your ISP (Internet Service Provider)? talktalk
10. Do this simple test for us. Using your browser go here: http://www3.limewire.com:6346/ The page should say 'Your test worked!'. What happens when you go there? my test worked
11. Are you sharing the connection with other computers or p2p sharing programs? If yes, please give details of set up. no
12. Is this a your 1st try at LW or is this a new problem with an experienced user. used lw for 2 years till this glitch jsut happened
13. Do you see a brick wall in front of the blue world icon at the bottom of LW's interface? yes, but lw is ticked in xp fierwall exception list. using port 47578
http://www.gnutellaforums.com/attach...1&d=1158099342
14. For those using a modem/router, how is your modem/router set up...are you port forwarding or is UPnP enabled? think upnp is enabled, not sure tho
15. What security programs are you using (antivirus etc)? Some people might not be aware that their security suite includes a firewall avg free, ad-aware, spyware blaster, spybot - all > 2 yrs
16. What country are you living in? Sometimes there are ISPs with the same name in more than one country (eg Clearwire in the USA & also in Ireland). uk
thanks