Downloading from 1 source sometimes doesn't work...
 

I have a question that many people are probably wondering about...

I have found that if I enter the name of a file I want to download on my search, the file shows up fine. Some of the time it downloads okay (from one host), but other times it says "needs more sources." It seems that during both scenarios, there is only one host on with the file, but sometimes it downloads and sometimes it doesn't. Is there any way to fix this problem or speed up the downloads? Why is my computer doing this?

If you are choosing to download files that only have 1 host then there really isn't any way to speed it up. If that host is busy you will have to wait for a spot to download from the host if that host leaves the net then you are out of luck until they return. You will get better results if you choose files that have multiple host and 4*.

I guess the best route to take is patience and persistence. Thank you!

not your computer but the network. keep in mind, when you download you have to download from a host that is online at the sametime you are to complete the download.

It says that they're on, but it's still not downloading. And when it does it is very slow. Does this happen to everyone?

I guess i am going to have to go into a little more detail in my explanation. OK we will use me as an example now I share around 400 files most of the time when I am at home I leave LimeWire on 24/7 when I am there. But I work in construction therefore I am on the road allot thus LimeWire is off when I am not there.
When I am sharing I allow 10 slots for people to download from me. I have cable and can upload at 45kb so 45/10 = 4.5kb per person. There are always 10 downloading from me and 10 waiting to download from me so that means no one else is going to be able to download from me until someone finishes. Now if there are lets say 1000 people looking for any of the 400 files I am sharing that means your odds of connecting to me are 1 in 1000. With those odds the likelihood that you will ever connect to me is somewhere between slim and none.And if you do you will only get 4.5kb download speed..
(The moral to this story) If you choose files that only have 1 source you are asking for it to take a long time to complete in most cases, if ever, and slow download speeds. Hopefully this will fully answer your question. There are stickies on how to improve your upload and download success with LimeWire if you want to improve your performance with LimeWire read them.

Oh, I see...
 

I think I know what you mean. Just because it shows up that one person has the file doesn't mean people can download from it. (For example, it might be one of the 400 files that you have but not one of the ten that people are currently downloading from.) So unless the host is on for an extended period of time, I won't be likely to get very much from them until I become one of the ten people with one of the ten slots. This really explained a lot! Thank you for such a detailed explanation!

Also, is it worth the money to get Limewire Pro? I have basic and my brother has Pro. He says that even with the grouping option, he can't tell much difference between both versions. He regrets having spent the money when he could have gotten the same service for free.