I have the exact same problem. I am pretty sure it has something to do with your firewall. I am using a linksysa cable/dsl firewall. I haven't been able to find anywhere on the limewire help files or anything exactly which ports need to be open on the firewall to make it work. I think just the default port has to be open incoming and outgoing, but since it isn't working for me I can't say for sure. I will keep trying to figure out a solution and post a reply here later....
wintermute