I recently subscribed to a satilite type internet service a week or so ago and now my ARES or Limewire wont connect. My internet is working just fine but not either p2p programs. Its not satilite, its through local towers and I have a dish receiver that recieves the signal. (Not Hughs net, they suck) However, I have no modem, its just a power sending unit that powers the dish. I have straight ethernet to this little power box and another ethernet coming from it to my desktop. I had problems getting a router to work and still havent resolved it please help. PS i dont have a static IP for what its worth.

ah ... so you do have a router. Give us as much info as possible & hopefully we can help: System details - help us to help you (click on blue link)

1. OS version? - Vista Home premium
2. What firewalls you have? - Windows regular to my knowledge
3. How much ram? - 2 gigs
4. Hard Disk space available? less than 80 gig (SATA 5400rpm)
5. Connection type? - DSL? Its weird, but it runs at 2 megs to 2.5 megs
6. Modem & router brand name & model numbers? - No modem, just a funky power sending unit. Belkin N router (wireless)
7. Where are you trying to connect from? - Home
8. What version of LimeWire (LW) & Java do you have? - Newest Java, and LW 5.1.4
9. Who is your ISP (Internet Service Provider)? - Sitco (local)
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? - It said my Test worked
11. Are you sharing the connection with other computers or p2p sharing programs? If yes, please give details of set up. - Yes, ARES, but problem started before on ARES, before i ever downloaded LW
12. Is this a your 1st try at LW or is this a new problem with an experienced user. - First time problem, but also on ARES
13. Do you see a brick wall in front of the blue world icon at the bottom of LW's interface? - Im behind a firewall and support firewall transfers
14. For those using a modem/router, how is your modem/router set up...are you port forwarding or is UPnP enabled? - Dont know really
15. What security programs are you using (antivirus etc)? Some people might not be aware that their security suite includes a firewall. - Trend micro
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). - Good ol USA
17. Has anything in your setup changed recently? Have you updated your version of LW or Java? Have you added any new software or new hardware? Have you updated any software? Have you moved house, changed internet plan or ISP etc etc? - Changed locations and ISP's, which I think with their funky setup its causing this problem

Bump

Check to see if your new ISP has any type of blocking system and check to see if your router has an inbuilt firewall, ask them also if there is a recommended method to setup your new router so that peer to peer traffic will work. After you've checked those things and if the problem still persists try the regular problem that a lot of people seem to have and renew your gnutella.net file. If you have a firewall sometimes you will find that your router and the AV application both have firewalls which can be a problem. Only one firewall at a time should be active. To check the gnutella.net possibility look under any of the "stickies" that go with that section of the forums. But if you were having problems before you eve installed Limewire I'd suggest it's got something to do with your new router and it's setup and may be worth investigating the various options it has for allowing internet traffic and see if you can come up with an answer in that direction. I've just found out that apparently ARES is connected in some way to the gnutella network and this common feature with Limewire may be a good indication to try the gnutella.net route and see how you go.
If you're running Vista you will have to go into the App Data folder which is a hidden folder until you go through the control panel and folder options section then in the view sector reset the option to show all folders and files then go back through C\:User name\Roaming\Limewire and replace the gnutella.net file with one you have downloaded from a recommended site found by reading that section (Connection problems) in the sections of these Limewire forums.
Good Luck!

Belkin wireless router. That will definitely have NAT protection. I use a Belkin myself but not the wireless version. UPnP on mine works ok unless it's been on days on end with heavy traffic then UPnP starts to fail sometimes. But wireless is much less reliable. Inconsistent speeds, inability to handle as much traffic messages, etc. Did you use this router before or after changing ISP/connection type?

As RobertR hinted, many Satellite services are not as reliable as other types of connection for p2p use. Usually less upload bandwidth. And some satellite services at least do shape or block p2p use.

In reference to the Gnutella.net file, for LW 5 simply delete it & LW will create a new one that should work (unlike LW 4.) However the fact neither of your p2p programs work suggests a problem at the hardware end & possibly the ISP.

I have a Belkin wireless setup on one of my PCs and it works fine although somewhat erratic at times. No connection problems however. I suppose it depends which one and what's built in.
I also have Trend Micro and there's a firewall included with that so make sure it's either turned off (more than one firewall=bad idea - the firewall, not the entire program) or you have allowed your P2P programs. I got caught by this one. Drove me mad before I realised what was causing it.
Check for other things like trojan scanners and malware finders. Some have built in stuff that don't like P2P and sharing folders.
Try disabling things one by one (including the Windows Firewall) - you should be safe as long as you remember to turn it back on again as soon as possible but try not to visit too many sites or download anything with them off - and see if it makes a connection.
As a last resort, sign up for a free dial-up ISP and test the thing (in case the programs have become corrupt). At least that tells you the P2P programs are working and the PC firewalls are not the cause .You can then concentrate on things like the router (many do have a built in firewall and some block all P2P and similar programs - and also some ISPs do as well.
Another suggestion (sorry but I do like the less technical stuff first) is to try other P2P programs as well and see if they work at all (uninstall the others first) as, occasionally, they can cause a conflict if common files get overwritten etc.
Very unlikely and shouldn't happen but possible.
Of course, try RobertR's and Lord of the Rings suggestions as they are the most likely. Mine are for "when all else fails................" and learned the hard way over the years (If something can go wrong, it's probably happened to me at some time!).

It sounds like the ISP because my ARES wouldnt work before I ever bought my new router and my pc was hardwired. And I uninstalled ARES and updated it then downloaded LW. BTW, will the ISP blocking stuff have any effect on gaming on my ps3? Im actually away at my grandpa's house and his hughs net works just fine. Ive downloaded several things on LW since ive been here. But with hughs net they gave him a modem, as where i dont have one. Its just a power sending unit. Oh and my internet runs with a upload thats dang near my download. Im only supposed to be getting 256k down and 128k up, but the guy installed and ordered their premium package under the radar for us I now pay base plan price for 2.5-3mbps download and 2mbps upload.

I'd still try a few things to check.
You say ARES stopped working before you got the router. That's important as we need to see what happened when it first stopped working.
Did the failure coincide with the change of ISP by any chance?
I can't find anything on Google suggesting that your ISP blocks P2P but maybe it's too small a company to show up.
I really don't like what you say about their installation though, Sounds very odd to me.
OK, let's backtrack.
If the problems started exactly with a change of ISP then contact them and ask "do you block P2P programs".
There's nothing illegal with the programs themselves. It's what people DO with them that's the problem so you won't get into trouble for asking them.
If it didn't start with a change of ISP, then we need to look at the setup again.
What's the exact name of your ISP? (ie sitco.com, sit-co.net etc)
There are sometimes problems with ISPs blocking ports (that would allow the Linewire test to work - as it did - but still not connect) but that is a default setting for security and can be changed.
Here's a site to check.
Security Scan
Try this to check (just work your way through the tests). Then check the ports against the ones you use for P2P programs.
Sorry this is so long winded but without actually sitting by your PC we are making "best guesses" and there are hundreds of reasons that this could be happening.
You'll probably find that the answer is something very trivial like an incorrect setting somewhere or a closed port.
Don't give up and keep posting and let us know the results.
DO remember to work your way through the other suggestions made as well like deleting that file etc.
And do things ONE AT A TIME and retest Limewire after each one or you'll never know what it was

You could also try connecting through different ports to see if they have blocked ports. Also check your online internet account to see if there is an option to open ports, some accounts have option to do this, depending on ISP, etc.

Ports to try: any between 49152 - 65535. And you could also try ports 80, 427, 443

To change ports using LW 5, menu bar, Tools -> Options -> Advanced -> SuperReallyAdvanced -> Firewalls.
Sample image here: Manual port forward instructions & sample image

However if the ISP is blocking, they might be using a special program that detects p2p software & is able to block it that way.