Limewire "freezes"
 

I am using an Imac Intel Core 2 Duo, 20", 2.16 GHz,1GB of RAM, OS10.4.1 with a direct wired cable internet connection. I have lots of disk space.... over 100GB on my HD and a 250 GB external firewire HD. The "test" worked. I am the only user. I recently decided to try Limewire again (version 4.14.0 Pro.) and did so because I have many CD's that are screwed up and want to replace them.

I have about 100 or so songs in my queue that I want to download. They are in my queue of course because when I found them over a period of a couple of weeks, I could not download them since the hosts would not allow me to have them or went offline after I had put them in the queue. I still would like to find those songs. I keep trying and hope someone will have them.

I keep Limewire open whenever possible to share my files and they get hit quite frequently.

Here's the problem: When I start Limewire, I select all of the files to "find more sources." I then begin my searches while Limewire is trying to locate the files. (It rarely, if ever, finds any of those files when it starts up.)

When I search more than 7 or 8 artists at the same time, Limewire begins to get sluggish and eventually "freezes." By that I mean, I can't do anything for quite a while. And by that I mean, I can't search any other artists or titles, or open my library or do anything whatsoever. I just have to play the waiting game and hope the "freeze" goes away which is does sometimes. However, most of the time, it stays "frozen" or I get that dreaded spinning beach ball and I know then that all hope is lost. I have to force quit and start all over again.

It happens entirely too much.

Browsing a host is almost impossible if the host has more than a few hundred files. The same type of "freezing" occurs and Internal Errors" are frequent.

Thanks for any suggestions?

First & foremost reason for this is Apple's Java is not as good as Sun's Java that all other OS's use. Bad practice is also contributing. Don't use the Resume/Find Sources button on all incomplete files. This can have side-fx such as affect LW's connection quality. May queue your files for much much longer. This will also stress LW & your comp. such as freezing. If you use Resume/Find sources then just apply it to a couple or so at one time.
Better practice is manually search the files again. Else, control-click them in the download window & choose search for ...

Also, when upgrading to Pro, it's recommended to delete your preferences folder. Only do this whilst LW is CLOSED. Prefs folder is found here: /Users/your_username/Library/Preferences/LimeWire

Something else to help, don't let your incomplete folder get too many files. Occasionally, do this Tip: Purge the Downloads Queue! (click on blue link)

BTW LW has introduced a function where it automatically searches for sources for incomplete files every 30-60 mins or so. So really your approach is not necessary. ;)

Nice to hear from you again jordan2. Been a long time. Good to see you have finally upgraded to OSX. ;)

Nice to see you have become a guru here and thanks for your reply. Quick question: What affect will additional RAM have on Limewire?

LW for OSX uses a considerable amount. But more-so it is a VM (Virtual Memory) hog. The more shares, the more incompletes, the more searches, the more find sources you have the quicker it grows. ie: VM is where it stores temporary information on the HDD. All OSX programs use VM as does the system itself. Opening the Activity Monitor from the Utilities folder will show you how much VM each program has used. Of course, like RAM, as soon as you close the program, HDD space is returned.

The reason for the memory leaks is Java for OSX. It seems to have problems releasing memory when it has finished with it whilst the program is still open.

BTW I found I was having problems running LW in Ultrapeer mode. This was draining my system & sometimes knocking out my router. So you may wish to disable this option. You will find it in Prefs (keyboard shortcut: ⌘ ,) > Advanced > Performance & tick disable Ultrapeer capabilities.

Thanks for the tips. Yes, Activity Monitor reveals that Limewire is a hog for VM. I just replaced one my 512MB chips with a 2GB chip and that immediately made a difference. Also disabled Ultrapeer capabilities.

Actually disabling all options under performance will reduce drag as well. Both the other options have been buggy since they introduced them.

BTW jordan2, I highly recommend this program to keep alongside your p2p use: Azureus : Java BitTorrent Client
A bit more info. Azureus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Send me a PM for info about where to get files. ;) :)

Say Lord of The Rings,

I'm using Mac OSx Leopard and my LW seems to freeze and go into non-response, else lag for a few minutes before I can do any action. Do you know why this is so and how I may fix it?

Thanks :)

I presume you are using the latest LW 5.2.13 version? LW 5.2 will reduce drag on the system compared to LW 5.1

Try not to gather too many incomplete files. Make sure your Java is up to date via Software Update under apple menu.

Go to LW's preferences (command-comma) -> Advanced -> Super Really Advanced -> Performance, & Disable Ultrapeer mode, Mojito DHT & TLS. See if that helps.

You could set up a Test Account on your computer (easily created, easily deleted later) & see if it also freezes in that account. But don't have both LW's running at same time of course. Setting up a Test Account in OSX (click on link). If no problems, then it might be a good idea to delete your old LW preferences. Before doing that, make a note of all important LW settings, then close the program. Find your LW preferences folder, remove the Downloads.dat file & put it somewhere safe. Then trash the LW preferences folder. Now open LW & see if it behaves any better. If yes, close LW down again. Then go back to your new LW preferences folder & put the old Downloads.dat file back in replacing the newer one inside. Now you can re-open LW. Deleting LW Preferences folder in OSX