This was a puzzle for me as well. I always assumed the hosts weren't online when I started LimeWire. The I did some playing around with File,Edit View.... buttons and came across options. Haven't figured out how to save these permanently so am resetting every time I fire up, but you can change your preferences from closest local searches to include anyone who is on line. Also, if you choose the downloads with the highest number of stars and the largest number of users you will have more success. Another thing I discovered today is once all the searches have run through and they all show need more sources, right click and force resume and in most cases it would find a source where there wasn't one five minutes ago. Hope this is a help.