I found an entry in the freepeers.ini file, "bForcedUltrapeer = YES". That is what is allowing the beta version to still connect and not the released version 5.2.5.1. If I turn off the forced ultrakeeper than the beta can't connect anymore either. I tried setting that flag in the released version, but it looks like only the beta version actually checks for that flag, because even with that set the released version is not going into ultrakeeper mode or connection to the network. The setup screen for the beta version says debug only for the forced ultrakeeper options, so the code for it was probably removed from the final release. I guess I should be happy to have a working free version of bearshare again, but I don't have a very high speed internet connection, so I was hoping not to have to be an ultrakeeper just to connect.

Bob