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1. Open the LimeWire application. Before downloading or doing anything else, immediately go to the Options menu. The preferences are in different places depending on if you are using the Macintosh, Windows or Linux version of LimeWire.
   • Macintosh: Use the command semicolon shortcut to bring up the Options screen.
   • Windows: Select Tools and Options from your Menu Bar.

1. If you have a slow internet connection or just don't like to share things, click on Sharing in the left hand column, and delete all of the text in the "Extensions" field under "Shared Extensions." Sharing files will slow your Internet connection down.

1. Next, type in the file extension for a file type that you don't have any of on your computer. In this example I used ".rms" because I don't have any. RMS files are secure RealMedia files. (This will allow you to download whatever you want, and the only files you will share are the .rms ones if you even have any at all.)
2. Next, select the Filters option in the left column and take a look at Keywords.

1. Go back to LimeWire's main screen.
2. Use the "Select Type" boxes that are at the top on the left. There are Images, Documents, Audio, Video, Programs, and Any Type.
3. Then just type the title of what you are looking for and click search.
4. The results may take awhile to appear if you are looking for an uncommon file, and sometimes nothing may come up. This could mean that that file is not on the network. It is a good idea to search again later, because a user might have launched LimeWire since your last search. You can only download a file if a Gnutella user has their client application open and they are sharing the file you are looking for.

1. In the Quality column, you will see 0-4 stars. The more yellow stars the better the chance for a successful download. In the # column next to quality, the higher the number the better. The numbers represent people who have that file. If some people quit LimeWire, there will still be other peers from who you can download the file. Always try to download a file that multiple people have.

2. The Speed column tells the other users' connection speed. The faster their connection is, the faster you can download the file. T3 is the best, T1 is next best, Cable/DSL is okay, but Modem is the worst. Dial-up is for losers.

3. When downloading music or other audio files, the Bitrate column is important. The bitrate is the compression level that the original song was compress down to. The higher the bitrate number is, the better the sound quality will be. If you want clear bass or distinctive vocals, then choose a high bitrate. Higher bitrates files are larger in size and will take longer to download. Most people including the iTunes Music Store use 128 kbps. Real audiophiles will pump their bitrates higher.

4. REMEMBER: Be sensible! Say you do a search for the movie "Top Gun." You see that the title of a file is Top Gun, but the file extension is .mp3. This means that is can't be a video and that it is audio. Also, the file size is important. If you want to get a whole movie, and the file size says 1 or 2 MB, then it won't be the movie because movies are huge files.

1. When you find the right file, double click it to start the download.
2. You can preview the file by clicking "Launch." It's a good idea to do this in case the file is corrupted.
3. When a file is done downloading, it is saved to your computer. To see where it is, go back to the Options menu and select Saving.
4. At Directory, click Browse to change the location of where your downloads go. I keep my folder on my desktop.