Peer Connection Problem with 0.79 & reinstalling older version

[PJC]

I have been using BitComet for a couple of years now with pretty good success.

However, when moving to 0.79, I have noticed that I am not getting nearly the number of connections to peers that I was used to in the past. Just recently I connected to a swarm that was about 40/220. I finished the download and was keeping the task active to seed for a while. After a couple of days (700M file), my U/D ratio was still only at about .6. I looked at the peers and there were still around 200+ downloading. I was attached to 6 of them with a total upload speed of about 9 Mbs. In the past, I would have been attached to at least 40-50 of them and uploading like crazy -- with a lot of downloading peers I have been able to almost saturate my upload speed.

Did something change in 0.79 that would affect this?

I tried going back to 0.77 (which worked before) but the situation was the same. However, I just did an "over the top" install from 0.79. Do I need to do a full uninstall first before reinstalling 0.77? Are there any other files or registry settings that I need to kill as well?

Support Info:

1. Version of BitComet: 0.79 & downgrade to 0.77

2. Version of Windows: XP running SP1 (for some reason I have had problems with SP2 everytime I try to upgrade to it)

3. Internet Connection and Router: Cable, 10M/1M (actual tests are near that when everything isn't congested). Router is a Linksys WRT54GS. Also, I am getting both Local and Remote connections so I think the port forwarding on the router is correct.

Thank!

Pat

[bitdave]

I suggest you go back to v0.70 which is the best version right now

Just uninstall the version you currently have, then install v0.70

There shouldnt be any problem downgrading and your torrents/downloads and settings should still be there

Theres a link to v0.70 in my sig

After you install v0.70 go through the settings guide in my sig to verify your settings are good for your connection

[PJC]

I uninstalled .79 and am back at .70. Unfortunately all my settings were trashed, so I am going to have to "retune" before I can tell if there is a difference.

[kluelos]

Generally be aware that many firewalls identify programs by their MD5 hashes and not by their filenames, so when you change versions the firewall thinks it's a new program that it doesn't have a rule to allow, and so blocks it by default. When you change versions of any internet program, delete your old rule and create a new one for it.

[PJC]

Generally be aware that many firewalls identify programs by their MD5 hashes and not by their filenames, so when you change versions the firewall thinks it's a new program that it doesn't have a rule to allow, and so blocks it by default. When you change versions of any internet program, delete your old rule and create a new one for it.

Good point, although I think my firewall (the router) just opens the port specified. It doesn't even allow a program to be selected. However, for good measure, I deleted and recreated the port assignment.

[kluelos]

That's regarding software firewalls only. Firmware firewalls like the one in your router don't care about outbound traffic at all and don't block any of it.

[PJC]

Ok, I have played with this for a week and there is definitely a problem here.

I had no problem with any version from .70 to .77 and all was working well. After I installed .79 I started experiencing problems with up and download speeds and the number of peers that I connect to. Uninstalling and reinstalling an earlier version does not seem to clear up the problem. I am pretty sure that nothing (under my control) has changed on the computer since the initial install of .79 and now.

The basic symptoms seem to be that even with a well peer'ed swarm, that I am only attaching to a few peers and only xfering a few KBs to those peers. For example, I was seeding to a swarm that had 1700+ downloaders. I was attached to a total of 8 of them and uploading at a rate of 3KBs. In the past (pre .79) I would have been attached to dozens of them and be close to saturating my connection.

If anyone has any ideas, I would love to hear them. I have uninstalled and reinstalled both new and older versions until my hands are bleeding, checked the firewall settings and all the internal setting and I am either missing something or .79 screwed up something more basic with the computer.

[kluelos]

We've had reports that under 0.79 it seems to take longer to build up connections and speed, but a clean uninstall and reinstall of a 0.70 has fixed them. I'd suggest you uninstall 0.79, reboot, install 0.70, and see if that sets you back to normal. The reboot seems to matter, so I suspect the uninstaller isn't doing quite what it should.