µTorrent version 3.1.3 build 26837 freezes/unresponsive

[persistenceofvision]

system specs:

Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition Professional Service Pack 3 (Build 2600)

2.00 gigahertz AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core

32 bit

Not hyper-threaded

2048 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory

my speedtest.net results are:

ping: 281ms

download: 793.5kB/s

upload: 51.6 kB/s

using µTorrent version 3.1.3 build 26837

I started having the same freezing up problem with only one to three downloads going and 5 completed files. i use to be able to leave it running all night and in the morning, the downloads (10 max simultaneous downloads) would be done or almost finished. now i wake up in the morning to find utorrent frozen and unresponsive and this is only with ONE file trying to download.

i noticed that before the gui freezes up, if i pause or stop the download, then the gui is able to respond normally.

i came here and tried ALL of the recommended settings, and when i say ALL, i mean i tried everything. i adjusted the advanced settings and number of connections based on my upload speed and so forth. everything listed in the sticky: uTorrent v3.x - Best Practice Tips by rafi.

i even downloaded a settings dat file posted and still no go. the gui keeps freezing up. i have never had this problem before, ever. i have been using utorrent for years now. i also tried the AMD dual core optimizer and it didn't help.

i also have plenty of room on my HDD for my downloads.

I am not infected with any viruses and i do not use McAfee or Norton products. i also tried disabling my firewall, spybot S&D(and uninstalled spybot too removing the registry files as well), and my AV and it didn't help. my router is setup properly. i am using UPnP since my router has that feature. i would get the little green check in the status bar saying that everything is ok.

i also tried older versions (such as 3.1, 3.2, and even 1.8.5) of uTorrent as an experiment to see if it is just the new version and i had the same problem.

i also noticed that when uTorrent is running, surfing the web is practically impossible. it just creeps along and pages take forever to load. the only thing i have not tried yet since i didn't think it would help is to patch my tcpip.sys file. i might try it and see what happens. it can't be any worse than the state it is in now.

I have been a long time utorrent user and I even recommend utorrent to anyone who asks "how do i download music and movies?"

i hope that a solution can be found. i hate the idea of having to use something other than utorrent. i don't know what else to do. hopefully the info provided can help make the next version better.

if i do have to use a different client, i just want to say thanks to all of you guys (and gals) at uTorrent for what you have done and are still doing! it if wasn't for uTorrent i wouldn't have all the great downloads i was able to get when it worked for me.

[Firon]

Have you tried uninstalling the firewall completely? Don't disable it. Just uninstall and reboot.

Also, it's probably worth patching tcpip.sys. Your overall network performance will improve considerably when you do. It may explain why you can't browse while torrenting.

[persistenceofvision]

I think my problem is solved. I took your advice and uninstalled the free edition of zone alarm and sure enough it is working like it used to! I probably should have mentioned i was using zone alarm. my bad. i even remember reading somewhere about vsmon being a problem. i guess i forgot about that.

I also did update my tcpip.sys file too because i don't think it will hurt.

Thanks for all the help.

i get to stay with my favorite bittorrent client, utorrent!