uTorrent (Mac) slows to a crawl, must be Force Quit

[JoJo33]

uTorrent v. 1.8.7 (up-to-date)

Mac OS X 10.6.8

Files are on a 1TB networked LAN drive via Gigabit ethernet (and, yes, Gig routers)

Drive has 33 percent room available

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I can launch uTorrent and for an hour or 2 all is well. Then UI response goes to zero, or very very slow response to click, etc.

 

If I Force Quit and launch it again, all is well until it happens again. 

 

I've tried changing port, reducing upload bandwidth, increasing connection numbers. None has helped. 

 

This is a new experience; only started a few months(?) ago. Prior to this problem uTorrent was quite good for years. 

 

What to do next?

Thanks!