The #1 cause for slow BitTorrent speeds is a lack of uploading peers. This is common for older torrents. For example, a torrent from 2006 may have no seeds (people who have 100% of the file). In that case, you could only get as much data as is available (sometimes 0.0%) before your download speed would become approximately 0 kbps.
The easiest way to rule this cause out for beginners is to ask them to try to download something which is well-seeded. For example, on April 3, 2009,
the torrent at the very top of this page is incredibly well-seeded. You don't have to download all 700 MB: just start the torrent, give it 15 minutes or until your download speed meets your expectations (whichever occurs first), and then stop the torrent and delete the data fragment from your hard drive. Or, if you like, treat yourself to the latest CD distro of Knoppix. It's your call!
If you are able to download the Knoppix torrent very fast, then we have identified your problem. If you are not able to download the Knoppix torrent very fast or even at all, let us know.
If your problem really was just that the torrents you tried to get before had few seeds, I have bad but obvious news for you: there's nothing you can do about it. All torrents fit the following curve when it comes to # of seeders vs. time. (See my attachment.)
