1. What is the "status" of the NIC LEDs (on/off, steady/blinking, green/amber/yellow)?
2. Use Command Prompt window.
a. Bring up a Command Prompt window. Run -> Start -> type "cmd" without quotes and hit <Enter> key.
b. Check the TCP/IP stack using the IPv4 loopback address. Does "ping 127.0.0.1" complete successfully?
c. Check your own IP address. Use "ipconfig" to get your address, then "ping <your_address>" (enter your address without the "<>". What does it say?