Hey Everyone! Thanks to all your WONDERFUL help, I was able to get my computer almost back to 100%, for which I am extremely grateful. Thank you so much!
Unfortunately, its still not at 100%
Since you all had such great advice before, I'm sure when we put our brains together, we can figure this out too...
Okay, the problem has to do with my internet connection in some way. Since I'm at home right now, I have to use a modem to connect. I've double checked all the setttings I could think of, and even set up a few new connections as well. When I connect using the modem, everything seems fine. I get the little blinking computers in the bottom of the screen, and my computer tells me I'm connected. However, here's a few examples of the problem I'm facing...
When I try to open Mozilla, it gives me the "tfproject.org could not be found. please try again" error message. I've tried it on many different sites with the same result. When I try to open IE, it just tells me "this page cannot be displayed." AIM just says it's "connecting" until I close it, mIRC says that it's unable to resolve the server, and WinMX gives me an error message about the TCP/IP port not listening, or something to that effect. So basically, it seems like even though I'm "connected" there is a communication breakdown between my modem and my computer that is causing it to not register as being connected.
If anyone has any insight into what I could possibly do to fix the situation, I will love you forever!
Seriously though, I sincerely miss this community, a lot!
I just want to be able to get back online and be an involved member again. Can't wait to talk to you all again soon! Here's to hoping we can figure something out.