Hi,

PLease try the artile below:

https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/articles/h...

If he command provided does ot help, then
run a command in command prompt: ipconfig/all

then, try to ping the default gateway. If you can ping the D.G., then ping the dns server address you see in the output of ipconfig/all command.

If you are able to ping the dns server, then run a command : nslookup symantec.com

if you are getting the ip address of symantec.com as an output, then you can try the command : telnet symantec.com 80

if you get a blank screen, there there no problem with the network, its probably the browser issue.

Aniket

OK, I appreciate the responses, but you're going to have to dumb it down and fill in a few blanks, as I said I'm a mac person, but as I failed to mention my boyfriend is borderline computer illiterate. So between the two of us trying to figure out what you're saying with regards to a Vista machine is like reading a foreign language. Where does one go on a Vista machine to enter a command prompt?  Where do I go to type this in?  It is definitely not the internet that's the problem, I'm online on the same wifi network, and my boyfriend's computer is also connected to the network, it just won't make that final jump and connect to the internet. 

OK, I found the command prompt window through the help screen, but nothing yet.

First I tried

netsh winsock reset catalog

which brought up "this requires elevation."  I rebooted the machine anyway and nothing. 

Next I tried typing  "ipconfig" and that brings up several lines of
"Media state........: Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix   .:

Tunnel adaptor Local Area Connection*6:"

And then it repeats several times except the number after LAC keeps changing- it jumps from 6 to 14, 50 16 to 17. 

???