Internet Connection Issue - not router

thanks, firewall off, I just ran the ipconfig in this safe mode so trying to compare the two

If your router works with other computers then look at your network adapter first and foremost.

LordBob,

Thanks, and do you mean the adapter? I am using an Atheros5700 b/g....I got the Win7 driver from HP site for this, thought it had installed the latest driver, but not sure...how can I tell, and do I also need to get the latest driver for the ethernet card as well?

If you disable IPv6 just be mindful that you'll lose the Homegroup networking abilities.

If your router won't support this protocol then either update it's firmware, or think of buying a model which does offer that support as it's 'here to stay' and is a feature of the new operating system.

Microsoft, true to form, appear to be having numerous issues with networking hardware and W7.

Firewall could definitely cause this. All they do is run application-specific, IP-specific, and port-specific rules. If you can get ping to work (And I'd try traceroute, too - run a command prompt, do "tracert google.com", see if it makes it to trace complete.) and if your browser works in safe mode when the firewall and other services and software are presumably off, it could be just the firewall. It is certainly an application problem. Could honestly be as simple as accidentally clicking the wrong button the one time a firewall prompts for an access rule for a browser or for port 80.

Likewise, anti-virus/malware programs seem to come prepared to do the same nowadays in creating application-specific networking rules, so I'd check those, too, and not just the firewall.

I'd take a look at what services are running and what applications are loaded at start-up first and foremost to try and find the culprit.