hi kyarb, well there are many possibilaties as to why is this not working. you said you just finished building a new desktop, so I am asuming the first thing you tried with it is to install windows 7 corrent? the first thing to check, is if it's a windows 7 spesific issue or not, I would try installing a copy of vista or xp just for testing.
if you still have this issue with xp or vista, other things you can check:
1. driver: try re-installing or updating the driver, I had a problem once with a wireless card, but when I uninstalled it and re-installed it it worked. to do that right click on computer and click on manage, then device drivers, check the network adaptors, select the adaptor, right click and select uninstall driver
2. if uninstalling/re-installing the driver didn't work, try updating the driver if you can find a newer version of the driver. goto the manufactor's site and goto the support/download section, look for the latest w7 drivers.
3. if updating the driver doesn't work, or if you can't find an updated w7 version on the manufactor's site, then try looking for a vista driver and try that, since some of the w7 drivers are still fairly new and the vista ones are more tested, most vista drivers seem to work under w7 as well, but make sure to install with vista compatability mode
4. try to see if the distance from the wireless access point or router makes a difference, usually for 802.11g it works only upto a max distance of 45 M indoors, but for 802.11a it only works for 15 M and doesn't not work through walls or doors. see if getting your PC closer to the router helps or not.
5. if nothing is helping, it's a good idea to try unsecure mode to see if it's a security related issue. goto to your router's configuration by opening a browser and typing in 192.168.1.1 ( or sometimes 192.168.0.1 ), and type in password which is usually admin/admin by default, look for the wireless security section and disable encryption. if it works after that it means there is something wrong in your security settings between the router and your PC. try different secuirty methods, for me I found the most compatable security protocol is WEP. WPA was working ok but not for my mobile, when I switched to WEP everything worked fine. if you were using 128-bit try using 64-bit and see if that works better.
6. sometimes there is intefearance between your wirless network and your cordless phone or other wireless networks in the region. since you are propably using 802.11g you are then using 2.4Ghz, and you can't change that, but you can change the chanel, either 1,6,11. I think it's 6 by default, try 11 or 1 and see if that helps. or just try powering off your cordless phone while you test. also your microwave might intefear, so if you have one near by try turning that off as well, and see if it makes a difference.
7. since you have tried two different wireless adaptos but you still have the problem, check if it's a problem with your router itself, do you have other PCs or laptops that are connected properly? if all of the above doesn't help and you don't have any other laptop or PC connected to try, see if replacing the router helps, either borrow one from your friend or just ask for a replacement to see if that helps. have you tested this router before and was it working properly in the past?
that's all I can think of, good luck troubleshooting and let us know how it goes!
