found problem
The unusual source of the problem of not connecting to either my wireless network or via ethernet turned out to be my Firewall software. I had always used Windows firewall previously. Recently, I decided since Time-Warner/Roadrunner, my ISP, provided free anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewire software to try it out. It worked fine until recently and then for some reason it blocked the internet connection. I uninstalled the firewall, and used Windows firewall instead. Now no connectivity issues.
The firewall SW in question is eTrust firewall. The anti-virus and anti-spyware SW works great. So it's somethng to consider if you're having troubles, it's also something to consider if you don't want to pay for your anti-malware software: most ISP's now provide free SW for Windoze.
