this is when clicking on 'network' to view shares to figure out why the ____ i can't access anything on other PCs when the reverse is true.i choose to connect and get a popup in the sys tray saying that i'm currently connected to my network via a LAN.so why am i getting this 'not connected' error when i clearly am?

Hi, May I know if this is a wired connection or wireless one? At this time, please also try the following: 1. If you have installed a third-party network management tool, please remove it and see how it works. 2. Update the drivers for the NICs. 3. Boot the system to Safe Mode with networking or clean boot environment and see if it works: How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista or in Windows 7 Hope this helps. Thanks.Nicholas Li - MSFT