thanks for the response...

I have uninstalled and reinstalled a couple times now... I am pretty sure the network is open... when i viewed the properties for the SSID, i noticed that the network authentication was set to open, and the data encryption was set to WEP. in the network key field, there were several black dots, which made me think that a password had been set. However, when i clicked the field, all the black dots disappeared and i was prompted to enter and confirm a network key... whatever i havent seen any cyberhobos camping out on my lawn in hopes of using my internet, so i guess i dont care but that would be a nice thing to eventually set up. Right now though, i just want to establish a connection to my wireless network.