Problem renewing IP address (cannot connect to net)

[Tradewind]

Whenever I plug the cable into my laptop, it will say "This connection has limited or no connectivity. You might not be able to access the Internet or some network resources", and mention something about renewing IP address. I tried to renew IP address in cmd with the command "IP /release", but it will yield the error "No operation can be performed on wireless network connection while it has its media disconnected. IP address for adapter local area econntion has already been released". I have no idea what this error is about since it mentions "wireless" (I'm not even trying to access wireless because there is none here) and "media disconnected". A similar error will yield after I follow up with "IP /renew", which says "No operation can be performed on wireless network connection while it has its media disconnected. An error occurred while renewing interface local area connection: unable to contact DHCP server. Request has timed out". My laptop is able to connect to the home network fine, but I am out of country right now and it cannot connect at my relatives' home, and my laptop has never been able to connect to any network other than the one at home, which is really odd. I'm not familiar with computer technicalities so please provide step by step instructions if possible. Thanks.

My laptop runs on Windows XP Media Centre Edition.

[johnwill]

It sounds like the cable you are using is bad, or the network you're connecting to is not functional. Has a wired connection ever worked with this computer? Is your home network wired or wireless?