combo wired and wireless network

I should add that I have a cable modem and a netgear wire/wireless firewall router.

One other item:
Workgroup name is same on all computers.
All computers have XP sp2.
McAfee Firewall that I had is uninstalled.
Windows Firewall is on with exceptions.

As you can use the network printer the LAN port must be working so it has to be a setup issue with the wired network that is preventing you gaining a Internet connection over the wired network.

As you have not mentioned the brand of specs of the LT I would be looking at some kind of software conflict between the wireless drivers and the printer drivers which is causing the printer drivers to be lost every time you use the wireless connection.

As for the inability to gain a wired network connection it all depends on the way that the network is setup if you have the wireless router feeding every computer then the router can not be setup correctly but if you are feeding the LT from another computer with 2 LAN cards or connections built in then you should bridge these two connections to allow Internet access.

If you would like to post some more details about the actual configuration I'll attempt to answer your question. As far as the HP printer goes you said it has both wireless and wired print capability so I would be looking at the printer software setup as there has to be something wrong there. But maybe it will only accept one concurrent connection and as you already have the wire in place it is dropping the wireless connection and adversely affecting the LT drivers. Both the brand/Model of the LT and printer would be of help here as well.

create a workgroup. join the 3 computers to the workgroup. add all user accounts onto all 3 computers, install the printer on one of the desktops, share the printer. Connect to the shared printer on the desktop via the wireless laptop.

Thank you for the response!
The LT is a Compaq Presario X1030 with Centrino.
The Printer is an HP deskjet 5800 series.
All computers are hooked up to the ethernet connection thru LAN cords that attach to wall outlets to access the CAT5 wiring in my house. The printer is also attached to a sepatare wall outlet using a LAN cord. No computer is actually attached to another computer or the printer. I have the LAN cords in the basement attached to the router which is attached to my cable modem. The Desktop computers can access the printer thru the LAN. I have installed the printer on my laptop. At installation, you are asked if the connection will be direct or to a wired network or to a wireless network. I have to choose wired because that is how the desktops are connected. I have the LAN cord plugged into the LT during printer installation. Installation program is able to find the printer on the network and install. It works until I have to unplug that LAN cord to access the internet. If I didn't have to unplug (and could access the internet thru the LAN on my LT) I wouldn't lose printer capability. I can understand why I can't print without being attached to the wired network. I can't understand why I can't connect to the internet on the wired network and why I lose printer capability when I unplug the LAN cord and then plug back in.
Thanks again. I know it is difficult to diagnose a problem without having all details and seeing setup in person!

2 cents:
when you can't 'get out' on laptop, can you ping out? can you ping your isp's dns servers? can you ping anything inside lan? like cable modem/router?
maybe root of all this evil is dhcp. think if you Start/Run/Cmd ipconfig you will see the laptop lose it's tcpip address...
you can test to see by trying static addresses. almost for sure your cable modem is dhcp server. make sure it is configured with the dns servers ip addresses provided by your isp. then set up 'puters on static ip address on same tcpip segment and subnet mask as router. use router lan ip address as gateway address. very sorry if repeating other answer, just quickly skimming this post...

Ok first off the understanding of your system is important.

You have an network. All of your computers are connected by either cat 5 cabling or wireless.

The HP printer has a tcpip address assigned to it.

When connected to the network by wireless the laptop has an address assigned.

If you have the address range of your network in the exceptions list you can address all computer and printers on that workgroup.

It doesn't matter if they are wired or wireless.

If you can't get to the printer through the wireless connection something is not configured right.

Lee

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