Why is there so many problems accessing the internet with windows 7

I have a MSI A6200-021US. I bought it a week ago. There toil free technical number is a joke. My old 6012RSH desktop running winxp3 works like a champ as far as the internet is concerned. Not So with my 1 week old Intel Core I5-430M. I had a friend access the internet on Monday. Trhough the RJ-45 connect and through the Wireless Connection. I have TWC as my cable provider and earthlink as my ISP. He was able to set up an account via Homegroup. But when I try to connect through the home group it states that since I cannot access the network then I cannot access the homegroup. This thing is kicking me in the rear end