I'd like to start up by saying I really don't have much of a clue about networking. PC Hardware and the likes is my specialty, but when it comes to people talking about DHCP and gateways, you're going to have to talk me through it slowly.

So I use wired internet, using a standard ethernet cable from my motherboard (Gigabyte GA-785GMT-USB3) to my router.

I normally use Windows, and have only used Ubuntu 3 times thus far, as is going to be a requirement for college in the coming year. I use Ubuntu 64-bit, using the 'grub' (or something similar) utility for multiple operating systems on one computer.

Immediately when I got into Ubuntu, it started complaining that it couldn't connect to any networks, I eventually gave up, and decided to go back into Windows.

Now when I logged in, My 'Local Area Connection 3' using the Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller driver is acting erratic. It is completely incapable of connecting going from 'Network Cable unplugged' for a while, then flashing to 'Enabled' then quickly to 'Identifying.' and back to the original state, and repeat.

I'm getting a laptop next week anyway, so I don't mind losing Ubuntu. Is there any way I can deal with this? I'm currently using a very old, tempermental PCI wireless card, which I am not happy with.

Is there anything that can be done, or am I going to be digging into my ever-emptying purse again for a new piece of hardware.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer any input,
- Brittany