this was my EXACT problem. I have a netgear router and i forgot what the site was that I enter in or w/e (i think its like 192. something) so I can change it.

ok i found it, but I don't think with a Netgear router I can "bridge", but the problem I am having is EXACTLY the same as mickequipe. Is there something similar I can do similar to his?

Netgear, sure, try enabling UPnP as suggested under section 2 (UPnP) here Connection problems? Check here first! (click on link)

If that doesn't work then forward a port as described in section 3 on that page.

BTW make sure your software firewall "is" configured to totally allow LW full access.

it claims that UPnP is enabled. it also has two following things:

advertisement period (in minutes) [30]
advertisement time to live (in hops) [4]

i have no idea what they mean. Also when I click apply, the internet disconnects and reconnects, I assume that has to do with putting the settings into effect.

If UPnP is not working correctly, then forwarding a port is almost always more reliable. Go here http://portforward.com/routers.htm & look for Netgear & your model. Make sure you set up a static ip before you begin the forward process, else it won't work next time your ip changes.

BTW you should also check to see if there's any firmware upgrades for your model netgear. This can make a big difference in performance. But also check user feedback to be sure there's no bugs involved.