morning chaps....
before you install the driver again,unplug the USB,go into the device drivers networking too and remove all ethernet devices.
the best way to do this is to remove all devices including the old hidden ones like this:
we are talking xp sp2 on the lappy right?.
click start,
right click 'my computer/manage,
left click 'device manager',
in 'computer management' click view,'show hidden devices'
then you should see all the old network devices ,remove every single one of them and that will get you back to generic.
im assuming theres no built in wired ethernet, and so you can now plug in the USB wireless card, OR reset and let the windows auto-install any removed ethernet if there is infact one inside the lappy.
doing that replaces any old TCP/IP code and apps and reinstalls it, but that only really happens when you remove all the ethernet, even the odd firewire networking devices your machine might have there.