I have a dell InspironE1505 that I purchased in the states. I'm studying abroad in Japan right now and my host family has wiresless. Try as I might I cannot connect. My computer can sense the wireless but it does acquiring network address forever, and when I try to repair it cannot renew my IP address. Any ideas? They even tried installing the software on my computer. But it just keeps telling us to restart the modem. We do and nothing changes. We even tried leaving it off for a bit and then turning it back on. If you need more information tell me how to get it and I will get back to you. Their network is called something like WARPSTAR if that helps at all.

The symptoms you describe normally indicate incorrect/invalid encryption key.
You should ask the host family for the key to the wireless.

Okay I found something on the modem labeled WEP is that what I want? After looking around it seems like that is what I want. The question is how come when I type it in I still have the same problem?

What type of wireless device do they have? Is it A, B, G or N? Since your laptop is new, it is likely that it supports at least B and G which are most common.

The WEP key also has a type. There are personal and enterprise keys and each one has different types and encryption levels. All of these conditions must agree in the wireless setup with the device you are trying to connect to.

Lastly, if your wireless adapter has saved profiles, it is also possible that it also has an order in which it will connect to the adapter in each profile. If a nearby wireless device was detected and saved into a profile with a higher preference. Set the profile for your preferred device to the top of the list.