Laptop connection problem

Hi everyone,

I'd like some help with this problem before trying to contact HP.

Last January I purchased an HP Pavilion dv7 laptop. I also had to get a Trend Net USB adaptor because we live in a black hole and cannot get any affordable internet other than dialup.

The adaptor worked wonderfully for several months, then I began to get error messages when trying to connect to the internet. After trying a few things, I determined that the external modem was working, that the ISP was doing its job,and that it is most likely an issue with the modem inside the computer.

I somehow figured out that if I performed a system restore, the problem would be corrected and I could go online. Sometimes I could go for a few weeks between needing to do this, a couple of times it was only a few days, but it always worked.

Now it is not. I've run the antivirus and malware programs, and went back as far as I can with a system restore as not to undo any important updates to the computer, but it I keep getting the connection error message.

When I take my laptop to a place with wifi, it connects without a problem.

Any idea of what could be happening? I really don't look forward to dealing with HP tech right now, a couple of days before Christmas, and am using my 10/yo HP laptop temporarily.

Thanks!