connecting to network

hi, i'm trying to connect to my university network, but something is not working. i have a new inspiron 500m with an intel pro/100 ve network card, and when i plug the network cable into the computer it registers that a Local Area Connection is enabled, but when trying to map a network drive to central filestore or access the internet nothing happens - i get messages about file paths being inaccessible, network locations cannot be reached and no connection to the internet available. the university network access points definitely work, and i've tried plugging inot lots of them all with the same result. any ideas appreciated.