No connection at all

I consider this to be very odd. While I am no computer guru, I used to think I handled myself quite well with technology until this happened. I was using my 1520's wireless connection perfectly fine. I switched over to using the ethernet cable when I thought my roommate's wifi system was down, because I had "limited access" to the network. Then, the computer would find networks, it just wouldn't connect. After a few days of that,  the ethernet cable stopped working altogether and the laptop does not even recognize that there is an ethernet cable connected. It literally cannot see any type of connection, wireless or ethernet.

I have tried uninstalling the drivers and rebooting, I confirmed that the wireless is working properly in the control panel, I verified in BIOS that the devices were enabled, I checked that the TCP/IPv4 and v6 are in good standing, I backrolled and reinstalled with the original driver CD that came with the computer... And I am currently out of solutions. I don't understand how I am COMPLETELY shut out from access to the internet. Could it be a virus or something similar? Any recommendations?

The last thing I want to do is spend $300 on fixing this issue with a technician, given that I just bought a desktop. Please help me!