Slight Connection problem

[Neuge]

I have an exceptionally fast cable connection which occasionally goes out and/or my modem needs reset. The problem is, when I power cycle my modem and router my computer claims it's "Searching for Network Address" until I restart, even though I can connect to the internet. The connection wizard floods my connection with incoming and outgoing packets that severly hamper my speeds, occasionally causing lag out of some poker games.

It's only happened recently and I suspect I may have unwittingly deleted a needed registry entry. Not a major concern as it's easily corrected by rebooting, but no one on other forums I frequent has been able to give me a solution. Just seeing if anyone here has an idea.