LinuxQuestions.org - "No longer able to connect to internet"

Ok, so my distribution is Mandriva, I downloaded it on Sunday, I believe, very recently anyway. It was the Live One CD offer, download onto one CD for free. I have actually been looking all over for the distribution version, but I don't know if that refers to the kernel number or the other version number I found on Wikipedia. when I tried to install ndiswrapper and wpa_supplicant the way all the INSTALL files said, it didn't work, or at least, the computer said that it was an invalid directory. I tried the terminal and Run Command and Shell command, but it didn't do anything other than say this file doesn't exist. The./configure command didn't work, except for today when I tried it again. And none of the make commands did anything either, the wpa_config README also told me to create a config file, which I did, but I can't find it. But I know its there because I tried to make it again and it said that I was about to overwrite.I assume Im typing them in wrong. When it said that the directory doesn't exist I tried to extract it with a command instead of copying the pre-extracted files to a directory. the tar command or whatever. When I typed the full thing in, along with the directory name or without it said that was the old command and that I had to choose one of the options but again, I am assuming I didn't do that right either. So when I tried to connect to the internet it suddenly recognized my wireless driver, which is what the programs were supposed to do. And like I said the next time I started my computer the wireless still works and recieved signals but the computer said that I had no internet configuration setup and it wouldn't connect. But I know I actually was connected because I logged into my router and it listed me as an active DHCP client, and only right after I clicked the connect button on the network configuration screen. Also even though it was Mandriva One Live CD thing, it was a hybrid so I chose to fully install it on my second hard drive. I partitioned it mostly with the extension format because it recommended that, but there was a small amount of Linux swap space. Another thing I tried (after the net stopped working) is specifying one of the makefiles in the directory as executable, and that did something when I called it up as a program, but then I think that there was something wrong with it, it had some weird text at the end. But that didn't help anything either. Also, when I go to the network configuration window there is another wireless device called wlan0:9 which I never installed and have no idea as to its origins. It seems able to receive signals but when I try to connect through it then both it and my wireless device stop receiving signals and both their network lists disappear. So far the only way I have been able to get it to work again is by reinstalling the driver. The only thing that I can possibly think of that could have done this was I was running the update program and I decided to stop it because it was taking to long and I needed to get something else done. Would that have done it? Again I would like to mention the fact that when I first installed the wireless driver using the ndiswrapper I got some serious error that I had to click through several times before I got back to normal and by that time everything was working fine. At one point I also tried to call up wpa_supplicant.config, and then it said I couldn't because there was another one so I found it but it was locked. When I tried to find the one I called up so that I could delete it it was locked to (the config I mean) So I am not really sure if they belong together or not.