Before I start, I just want to say that I am a bit of a newbie when it comes to Linux, so go easy

At any rate, I installed Mandrake 10.1 fine, but when I load it, Konqueror wont open and Home wont either. I've seen other people on the forum have this problem, but I couldn't find an exact answer. I saw someone say to download the updates, but I can't do that since I can't set up my wireless connection yet because I can't download ndiswrapper from my USB stick (because I can't access Konqueror)...any suggestions? I am also dual-booting XP, so I at least still have access to the internet on that. Any and all help would be much appreciated.

edit: I am running on a Dell Inspiron 600m, 512 RAM, 1.5 Ghz Pentium M, and my wireless card is a Dell Wireless WLAN 1450 Mini-PCI

Yes, you do need to update your Mandrake, but since you don't have internet connection, that could be a problem. You can, however, run Konqueror AS ROOT and it will open up. Use that in the meantime to work with konqueror.