Live update failure / no internet access

I have a Gateway M Series computer running Vista (SP 2) and Norton Internet Security 2007.  This morning, I needed to check some information about my Norton software so I went to the Help and Support Tab.  After processing for a few seconds, I got a message saying “Norton Internet Security was unable to identify the network adaptor used to connect to the internet.”   In order to not go in to too much detail, I followed the steps indicated .  Then a message came up saying the software was creating a wireless profile and that it might take a few minutes.  After 3 1/2 hours, it was pretty evident the software had crashed but I was completely frozen up and unable to close or move to another screen or access Task Manager.  So I had no option but to power down.  Now, when I try to run Live Update, I get a message saying “Live Update failed Unable to contact server for updates.”  Also, when I try to access any website, a Norton window opens for Help and Support (Taking me through the steps mentioned above) and then another window opens that says  “Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage”.  When I do the diagnostic, it says I’m not connected to the internet.  When I look at Security History it indicates that for each of my attempts, I was connected to a secure network. 

Now, when I click on the NIS icon, I get “Symantec Service Framework has stopped working”

I also periodically would get “Auto protect experienced an unexpected error 0X000003E8”

 If I could access  the internet, I’d uninstall the software and download a newer version but I can’t access the internet.  Can anyone help me?