Network Status Unavailable!

[J]

Here is my problem.

I am no longer able to check the Status of my Network
Connection anymore. I am also no longer able to see my
Local Area Connection icon on my taskbar. I cannot figure
out how to get them back. I go into my Network
Connections folder and have Show icon in notification
area when connected checked. I also have the Taskbar icon
properties for the Local Area Connection set to always
show. What I can't figure out is why I can't check the
status even under the Network Connections Folder. I even
tried turning off Launch Folder windows in a seperate
process and that doesn't even help. This is really
bugging me because I like to have the icon on my taskbar
so I can see what type of traffic is coming in and out of
my connection and now I'm blind. I also like to see how
many packets I am sending and receiving. Is there some
sort of fix for this in the registry or some other type
of workaround? Any help with this problem would be
greatly appreciated.