Delay Network Access On Starting Up Laptop

This applies to a relatively new laptop (Portable1 UX520), with Core Duo Processor 2.0GHZ, Windows XP with frequent and regular system updates (using Windows Updated). I also have Notebook Hardware Control installed, but this problem did not seem to correlate with the install of NHC.

XP boots up totally normally, and I have very few startup applications booting to minimize battery usage. Everything gets booted, and the harddrive stops spinning, applications are accessible...all seems totally normal, except the networking options don't pop up on the system tray, and I can't access the internet with either wireless or wired connections. It takes several minutes (like 3-5) before these icons pop up and I can access the network which, on a laptop that I frequently use for wifi connections, is totall unacceptable.