I just installed Vista ultimate 64 bit on my new desktop computer. i plugged the ethernet cord into the LAN port on the mother board. but when i try to connect to the internet it says "Windows did not detect any networking hardware" Whats going on?

Do you have your network card drivers installed?

I'm working on it. but when i open the drivers disk software and go to the drivers section i can't select the LAN driver. for some reason.

If you can use an alternate computer (which by the looks of it you can, try download the drivers off the internet and load them onto a USB stick)

Nevermind i got it to install the drivers but by the looks of it they don't stay there. because it still says i don't have a network adapter installed and configured.

Open up Device Manager and ensure your Network Interface Card is listed as a connected device.

It says all my devices have drivers except for the Ethernet Controller. I already installed the drivers for the Motherboard. Should I try again?

The motherboard and the Ethernet controller are two separate hardware even if the Network Interface Controller is embedded onto the motherboard. You'll need to install the NIC driver for the device to work properly.