Linux Firestarter Software

Let me see if I understand the setup correctly:
Internet<->Friend's Wifi Router<->Firestarter box<->Your Netgear<->other machines

Is this correct?

hrm, I'd say try setting up a service (say, ssh) on your linux machine and try accessing it from the Windows laptop. That would eliminate one possible issue from consideration.

Also, just out of curiosity, are you using this setup as a kind of repeater setup (to extend range for your laptop), because I'm just trying to figure out why you wouldn't just use your friend's connection from your laptop directly as it sounds like there's two wireless hops going on here

Ah, I see why you're doing this setup now.

Just for future reference, great information is generally easily available online. For example, a quick googling of "ssh" would explain what it is (it's a secure way to log into a remote machine, kinda like a text-based Windows Remote Desktop) and googling "ssh pclinux" would pull up instructions on how to check to see if it's running on your machine and how to configure/start/stop the service. Here is a good starting place. The reason to try this step is to verify that your connection from you Windows machines to your PCLinuxOS box is fine. In order to ssh into the firestarter box from Windows, download putty Here's a quick guide on getting started using putty; just replace the URL in the example with the IP address of the interface on the Firestarter box that's connected to the switch.

This brings up another good question: what is the port-detail hookup of your network? You should be using your Netgear as a switch only! Using it as a router (i.e. enabling DHCP, hooking something to the WAN port, etc) can unnecessarily complicate your network, leading to breaks. Change the Netgear to behave like a simple switch if it's not already setup thusly.

That notwithstanding, what configuration steps have you taken with Firestarter? Just trying to get a better understanding of your current setup.