i have a laptop and a desktop and a 300 Gb portable hard drive (i'm a writer). i bought a house and moved in and my desktop can no longer access internet, and neither computer can access the portable harddrive. Using the laptop (because i can't figure out the problems with the desktop) when i plug in the portable hard drive i get an error message: A USB device has a powersurge and has exceeded the power limits of the device.  After i follow the instructions then i get the same message for my Netgear wireless adapter and no USB port works and i have to shut down and restart.

i have a deadline and need access to the portable hard drive. i don't understand why i would be having power related problems moving from an apartment to a house. Any ideas?

Have you seen this article?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/934644
If these are the instructions that you mention following, note that devices can be powered via the USB port up to a certain limit. If any of your USB devices have an external power input, be sure those are plugged in and working before you reboot your computer.
Also have you checked all the power breakers\fuses? Your problems could be as simple as a dead wall plug.