"Unexpected Error" with WPA, WPA2, and 802.1x

I am running Vista Ultimate on a Dell e1505, each time I try to manually
create a wireless network profile using either WPA enterprise, WPA2
enterprise, or 802.1x I receive a screen that says "An unexpected error
occurred." It shows up after I fill in the initial wireless data (name,
security type, encryption type, security key, etc.)
This happens regardless of the encryption type.

If I create a wireless network as open-no encryption then try to change it
afterwards, the "Choose network authentication method:" field is blank; I
would like to choose a certificate but there are no options at all. If i try
to continue without that data, i receive the message: "Windows has
encountered an error saving the wireless profile. Specific error: The
profile has an invalid length field"

My question: How should i start diagnosing this problem, there is no
indication as to whether this is a windows problem, a driver problem (I've
updated my wireless card's drivers to no effect), or some strange settings
conflict. I am thinking it may be a corrupt *.dll or registry entry. Where
should i start?