This complaint is all over the web, but I first saw a solution at DSL Reports
Using Intel Proset/Wireless software to manage wireless network connections, there was a weird and annoying issue where connection to a wireless network would work fine, but the little notification area wireless icon would animate endlessly with the tooltip "acquiring network address." Using the Hide Inactive Icons feature of the Start Menu control panel didn't work; the icon would reappear. This KB article is no help either.
The problem is that the Network Location Awareness Service wasn't running. Launch services.msc and change its startup type to Manual.
