Yes, I see you tried a different version of WSFTP, though how about a totally different FTP program.

Given that you can connect & operate on the Internet, & given that you were able to FTP using IE, I really don't think that winsock & all that is where the problem lies.

Something that may be blocking you? Anti-virus, firewall, router, zonealarm, spybot, HOST file, anything that my in some fasion be locking down your PC.

I know you have mentioned these items before, but just throwing them out again as reminders.

I am sure that you have tried your selected ftp sites, but have you tried other anonymous sites also?

Are you able to connect your laptop through your desktop (or through a router if you have one) to see if maybe it will work that way.