Be sure you are trying to connect exactly as your neighbor did (you may be making a typo or not have the server info correct) Also check to see what port he is connecting to it on.
It may help to increase your try time. File/options/connect/options and click on the RETRY button. Increase the time in the box beside "IfNot Connected In" just a little bit.
Your registration for mIRC is good forever and on future versions. Just save a copy of the email from Khaled with the registration code and instructions on how to input. I doubt uninstalling/reinstalling is necessary tho.
