Hey guys,

I have kind of an odd problem...I run Windows 98se, 256 MB Ram, 12 GB HD,
~850 Mhz...it's been running well for me for awhile *knock on wood* but
there's one thing that I've never been able to fix or find any information on
it...

One day, awhile back, my computer decided to basically control my bandwidth
usage for me, I guess is the best way to describe it...I'm not a big gamer or
big video watcher or anything, so it doesn't bother me too often, but I can
cruise through message boards, news sites, sports sites and all that stuff
without any problems...

But soon as I start watching videos or downloading things, after I go
through some heavy bandwidth usage, I'll try to go to a different site and it
won't go anywhere for about 25-55 seconds...then it will go to the site, and
I'll be able to cruise for a bit, maybe 10-15 minutes, and then I'll click
and go no where for another 25-55 seconds...that night, I'll go to bed, get
up the next day and it'll be fine again...

Other examples/instances, if it helps...
- When I first open up Internet Explorer or Firefox, it will sometimes go
immediately to the site, sometimes it will sit on "Detecting Proxy
Settings..." for the 25-55 seconds before going anywhere...

- If I'm "out of the loop" (in that 25-55 second down time) programs that
require the internet won't open or won't connect (my file-sharing software
will open and not connect, AOL Instant Messenger will not open until the
internet is "retrieved")

- Videos, such as live streams, will continue to play through these "loops"
but if you click anything while they are playing (even in a different window)
it will freeze the video until the internet "returns"

- Java/Flash games will play through the "loops" a game that typically isn't
internet-based (such as Eastside Hockey Manager 2007 when playing a network
game) is effected by these "loops" and will not allow play for the full 55
seconds about every ten minutes...

I've tried:
- Changing browsers (IE to Firefox, same results)
- Creating a static IP (same results)
- Winsockfix.exe (same results)
- searching a million different terms for this and have come up empty in
terms of information

Any ideas at all?  I'm pretty computer savvy, especially with these older
machines, but I can't figure this one out for the life of me...any feedback
would be much appreciated...