Koala....

I am sending you a PM from my son explaining why the computer was acting the way it did.

The bottom line is that "something" (probably hardware malfunction) was doing it.

He has some steps on how to look for it... which seem difficult to me, but I'll send them via PM for you to save.

2gigs of RAM is a good amount. Our old laptop only has 1 gig, and this one has one 1 gig, and the new one we just got has 3.
One thing I did learn about routers, is that, they have a little memory inside...a mini computer. Yours just might be too big for your system. Our Linksys router has 4 ports and two antennae.

The old NetGear router we had before gave us endless trouble. It would lock me up and knock me off the net, etc. The new Linksys has been fine so far.
This is it:
http://www.amazon.com/Linksys-WRT54G...2437376&sr=8-1

(I see the price has gone up! we only paid $45 for it when we got it.)

Check your PMs...

Please notice his statement about USB vs other ports. If that large router is hooked to your USB port, you need to install a driver for it.