I'm running on an eMachines T2482 (basically the same machine with a lesser processor and less ram, both of which I've upgraded). My machine is a little less powerful than yours, and I've had similar problems. As for the connection, check your router settings (usually typing 192.168.1.1 into your browser's address bar will do it, if that doesn't work try 192.168.100.1 or 192.168.1.2, otherwise check your manual) and make sure "port forwarding" is completely disabled. If you don't already know, routers distribute the connection by breaking it up into thousands of little "ports", each one (or group of a few hundred) serving a different purpose (for instance, bittorrent uses ports 6881 and up, and many online games use higher, browsers use lower). You can set up your router to selectively allow access from certain machines to certain ports, therefore limiting or eliminating your internet connectivity, while still being "connected" to the network. It's possible that some ports are being forwarded to your phone so that the vonage service never loses its integrity, but that shouldn't be necessary. This was my problem for a while, since I turned on port forwarding to speed up a download by giving it my browser ports, then forgot to change it back. If that isn't the problem, check all your cables. Sometimes if a network cable is pinched or crimped, the internet won't work, but due to the fact that your cable is plugged in, your computer will register a "connection". If this is the problem, you may have to replace your cords. As for the laggyness and freezing up while using PS CS2, my machine isn't as good as yours, and it runs PS CS2 fine (while at the same time running Alcohol 120%, my browser, and various StarDock and Object Desktop skinning programs. Have you considered cleaning out your hard drive? There's got to be a lot of useless crap on there for it to run that slowly. I've got a 300gb hard drive, and in order to keep my PC running smoothly I have to routinely "tidy it up". Another solution is defragmenting your drive. That alone may solve the problem. As for the ram, I'm running on 512mb ram and I still run all those processes flawlessly. (we have the same processor.) Your graphics card has absolutely nothing to do with the speed of your computer. The only time you need to upgrade that is if you get a new game that your card is incompatible with, and that's about it. Reformatting and reinstalling windows should be your last resort, although it's gotten me out of serious jams I otherwise would have been stuck in. Good luck, and if you need any more help or information, just ask.
