Itermittent Loss of Connection

Hi,

I have been suffering from intermittent loss of my internet connection for the last few months. It only last a few minutes, but can be extremely annoying especially if you are playing an online game such as backgammon!

I have very recently changed my ISP and renewed my router and filters and the problem is still there. It only happens perhaps once a day but often at the most inappropriate times.

I am running Vista SP2 on an ethernet connection and I have never had the problem with my laptop also on Vista SP2 and an ethernet connection to the same router. This could simply be because I use the desk top 90% of the time and seldom use the laptop unless my wife and I need to surf at the same time. The problem never happens when we are both online.

I am now thinking that the problem lies on my desktop software internet connection, but cannot see how this could happen intermittently.

Any help or suggestions would be most appreciated.

Axel