Please HELP ME!!!

I have a Dell Dimension 2300 Running Windows XP, Service Pack 2.

This problem has been happening for all that I can remember. It has a network ethernet card that came with it. The ethernet cable is plugged in and functioning .(tested it with other computer)

**PROBLEM:**

1. I turn on my computer.
2. Network Card lights turn on and the data light starts blinking, signaling that it is sending/receiving data.
3. It boots up great.
4. I log in.
5. I click Start > Internet Explorer.
6. Internet explorer opens.
7. It does not load the page and just goes on to say (in the progress bar) "finding site: google.com" and finally, says: The website cannot be displayed. Then, I click "Detect Network Settings" and it immediately puts me to MSN.Com and everything works. After a long while of inactivity, when I go to open Internet Explorer again, it does the same thing all over again.

Now, Someimes this works, too.

When I start up the computer, I go to internet explorer and it does not work. I close internet explorer and open up Command Prompt (cmd) and type:

ipconfig

It shows my IP address and everything looks great there (ip address is real and not just 000.000.0.0). Then, I type:

ping google.com

The ping requests works fine. Once it is finished, I open Internet Explorer and, ta-dah, the internet works just fine.

I have tried different network cards and they all do the same thing. How can I fix this??? It is really annoying and frustrating

Thanks in advance for any tips/help given!

Thanks,
Dwmcc