Fire the PC up, connect, and open up a command-prompt window (Start Menu -> Run -> type in the word "command" and press OK).

In the window which appears, type in the following line (exactly as it is there - the l is a lower-case L):

ping dns1.ntli.net -t -l 1

This will start a continuous ping (imagine a ping as being like sonar in a submarine - you're sending a small packet of information at one of NTL's DNS servers, and timing the delay in receiving it back). You should see repeated lines which start with "Reply from...". Now use the connection as you normally would.

When IE goes weird, check the window again, and see if it's still saying the same.

If it goes to "Request timed out.", it could point to a problem either with your machine or with NTL (I'd say it could still be either, although there's nothing listed on NTL's Service Status page). Contact NTL first, just to make sure they've got no issues with the service that could cause this, and if not, I'd start to look at your machine.

Rather than typing out the next part (Win98 diagnosis), just in case it turns out to be an NTL issue, post in here if you've solved it with the above......if not, I'll type out the Win98 diagnosis/fixes aswell (ensure you have a valid Win98 CD to hand). Probably best to PM me aswell, if you need the above, since this post will no doubt be somewhere round about page 7 by tomorrow morning.