Having trouble connecting to the internet

I'm working on a friend's pc it's a sony vaio pcv-rx550 running windows xp home sp2. I can ping www.google.com so i know something can get out and it's not a dns problem. when i start ie7 it freezes when i search for update with her symantec  antivirus it freezes same with msn messenger so pretty much anything that goes online crashes. there is no firewall software and windows firewall is turned off. i can browse network computers just fine. I'm really trying to avoid a reinstall or repair since it's for a friend and most people have trouble understanding that their software is still there it's just not setup how it was before.

Sounds like it may be your network settings..are you connecting via a wireless router or directly through a network cable?

 I'm connected physically through a cable. When it didn't work at first I manually set the ip settings I'm sure they're right since i can ping web sites. I realize we have to start with the simpler stuff first though and I appreciate any help.

Can you give me a few more details about how you connect? Are you directly connected to your high speed modem, or to a router (which is then connected to your modem)?
Also, does your modem/router have the username and password programmed in by your ISP, or do you have to click an icon to connect?

Well it's a co worker's she said it wasn't connecting at home so I asked her to bring it into work. At work we have dsl the modem/4 port router handles the isp login then connects to a switch which connects the computer I'm using to type this and her pc as well. It sounded like a virus but I scanned it and it came clean. I was checking the internet options under the connection tab to make sure everything was fine and I noticed when I click "LAN Settings" button it freezes on me.

Well I just wanted to close this. End of story is I just backed up and reinstalled thanks tho.