If you're on NT/2K/XP, see if your CPU usage is 100%. Sometimes a "rogue" process can tie up the resources so that IE won't run or will run on a big delay. Delete your IE cache files. Do you have this problem when no other program is running? Also, see how many instances of IE are running in the task manager. There may be some that you aren't aware of. Is this a really slow machine?
Do all services run on each individual PC with the other one turned off or disconnected from the router? I.E. Do you still have trouble on the second PC if it is the only one connected?
This is a good question, and the answer is I haven't checked it. I will try to , but I have to wait for a slowdown. Having other programs running or not on the problem machine or the other one does not affect things one way or the other.
Launch a DOS window. Type ping www.yahoo.com or some other website. See how long it takes to respond. Do the same for your hub (probably IP# 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1). You may also try typing ipconfig from dos to see what your configuration is like. Make sure you're using the right subnet mask (compare with the other computer that works). Check out the IP#s. You don't have two computers showing up with the same name or IP#s do you? This computer isn't on a separate workgroup is it? You may try releasing and renewing via an ipconfig switch (ipconfig /release and ipconfig /renew respectively.) Connect to your router from IE by going to the site http://192.168.0.1/ or whatever your router address is. See how quickly you connect via all these methods. You can gather a lot of info from ipconfig.