Help. Any computer gurus/experts out there?

Okay I've been wrestling with this long enough on my own and need some adivce.
Since it's driving me crazy. Spent half the morning wrestling with the MSN support desk and the half wrestling with Dell's support site. Neither answered my questions or helped. (Case in point, when I went back to review and edit this entry I got disconnected from the internet and had to sign back in. I'm this close to throwing the damn computer out the window and buying a whole new system, but have a few qualms about doing it.)

Here's the situation - my computer is slow, my internet connection disconnects me approximately every 30 minutes. When I disconnect from it - the email takes an hour to sychronize and will not let go of my phone line or disconnect until it's through. Sometimes it will freeze my computer - forcing me to shut it off in mid synchronization or just reboot. I can't download graphics, music, or pictures. The operating system is also a little on the slow side, but nothing compared to the internet.( advice needed on computers )