BleepingComputer.com: Internet explore lock-up

I run an I7 2.66 with vista eternity64 and every once in awhile i will lose the ability to surf with IE even though my connection to the internet is still open and operating seemingly normally. The diagnose problem button does not help and suggests contacting my ISP(you can imagine how helpful they are with something like this ). I am sure it is not the connection itself because any and all other programs i have which access the internet work fine during one of these episodes. Ive tried cycling the router and modem power to no avail. The only thing that seems to fix it is a restart but this is frustrating and can be a big problem when coding. I am reluctantly considering going back from IE 8 to IE 7(not sure it will even help). any help would be greatly appreciated.

Sharky-