Question : Problem: Wireless Connects and Assigns IP, but SOMETIMES doesn't ping to the router.

Ok.  I've tried a million things here, I may even have messed some things up in the process, but my base problem is still there, so:

PROBLEM:
Wireless adapter connects to my home router.  Running 'ipconfig' shows a valid IP address.  For the first few seconds, it looks like it may be able to start viewing a web page, but then all of a sudden, no web pages load.  I tested this by running ping tests.  At first, I can ping anywhere, but then all my pings time out... EVEN ONES TO MY ROUTER!!  

Here's output from ipconfig /all, as well as some pings done withing 5 seconds of each other:

----------------------------------------------------------------
Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Emil Roberto Nunez>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

        Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Gatorhawk
        Primary Dns Suffix  . . . . . . . :
        Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Mixed
        IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
        WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection:

        Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
        Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network Connection
        Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0E-35-4F-AE-31
        Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
        Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
        IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.113
        Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
        Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1
        DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1
        DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1
        Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Thursday, January 03, 2008 8:13:19 PM
        Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Thursday, January 10, 2008 11:18:41 AM

C:\Documents and Settings\Emil Roberto Nunez>ping espn.com

Pinging espn.com [199.181.132.250] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 199.181.132.250: bytes=32 time=223ms TTL=233
Reply from 199.181.132.250: bytes=32 time=228ms TTL=233
Reply from 199.181.132.250: bytes=32 time=112ms TTL=233
Reply from 199.181.132.250: bytes=32 time=112ms TTL=233

Ping statistics for 199.181.132.250:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 112ms, Maximum = 228ms, Average = 168ms

C:\Documents and Settings\Emil Roberto Nunez>ping espn.com

Pinging espn.com [199.181.132.250] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 199.181.132.250: bytes=32 time=113ms TTL=233
Reply from 199.181.132.250: bytes=32 time=113ms TTL=233
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 199.181.132.250:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 2, Lost = 2 (50% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 113ms, Maximum = 113ms, Average = 113ms

C:\Documents and Settings\Emil Roberto Nunez>ping espn.com

Pinging espn.com [199.181.132.250] with 32 bytes of data:

Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.


As you can see, all of a sudden, all ping requests time out!  Let me tell you that even ping requests to the ROUTER (at 192.168.2.1) time out as well.  If I wait a couple minutes, the same thing happens:  Ping results are fine, but then immediately they start timing out.  

Throughout all of this, the wireless icon in the taskbar remains "Connected".  The router is obviously connecting, because it assigns a dynamic IP address, and the DNS server resolves the IP address for ESPN.com.  


Here are some things that I tried or looked into:

1) Wireless adapter driver is up to date.
2) The router's firmware is up to date.
3) Switched back and forth between DHCP Node Type:  Mixed and Hybrid (originally Hybrid)
4) Removed the Winsock and Winsock2 registry entries and replaced them
5) Switched back and forth between assigning a static IP address and "Obtain automatically..."
6) Power cycled the Cable Modem, Router, and my PC.
7) Removed authentication from the wireless router.
8) Switching some services.msc on and off (can't even remember which ones now)
9) Incoming echo requests IS checked (I can't even uncheck it)

Here are some specs:

Compaq Presario X1000 running Windows XP Professional 32-bit
Wireless Adapter:  Intel PRO / WIreless BG2200 (Driver version: 9.0.4.37, 7/25/07)

Router:  SMC7004VWBR, Part No: 720.9821, (FW Version: 1.0.0.14)
Modem: Comcast Cable

Additional Info:
My wireless had been running fine for 3 years, then all of a sudden, I started getting the BSOD.  I quickly pinpointed that it was my wireless driver causing the problem, so I updated the driver.  BSOD went away.  Internet worked fine for about 5 days, then all of a sudden, I woke up, turned on my computer, and I couldn't connect.  At one point at night I performed steps 6 and 4 from above, and the internet worked fine for the rest of the night.  Then this morning, I couldn't connect again.  This time, nothing remedied the situation.  

The SMC router is connected via ethernet cable to desktop PC (192....117).  Another laptop (HP, with Wireless adapter: Broadcom 802.11g, IP Address 192...112).  ALSO, this computer connects to the internet just fine (as I am doing right now), when I connect to the router via ethernet cable (giving me a .114 IP address).  

So the question is:  WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?  Is there a compatability issue with my adapter and router?  Is something blocking ping requests from being returned?  Is my wireless just screwed?

Answer : Problem: Wireless Connects and Assigns IP, but SOMETIMES doesn't ping to the router.

I changed my router from SMC to Netgear, and everything works fine now.

Although all these answers seemed good, none of them worked.