Ping Issues, never before

[Adain]

So I (well, my dad) have a Windows Vista. Its suppose to be.....new. Ive played Disco on it for about 2 years and NEVER had a problem with ping/loss/lag etc. Just last week I noticed my ping skyrocketing and loss going up to 20%. I thought it was applications running in the background but none appeared. I restarted the computer, uninstalled games, dumped internet cache and other novice actions but none are having an effect. I would like to play FL and actually be able to fight without dying by something that wasnt on my screen. PLEASE HELP

P.S.: Only WORTHWHILE answers please. "Get a new computer", "Get a new router", and other useless information is not needed. Those things are in the process but there is not much a kid of my age can do, job wise, in America's "Oh-so-wonderful" economy.

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