Thanks again, JustAsk! Sorry to be so late on the reply.... I'm spam crammed since the last reinstall, need tweaking.
I'm trying to talk my housemate into spending the proverbial paycheck on a reasonable up to date machine, but he is enjoying being a Luddite! In the meantime, the system cured itself! He has had no Log on/off problems and the Ethernet cable has kept up a perfect connection after a few weeks of problems. All I can do is shrug my shoulders! Electronics don't heal....
The only trouble that has occurred since is his Windows version of the "Free Cell" solitaire card game will not maintain a record score after rebooting (which it normally does.) I told him... "In no way am I touching that computer again!"....
Yes, Virginia, there is a.......