Web connectivity problems for a Viata Home laptop user with complete email connectivity

I have a web access problem with one of my laptop users.  He is using a Gateway MT6831 running MS Windows Vista Home Premium.  He connects using 802.11b/g in his office, and with a wireless broadband card outside the office.  He is in South Dakota, Im in Colorado, and so I cant work on his laptop in person.

First, keep in mind that through all this his email (via MS Outlook 2007) has been working just fine.

Yesterday he was accessing on the company SharePoint site, when he was kicked off.  He said his hard drive kept going like mad, and no matter what he did he couldn't get on the web.  It turns out that Windows Update decided to install service pack 1, which was taking forever.  After it finished however, still no access to the web.

Here are the facts and symptoms:
  He is using MS Internet Explorer 7 and doesnt have any other browser installed
  The other computer in the office is completely functional in every way
  Both computers in the office use the same 802.11 router, DSL connection, and provider
  He cannot ping the other computer in the office
  He cannot ping web sites on the Internet (either by name or IP address)
  He can ping his local loopback successfully
  I cannot initiate a remote assistance session from our corporate office to his computer
  He can check for, download and install Windows updates without any problems
  Adobe Acrobat cannot even look for updates because it says no Internet connection exists
  Yesterday he could ping the default gateway, but today he cannot
  He has the same results whether he uses 802.11 or his wireless broadband card
  His IP address isn't duplicated with the other computer in the office
 His default gateway is correct and works for the other computer in the office
  The network mask is correct for his IP address
  He's tried other apps, and everything else but the browser seems to be working just fine