so my dad just bought a new computer. every time he turns it on the ping skyrockets to around 700-800 our regular ping is usually around 30-40 at first i thought i was the internet but  i tested it and saw that it was the computer. how can i fix this problem?Are you connected VIA wifi or Cat 5 cable? Is his system performing a DOWNLOAD during the connected PROCESS in which he is hogging the bandwidth and creating latency? Is he watching streaming content while you are having these issues or is the computer idle?yes we are connected by wifi and he is downloading nothing and the computer is idleI'd install wireshark on your (guessing laptop with wifi ) and watch the packets from his system which I am guessing is also a laptop. You will be able to know what the IP address is that his system is running out to and be able to watch all wifi traffic on your LAN. Also before doing that, shut off all other wifi devices except for his new computer and watch the LED on the access point or router to see if its blinking like crazy or just on occasion after simply booting his machine up and waiting at the desktop without running any other software. If the LED is blinking like crazy just about non stop, then his system is running out to the web and eating up bandwidth. You then would be able to use wireshark and see the IP address its running out to from your machine and determine if its an auto-updater that is pulling updates that is eating up bandwidth or if the system may already have been compromised by malware and is trying to spread.

Also any changes in the home when he is on his computer? Had a person one time with a problem in which they had wifi certain times of day and lost it during other times. The END result was that they had a weak signal to begin with and during a certain time of day their father who was an engineer would close his office door to isolate himself in thought, and the signal would be gone. The wireless router was in his office on the first floor of a large home, and the person ( guessing a kid ) had their computer on the third floor and almost diagonal in location in the home. End solution since they had money was to get a contractor in to install Cat 5e patch pannel in the basement with the broadband modem and router, and Cat 5e to 5 rooms needing internet access patched back to the router.thanks i'll try that out and see if that works.so i took your advice to download wireshark but i'm not sure how to use it and track down the websites.Not that I doubt your analysis, but curious how you tested and determined it wasn't your internet connection.

Also, what is giving you your current ping reading? Where is that coming from?ohh umm the way i tested it was i went start ENTERED cmd and typed in ping - t google.com and looked at my ping, after that i went and turned on my dad's computer and then the ping went up, i shut the computer down and it went back to normal. i did that several times and it happened everytime i turned on the computer.

and also my current ping is 504 Good evening toasters112

Here thing you can try

Ping the "house router" from every PC in house all PC should be < 3ms (wired or wireless) if you have less than 100 PC's

What is your internet connection (cable, DSL, Sat, MiFi etc)

Move the PC to a different location in house sometimes 2 feet makes all the difference in the world

Connect a CAT cable from problem PC to router does the ping improve / go back to normal !

If using a cat cable and the issue goes away you may have to update the drivers / firmware for wireless card. Or contact PC manufacture so the wireless card can be replaced.

Please let us know how you make out, Mike 
 So let me get this straight:

1. We're talking two different computers here.
2. When your father's is off, your computer gets a fairly normal ping.
3. When your father's is on, your computer gets a high ping.

Which would raise more questions:

1. When both are on and you ping from his computer, what is the ping like?
2. When yours is off, what is his ping like?
3. Is it possible for you to connect either (or both) to the router by wire instead of wireless for testing purposes?
4. In all three situations (yours on, his on, both on), go to http://www.speedtest.net and run a speed/ping test. Post the results of each.*
5. What firewall and anti-virus are you running?
6. Are there any proxy settings in your internet settings?

*After each speed test, click "Share this result", then click the "forum" tab, then copy and paste the URL in your next reply. This will save you from having to retype all the information. Will look something like this: