E-mail disconnections

For the last few weeks I have been getting numerous interruptions of my e-mail service. While logged on it will say that I am "working offline". When I try to connect online I get the" connect now" window twice and then an error message window that never completes the "task" to show me what the actual error is. I still can use the internet while this occurs and if I wait anywhere from a minute to an hour all of a sudden I will magically begin to receive e-mails again. Any suggestions?There have been no changes to the laptop, pc, modem,or cables during this time frame.