Wireless network problem--Trouble downloading

I recently moved to an apartment that offers free wireless internet. I can connect to the internet fine on my Vista laptop and browse the internet, what have you. However, when downloading files they will stop after a few moments and not continue, as if the connection has timed out or something. Also streaming media like YouTube etc will pause and not continue to load after a few seconds of video. Limewire searches fail to return more than 0-3 results at a time. I can't seem to figure out where the problem lies--the apartment's router settings, Vista operating system, firewall, etc. Suggestions?