Can’t connect to Exchange 2000 server

At work, I have a Compaq Deskpro EP Pentium 450, 256 mb ram ,6 gig and I’m using Windows XP Pro with Office XP logging into a Novell 5 network and using MS Exchange 2000 for email.

When I click on Outlook I get a “Your Microsoft Exchange server is unavailable” but after clicking Retry I can get in. I’ve set the timeout settings to 30, 45, 60 seconds but still can’t get on the first try. Does anyone have any suggestions?