Times that I've had this problem it's been network card related; however, because you said that it's only some of the win2K machines that are acting up and none of the XP's, it sounds suspicious. I assume that all the profiles and drivers for the Win2K's are identical? If the machines and setup are the same, I would try new network cards, because this has always been the cause in my experience. After trying this I can only suggest an O/S install.
If you still have trouble try posting again with more details on the machine configuration.
Good luck
Here is a link to a number of Networking articles that may be of help:
http://www.findingfacts.com/L3/L3_1_17_18.php