Atheros AP5006X in T43p wifi prob: standby breaks connection

[ngfrazier]

Warning: tricky and difficult problem (obvious solutions tried).

Problem: Wireless connections breaks 1) after standby or 2) if I manually disconnect and then try to reconnect. Windows (or Atheros utility) will try to reconnection over and over without success.

Current Solution: Restart WinXP SP3 to regain wifi connection.

Details: Once my wifi connection breaks I cannot successfully repair it without rebooting XP. Manual repair does not work. I have tried using the Atheros Client utility exclusively as well as the build-in Windows utility to no avail. My atheros client will find the connection, show excellent signal strength, but hang on the "authentication" part.

Request: 1) Final solution (obviously) and 2) some utility or proceedure for troubleshoot my network connection. What -exactly-is it hanging on? How can I find out what is happening during the intitial wifi connection attempt?

Hardware: T43p w/XP SP3 fully patched. 2GB RAM, WD 250 GB HDD. CMOS patch to use Atheros AR5006X wifi card.

Router: Linksys WRT54G v3 w/ DD-WRT v 24 final, ch. 11 w/ AES encryption.

[RealBlackStuff]

The easiest would be to disconnect from any network(s) before you hibernate.
No need for any fancy utility.

[ngfrazier]

Thanks, but easy is not the problem. The problem is that once the wireless disconnects (for whatever reason--manual or auto) it cannot restablish the connection. As I said before, a reboot always fixes the problem.

[RealBlackStuff]

What is the exact make/model of your wifi card?
I have a Sparklan WMIA-166AG card with Atheros AR5006XS(AR5414A) chipset that shows none of those problems.
I don't use Access Connections (it's not even installed).