Problems with Wireless Adapter?

About 3 months ago, I purchased an HP Pavilion laptop with Windows 7. Up until recently, it's worked great.

Within the last week, it's been dropping the wireless connection (Linksys router). When I view the network connections, it shows that it's connected. In Devices, the card seems to be working properly. I also updated the driver. When I attempt to troubleshoot, I get a message stating "Problem with wireless adapter or access point."

When I plug into the router via a LAN connection, the signal comes back when I connect. I'm then able to connect wirelessly until the laptop goes idle in which case I again lose the signal. When I do get the signal back, IE performance is very slow.

I should mention that I have an iPad which connects with no problem and another Dell laptop which works fine. I also have a 3rd laptop (Dell) with Windows 7 that has the same problem though.

Thoughts? Is there a Fix It utility that will correct this?

Thanks in advance-

you can try disabling ipv6, this sometimes helps with problems. Is the other laptop also windows 7? If not this could be the source of the issue if the router is not properly supporting ipv6. I had a router that was giving the same basic issue based on ipv6 problems.
How to disable IP version 6 (IPv6) or its specific components in Windows 7, in Windows Vista, in Windows Server 2008 R2, and in Windows Server 2008

barring that having any effect here is a good list of items to try from microsoft.

You can try the following workaround and check if it works:
1. Disable the IP Helper service:
1. Hold the Windows key and type R, enter "services.msc" (without the quotes) and press Enter
2. Scroll down to the IP Helper service, right click on it and select Properties
3. In the dropdown box that says "Automatic" or "Manual", set it to Disabled and then click on "Apply"
4. Then click on "Stop" to stop the service from running in the current session
5. Click OK to exit the dialog

2. Disable the DHCP Broadcast Flag:
Windows Vista cannot obtain an IP address from certain routers or from certain non-Microsoft DHCP servers
Important: This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
How to back up and restore the registry in Windows XP (How to back up and restore the registry in Windows)
Windows 7 cannot obtain an IP address from certain routers or from certain non-Microsoft DHCP servers
To resolve this issue, disable the DHCP BROADCAST flag in Windows 7. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, type regedit in the Start Search box, and then click regedit in the Programs list.
If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type your password, or click Continue.
2. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\Interfaces\{GUID}
3. In this registry path, click the (GUID) subkey that corresponds to the network adapter that is connected to the network.
4. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD (32-bit) Value.
5. In the New Value #1 box, type DhcpConnEnableBcastFlagToggle, and then press ENTER.
6. Right-click DhcpConnEnableBcastFlagToggle, and then click Modify.
7. In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.
8. Close Registry Editor.
By setting this registry key to 1, Windows 7 will first try to obtain an IP address by using the BROADCAST flag in DHCP Discover packets. If that fails, it will try to obtain an IP address without using the BROADCAST flag in DHCP Discover packets.

About the second issue that your computer is not shutting down properly, you can perform a clean boot and check which application is causing this issue.

Perform the following steps to perform a clean boot:
1. Click Start, type msconfig in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.
User Account Control permission.
If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the
password, Or click Continue.
2. On the General tab, click Selective Startup.
3. Under Selective Startup, click to clear the Load Startup items check box.
4. Click the Services tab, click to select the Hide All Microsoft Services check box, and then click Disable All.
5. Click OK.
6. When you are prompted, click Restart.
7. After the computer starts, check whether the problem is resolved.

If the issue is resolved check which third party is causing the problem, referring the link given below:
How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista or in Windows 7

Also you need to uninstall and reinstall the problem software on your computer.
Reset the computer to start as usual

After you have finished troubleshooting, follow these steps to reset the computer to start as usual:
1. Click Start, type msconfig.exe in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.

2. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type your password, or click Continue. On the General tab, click the Normal Startup option, and then click OK.

3. When you are prompted to restart the computer, click Restart.

That sounds like signal strength issues.

Does your router have a channel function?
Have you tried using different channels in the router settings?