A windows update might have updated the driver.

Go into control panel, device manager and press the roll-back button for the wireless.

See if it helps.

Yeah, I've rolled back at least a couple dozen times as part of my routine of random actions to get the wifi working again. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't. Usually Rollback Driver is greyed out, though.

Did the neighbors start using a device that interferes on 2.4 GHz? You could take your laptop and wireless router to a different location and see if the problem disappears.

Yes, sometimes the AUTO configuration in the router is not the best anymore. Try a fixed channel with as few other interfering other networks as possible.

Also is there a new device near your laptop? These can interfere, too. I had a Belkin USB hub interfere with everything at some point. A new lamp could also be a problem.

Yeah, I've taken it to work and my parents house and the same issue happens consistently so it's not my location or the devices I'm around. Like I said, I lose the ability to scan ANY hotspot not just the one in my house.

Had exactly same thing with USB antenna router. Tried different PCs, original and downloaded drivers, ended up returning the thing back to the store. This things happen. If I were you I would start looking for a replacement card.

I was afraid of that....it's just much harder to do for a laptop. It's a tiny little square card. I have seen them online, though, and luckily not very expensive. I'll have to save up I suppose. I'm just afraid of buying it and it not solving the problem. I'm still wondering if the problem lies in software somewhere. Be it drivers or a virus. But everything acts as if there just really are no hotspots in the vicinity. Not that the device is disabling or malfunctioning or anything. And that just continues to point to a hardware issue.

My tip: Get an Intel WIFI NIC.

Yeah, sorry, really points at a hardware issue ;(

Some form of a Linux livecd will tell you surely if it is an hardware fault, or just windows doing funky stuff.

I'm not 100% convinced this is a hardware issue considering you can't just leave the laptop off and come back to it and have it working for a little. However, I'm not quite sure what it could be from a software standpoint either. :/

Try starting Windows in safe mode with networking support and see if that helps and how long it lasts for. Failing that, you may actually want to try booting into another OS (like Linux) and see if the wireless card will function that way, and if so, for how long. These steps would at least help determine if it's software or hardware related.

I'll give it a go with a liveCD at some point. I'll try safe mode too. Thanks for the tips.

EDIT: Oh, I should also mention that one time when this first happened I tried to boot into the pre-OS interface/BIOS type thing. It has a web browser and a few simple games and whatnot. Shows internet connectivity in a small icon at the top. It also couldn't connect to the internet. I'll give it a try in Linux just to be sure, though.

So, some interesting developments. Because my wifi wasn't reliable anymore, I started toting around my DLink Router which I flashed with DD-WRT firmware so that I could use it as a client bridge (basically an external wireless card). I've done this before with my PC when it was too far away to connect physically to a router. I brought my laptop to work one day, along with my router, and it wouldn't connect to the network no matter what I did. So in resignation I abandoned it and turned once more to my failing wifi device in my laptop. I found that it wasn't detecting the network correctly (as 'public' not 'work' like I had set it before) so I deduced that I had to wipe the pre-existing settings that I made for the network and start again. So I went to Set Network Properties for the connection and clicked on "Merge or delete network locations" and deleted my work's network. I then reconnected to it and.....absolutely no problems. No drop-outs. Nothing.

I took it home and repeated this step for my home network and I haven't been cut off yet (running for days now). So somehow I guess my saved network settings were bugged somehow. I don't really see how that's possible, but I see no other explanation. Does this even make sense?

I'm glad it finally worked out!

Windows network settings seldom make any sense... I hate network setup in windows 7 more than anything.

I recommend using wired connections whenever possible. Performance is just a lot better.