Problems with Atheros AR9285 Adapter

Sorry to bother you guys again, but after consulting with the Virus / Malware forum I still haven't been able to resolve this problem. A recap:

I have an Asus U56E with the Atheros AR9285 wireless adapter. At random times, my adapter fails. That is to say, I first lose connection to my home router. Then, after a few seconds, I will lose sight of all wireless networks in the area. This happens not only at home, but wherever I go. The only temporary solution I've come up with is to either put my computer on sleep mode and then wake it up, or a full reboot. The connection may be restored, but it will be lost within anywhere between a few seconds to a few hours.

Other symptoms that only sometimes occur:

• It becomes impossible to put my laptop to sleep; it gets stuck in an unresponsive state where the screen is turned off so I have to shut down by holding the power (not sure if it's a related issue)
• The wireless adapter sometimes disappears completely from "Network Connections," after which there is no way to restore the connection other than a clean reboot
  • Sometimes when this happens Windows automatically reinstalls the Atheros drivers on reboot
• The wireless connection tray icon becomes impossible to click on (but other tray icons are fine)

Attempted solutions

• Updating drivers - I have the latest version from the Atheros website
• Power settings - already checked, it won't be turned off to save power
• Possible virus / malware - it came clean

This has been going on for about a month, and before that I don't recall changing anything that may have caused this.


Thanks in advance for your help!