Earlier this year, without any logical reason, the wireless on my wife’s MacBook went flaky.

We had been using it for over a year with no problems whatsoever, but after installing new recessed lighting in my kitchen, the MacBook now has intermittent problems getting a signal from the the Linksys WRT54G router in the basement. No other laptops have any problem connecting, and the MacBook has no problem connecting to other wireless networks.

I used to be a Mac pro, but my Mac OS X chops are a little flabby. I’ve examined the logs to see if there is some explanation for this problem, but I can’t figure it out. There are basically two or three areas of the house where I am more or less guaranteed to receive a signal; the rest of the house is a big, intermittent dead zone.

I’ve tried a couple of things. I’ve renamed the access point, changed the security settings, changed the channel, even moved the access point around. I’ve reset the parameter RAM. Nothing seems to consistently work.

I’ve reached a sort of equilibrium now where I can eventually get a strong signal, but I have to manually connect to the network after the MacBook fails to connect automatically. My wife has taken to sitting on the basement stairs or in an obscure corner of the family room, both suboptimal solutions.

Has anyone seen and solved a problem like this? I’m at my wits’ end.