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For the last three months or so on a daily intermittent basis while working on my PC my internet signal will just drop completely, even though my wireless network connection shows strong signal strength. If I disable and then re-enable the connection it never comes back. All it takes to remedy the situation is a quick reboot and i am connected once again. But its a serious pain!
I am on a Compaq Presario running XP home edition 2002 service pack 2.
I haven't yet downloaded and ran Hijackthis but am more than willing if people need more information. My friend who does some tech support for me says we can just wipe the HD and start from scratch but i was hoping for a less drastic approach.
thanks

Suggest you get a cable and physically connect your PC to the back of the wireless modem. If you still intermittently lose the internet connection, then I suggest you contact your ISP. See if they are having problems in your area.

I guess thats the part i left out. I am piggybacking on my neighbors signal, she lives upstairs and has the modem in her apt and i give her a few bucks a month for the "service"
When she intially looked at my PC when the issue started she thought i might have picked up a virus but i have been running avast, mcafee, adaware, and spybot and nothing has been picked up anywhere. I guess my question is, could a virus be causing this, or does it sound more like a hardware issue?

The best advice I can give you is to get your own ISP.

You might want to checkout this link - AT&T High Speed Internet Service
$10 a month for broadband, if you qualify.

Good Luck...

Have you tried adding the network IP address to your firewall's trusted zone?

I don't think you can get any support from the ISP regarding this as what you and your neighbour are doing now is probably against the contract. It is best to get your own ISP as Gandalf rightly suggested.

Also, I haven't heard of any malware that targets wireless services but I could be wrong of course.