The HP internal wireless card in my laptop died about a year ago, and I had found that it was a manufacturing defect that they offered a replacement for. Unfortunately I don't have the time to be without my laptop since it is directly related to my work, and I read reports of HP warranty repairs taking several weeks not including the need to reinstall everything since they are eager to wipe your harddrive. I was fine since then with using a cat5 connection but I may be in need of a wireless one soon due to changed living conditions and roommates who don't want to deal with a huge chain of ethernet cables running the length of the house.

Now I have had horrible luck with internal wireless since 2005. Every single card I've used has fried within a month or two, up to and including the Broadcom one included with my laptop. HP strongly urges not to buy a replacement card anyways due to the way this model handles heat or whatever - this is my first machine that I did not build myself so I dunno how factory computers handle upgrades. I am pretty much looking for an easy USB or external receiver solution now, and wondered if there was a generally preferred brand or model to this end. I realize it may not be nearly as reliable as a dedicated line, but that's fine, I just may not have much choice and can handle the disconnects that may come.

Thanks for any advice ahead of time.