It has been much more commonly reported on these forums that the Vista machines drop the connection while the XP systems don't.  You have the anomaly.  

 

Try adjusting the power management settings on the Dell wireless card.  To do this, open Network Connections, right click your wireless connection, select Properties, then click on the Configure button.  In the Dell Wireless LAN MiniCard Properties box that opens, click on the Advanced tab,  Set the Minimum Power Consumption and Power Save Mode both to Disabled.   Report back what happens.  You may need to reboot for the settings to stick.

 

Steve

I made the change but it continues to drop the connection after a few minutes.  It happens the most when I am downloading (ie, itunes).  Any other ideas?

Intermittent problems like this are generally the most difficult to solve.   Which make and model router do you have?  Is security enabled on the router?  If so, is it WEP encryption or WPA encryption?  Have you tried power-cycling the router (i.e. turn it off for a few minutes, then turn it back on)?

 

Steve