It doesn't seem to me that these two issues can possibly be related, but since there's a tenuous thread tying them together I'm merging their discussions.

Original issue: I experience dropouts while listening to music via AirTunes, and they're accompanied by a general AirPort "failure," i.e. Mail can't fetch new mail, and Safari can't open or reload pages.

New issue:

1. This occurs only when I start up/restart my deuced Mac(hina) or wake it from sleep.

2. AirPort Utility scans and rescans, unable to locate my AirPort Express Base Station, while, at the same time, if I click on the Airport icon in my menu bar it scans and shows "AirPort: On" and locates my network .

3. While this is happening, Mail can fetch new mail, and Safari functions normally, but iTunes returns

Quote:
The remote speaker "Base Station 06da03" cannot be found on your network. Please verify your network settings and AirTunes configuration or select another speaker from the menu at the bottom of the iTunes window.


and the "Base Station" option disappears from the menu, followed by the disappearance of the menu, itself.

4. If I walk away from my deuced Mac(hina) for a while, AU eventually locates my Base Station, the menu returns to my iTunes window, and AirTunes becomes functional.

5. Issue #2 reared its ugly head while I was moving stuff around trying to overcome issue #1, but the end result of my moving was only that my Base Station now resides 6 inches from my AirPort card, rather than 6 feet.

6. A few weeks ago both the #1 dropouts and the #2 failures stopped, but recently, although issue #1 is still absent, issue #2 has reappeared, rarely at first, but now regularly, although not 100% of the time.

7. An Apple "Wireless Specialist" told me that Base Stations suffer sudden catastrophic failure...do not degrade over time.

8. The AirPort card in my Early 2009 White MacBook/2.0GHz Core 2 Duo is not user serviceable, and I've searched, but been unable to locate any substantive information dealing with AirPort card failure.

Does anybody see any pattern in all that background that suggests a possible course of action or, even better, solution?

Thanks.

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