I've installed Mandriva Spring 2010 on my HP Pavilion dv2413cl as a dual boot with the factory image of Win Vista. It installed beautifully with all drivers but the Broadcom b43 wireless driver. I was able to get it working with info at http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43 and all seemed well.

Several days later, the wireless card disabled. I could not find a configuration setting to enable it. Also I attempted a few times to repeat the fwcutter process to no avail. Eventually, I booted to Win to see if it would work there. The proprietary HP wireless config app indicated that the card was off and allowed me to turn it on using a software switch. I was then able to boot back to Linux with a perfectly functioning wireless card.

The issue recurs periodically and every time I am able to resolve by booting Win to enable the card. It is an irritation now. But I would like to be able to dispense with Win altogether. (Clearly not going to happen until I find a Linux solution) I've searched a great deal online for help. However, I've been unable to find info on this specific issue.