problem with airport extreme and powerbook 15

Have you installed Panther? Prior to the installation of Panther my wife's was working. She plans to take it to our local Apple Store to see if it works there. That way she can get some professional assistance. If you aren't close to an Apple Store or a local retailer, I would call Apple.

This is a REAL big stretch, but are you sure the AEBS card is totally inserted into the slot? Check to make sure nothing is in the slot, aka "packing noodles". True story, a crisis that just got averted yesterday - my dad's 15" AlBook had a faulty latch so he got a replacement. It had an AEBS card installed in it (the original did). So, when he got his, they forgot to install it. They had the Apple Genius (Lance, if you're reading this, you rock ^_^) come on out to our house. Lo and behold, there was a packing noodle that was preventing the AEBS card from going all the way into the slot. A paper clip took it out, but it was a little frustration.