Newbie problem ( well, oldie, really!)

I have an Acer Aspire 5630 wireless laptop, which has worked well until very recently. The desktop m/c is directly connected to Netgear router, the Acer via wireless.
I lent my router to a friend for a short time, and he doens't have the knowledge or the inclination to fiddle with things. However, when I got the router back, desktop worked, and so did my husband's laptop (when he needed to connect to my router because his 3g system was down).
So far, so good.
However, despite all my efforts, my Acer will NOT connect to my secure network, despite having the correct WEP. It sees the network, and attempts to connect, but never succeeds. ( I did connect my laptop to my router with an ethernet cable, and that works fine, too.) So, having been reduced to the newest newbie ( after approx 28 years of computing) I need some help from you clever guys, pretty please?

 

model of router?

Could your friend have set it to wireless N? Not knowing if your hubby's laptop supports wireless N, that could be it.

If it were me, I would pull out a paperclip, reset to factor settings and then reset up wep (or better wpa).

 

First rule of thumb - NEVER lend your network hardware to anyone, unless it's someone who can buy you a new one when they screw it up. If they have to borrow it, it's a good bet they can't, so don't give it to 'em to begin with.

Actually G, the problem could be that his "friend" already pushed the reset button and reset it to factory defaults. That would explain why his current WEP key won't work. According to him, his friend wouldn't likely know how to reset the Wireless Mode, though I've learned over many years never to underestimate the stupidity of anyone.

If you didn't give him your WEP code, it's reasonable to assume he'd have to change something to get around that problem. Never assume your Router is setup the same way as you lent it - G's right, though I'd check your settings first to see what's been altered before doing a reset. Hopefully you were smart and saved your Router Configuration to your drive before lending so you could reload it, RIGHT????

If not, face the real possibility you might have to setup your router again, along with learning a good lesson for the future. A router isn't a chainsaw, rake or lawnmower.

 

If you could connect via LAN then try disabling the WEP key in your router and try connecting your laptop.
Try changing your IP address manually.... Good luck