[Prudence]

Diagnosis confirmation:

So, the Verizon woman thinks it's my router. I get the polite "I'm not familiar with that type of router" comment. Yes, my dad gave us a D-Link because it had a rebate! And therefore it must be good! I'm aware that it's a piece of crap. But it was free crap, so I've been limping along.

She implied that whatever happened to the router could have damaged our computers. This makes some sense, as I had to do a system restore to connect Ryan's desktop, but I'm not positive since I'm not terribly knowledgeable about these things. (I followed the directions to set up my network, but that's about the extent of my expertise.)

Is this possible?

More info on symptoms: My laptop started picking up a wireless connection again, and showed a 192.etc IP address, but wouldn't actually connect to the internet. (Browser windows just give the error message.)

I tried a wired connection directly to the modem and got the "limited or no connectivity" icon. Went through several system restores and power cycles and elaborate curses and still couldn't get anything. With router, connection but no internet. Without router, nothing.

I check and Ryan's desktop still connects with desktop wired directly to modem, internet work -- and also connection but no internet with the router.

I give up and go to bed.

This morning I wake up and try the laptop wired to the modem again - and it works. *yay!* I try the router - connection but no internet, and the status light on the router blinks instead of showing steady green.

So, the router is dead? What the hell actually happened?

Request for advice:

And what now? If the router is dead, what kind should I get this next go round? I know wired might be superior, but I need to be able to do wireless. Lots of doorways and the phone jacks are located in extremely inconvenient locations.