I should have known that trying too hard wasn't the way to go. But, let me start right from the beginning : Joco messaged me earlier today that he was going to the store to check out a laptop, with wireless access. I told him to pick me up, since new geeky toys always are an interest of mine. To make a long story short, we both walked out with Fujitsu-siemens Amilo L7300 machine, sporting a Celeron M processor. Not top-of-the-line machines, but pretty good for some browsing, some wordprocessing and stuff like that. Definitely not game boxes! Joco also picked up a USR router that I thought would do the job, however I had set my mind on a Linksys WRT54G or GS router. Which the store didn't have.
Joco and Eef dropped me off at home, I booted the laptop and let it commence installation while I went to the city in search for my router. Didn't find it anywhere. Finally got back home - tired - and jumped in the car and drove over to the Wijnegem Shopping Center to check out two more stores. Score! I found a WRT54GS router and bought it, came back home and started installing the thing. It didn't take too long for me to get pissed because the brand new laptop didn't wanna find the wireless network. Well, if I had opened the manual I would have known that Function + F2 is the way to go, but I found out eventually.
However, getting the ADSL modem (with built in router) to talk to the Linksys router was another thing. I failed so far and in the process I thought it would be a good idea to update the firmware of my modem to the latest version, leaving me with NO internet access on my main box right now. Certainly not what I hoped for, let me tell you.
Anyway, the laptop now finds my wireless router, but that doesn't mean shit as it refuses to talk to the modem. Which even if it did would mean nothing since the modem can't connect to my ISP right now. I hope to be able to solve that by downgrading it again and uploading the older firmware and profile. If that works, I'll have access again and more options to find a solution to get both routers set up correctly.
The result? Joco was surfing wireless in the back of his garden 30 minutes or so after he got home and nearly 6 hours later, I'm writing this post on a hijacked wireless network connection of one of the neighbors I guess. It's a good thing some people have no idea about security, otherwise I'd be out of connectivity for real. I hope to get everything sorted before the weekend is over, as next week(s) will be busy with work. And rest assured : my network will be secured :)
Update : I just received a reply from Mike, who was the distributor of the brand of ADSL modem I have, and this is in short what he had to say : Can't help you on the modem problem. That's a closed book for over 2 years now. I suggest you call the Dutch office and ask for "name removed". Company "name removed" has either gone bankrupt or has been taken over by "name removed".
Which means I'm pretty much on my own I suppose. I can try calling them in Holland, but fear I won't be getting much help or support. I'll send them a mail first and see what happens.