Too much security in my wireless router

Factual Questions
1

I got a Netgear wireless router about two years ago, installed the software, and went through all the setup, using WEP and a couple of other security settings which is cannot recall. It works fine, and I can use my laptop anywhere in the house with the network.

However, when my son came recently with his laptop, I could not find any way to get his to work on the network. I went through the Wireless Network Setup Wizard, and the Netgear CD, trying many settings to no avail. I wrote down all the passwords and other data when I first set it up, but nothing works.

So, got a 25 foot ethernet cable for him to use, and that works fine.

But it is frustrating that I can’t figure out how to open up the network for him to use wirelessly.

Would it make sense to use the Netgear CD and install it all over again?

Can this be done over the existing setup?

If not, any way to delete the current setup and reinstall?

2

There is probably a small “reset” button on the back of the router that, if you hold down long enough, will return the router to its factory default settings. You’ll want to be sure you’re comfortable setting up your router before you do that though.

Something to check out before hand is whether or not you have MAC filtering enabled. That’ll prevent any wireless device from working that isn’t on the approved list regardless of whether or not the device has the proper WEP/WPA credentials. I don’t know what where the option is on Netgear’s firmware, but it’ll be pretty apparent under the Wireless or Security settings (probably).