First of all I am surprised that your router 'completely and utterly failed to work' I have installed half a dozen routers with various ISPs (Not AOL though because most that I have spoken to find them too expensive.) All of the installations almost did themselves - all I had to do was enter the logon details for the account.
Having said that connect a PC to the router with an ether net cable and go to the wireless configuration utilty via a browser. The installation instuctions that came with the router will tell you how. Now set up an SSID. (SSID is the name of your wireless network that all the devices on the wireless network will need to know.) Alternatively you could read the default SSID that is alrready set on your router. Initially don't use encryption - go back and do that later. Now use the XP Networking utility to set up your wireless network on your two PCs - just follow the instructions. The only thing you need to know is the SSID. None of this requires a degee in Comuter Sciences but you MUST be methodical. I did the last one in about 30 minutes but I have practiced. Later you can go back and set up encryption or lock the router to all but trusted MAC addresses.
Terry
August 2006
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