I thought I was smart enough to do this, but apparently not...
I currently run a Westell 327w wireless gateway, which is modem and router in one, using Verizon DSL. Verizon supports the 327w, but not the Buffalo. I search around for something a little more reliable than the Westell and came up with Buffalo.
I have an old Westell 2200 DSL model, I switched it to bridge mode, and tried wiring up everything to configure the setup. I copied all the config from my Westell before turning it off and unplugging it. I have a couple of older Dell laptops and was using a D505 running XP Pro SP3 to do these tests. I can only run WEP from these Dells, I've been using a 10 digit key with them and the Westell. For some reason, the G54 will only accept a 5 or 13 digit key with WEP.
I definitely get DSL connectivity with the modem, and after some fiddling it appears I get connectivity with the cable from the PC into the G54, but when I set up the wireless and tried connecting, the results I got were that the wireless adapter was 'associated' and the signal was strong, but it couldn't get the IP address. After some reading around, I got the idea that something was wrong with the DHCP (something about seeing an IP address starting with 169 in my ipconfig is a sign that something is wrong) but I could not see anything telling me what specifically was wrong or how to fix it.
I replugged in the 327w and the wireless continues to connect just fine to all the laptops. Before I conclude I'm too stupid to upgrade, can anyone give me some quick steps and checks to correctly configure the wireless in the G54? I feel like I am missing something obvious.
In my 327w configuration, the primary and secondary DNS were 0.0.0.0 but those don't work in the G54, however I seem to have gotten past that issue. Do I need to complete fields about things like default gateway? Verizon won't talk to me if they find out I'm trying to configure a router they don't support.
Thanks for reading this far... usually I'm pretty good at solving this kind of issue but this has me frustrated.