Frustrated trying to set up a wireless network with Bellsouth Fastaccess's Westell Wirespeed modem.

Question

Today, about 6 hours ago in fact, I came home with a Linksys WRT54G wireless router. It took me a while to get a grasp on how to connect it. I had no network port on the back of my PC, as far as I knew, and I had been connecting my Westell Wirespeed modem to my PC via USB for years. In the end I ended up spending an hour digging up the old Ethernet cable that came with the modem, and finally managed to do everything the Router setup program asked of me.
One hour after restarting multiple times, experimenting with different orders of plugging in things, and countless resettings of the Router AND the modem, it finally set up the network. It ran for an hour.
One of my cats ran behind my computer, jarring one of the cords and causing the PC to turn off. It happens twice or thrice a year when they get rowdy. When I jiggle all the plugs back into place and turn on my computer, the connection was dead! Gone! And there was nothing in my Program Files that said "Start Linksys Network" or anything convenient like that. I suppose that would be too easy, right? And my internet didn't work either! So with no other choice, I opened up the installation program again - there was no trace of any sort of folder or application on my PC linked to the router. In fact, as far as I can see, I still have no way to get into ANY sort of router-related application aside from the install CD.
So I stuck that back in there.
I've spent the last three hours grueling over this thing. I connect it all before turning the PC on. Nothing. I disconnect everything and plug it all back in meticulously step by step according to the program. Nothing. The install program always gets through the PC checking, and lets me fill in the PPOE (or whatever) information. As it tries to update the router configuration, though, it tells me one of two things.
1 ) If I have just done a reset of the router, it gets to 99% in the router configuration progress bar before telling me the 'router configuration failed'.
2 ) If I exit the setup program and reopen it, I get a generic "So and so has caused an error in 4746545x48345675 (or some other random number)," and asks me to either Cancel or Debug.
My hands are sore and I'm stressed to the limits. I bought a laptop a week ago for the sole purpose of alleviating the battles my kids have over the only source of internet in the house, but it's just been sitting there. I'm really at the end of my wits. Between the errors that don't tell you what went wrong and the perfectly-connected router that keeps pretending it's not connected, I'm just about ready to return the laptop.

Answer 1

This happened to me when I was setting up the wireless router for a friend.  The issue is with the Westall modem.  You need to go in and setup the "bridge" option on the westell modem.  The link below gives directions or you can call bellsouth dsl support (this is how I learned about it).
http://help.bellsouth.net/bellsouth/asp/contentview.asp?isbrowse=true&sprt_cid=3f993409%2Ddff7%2D422...
Good luck
Solution:
Method 1 - Hard Reset
Restore the modem to default settings by pressing the Reset button on the back of the modem and holding it for 3 seconds. (Bridged mode is the default setting for the Westell).
After the modem regains sync, it is in Bridged mode. Do not attempt to surf into the modem as surfing into the modem will enable the Easy Login page and convert the modem from bridged mode to a PPP mode.
Method 2 – Bridged Mode
Access the Westell interface using http://192.168.1.254 or http://launchmodem.
Click on the Broadband DSL Line button. 
Click on the Protocols button 
Select the radio button to the left of Option 2 (Bridge)
Click the save button. Once the modem has restarted it is in bridge mode. 
ALL STEPS COMPLETE