WRT54G v.6 - Vista forgetting Network settings but not on XP? - help please :)

Question

Hello everyone! I hope someone can shed a bit of light on this, it's driving me crazy!
I am using a WRT54G v.6 and Vista Ultimate and a dual-boot with XP on my desktop computer. I also have a laptop with Vista Home Premium. I have cable internet. Here's the thing:
Sometime ago I lost my internet connection. A friend with the same router told me to unplug the router for a day and that it'll do the trick. It did... partially.
I pluged it, inserted the installation CD (please keep in mind that I have no router knowledge at all) and everything went fine, until I shut down my computer. At the moment I had connected the desktop and laptop. When I turned the desktop on with Vista, it could not connect to the internet, although the laptop had no problems at all.
I connected the modem directly to my computer and internet was fine, but if I plug it back to the router, nothing happens. So, I had to do the same thing again: unplug for a day, restart the settings and it's a go. I've done that so many times it's not funny anymore
If I put my computer into hybernation, the router/vista works fine, but if i shut it down, I lose my internet connection on Vista.
Has anyone dealt with these before? I'd really appreciate your help, and sorry for the long post
Edit:
Right now I had to install an update on my desktop. First, I intalled the recent firmware upgrade, reset all settings again and configured the router. Everything was fine. I installed the Windows update, had to reboot and bam! I lost my connection. I'm on the laptop right now.
I can't even access the router on my desktop via 192.168.1.1. I have a limited or no connectivity message. It appears I have 2 networks, both public (I also tried private and nothing). I don't have internet access on none of them, although I did have before rebooting the computer). I don't have the warning icon anymore, tho.
I tried to merge/delete the connections and it "appears" as one of them was deleted, but it's still there. It says: Network 2 (the name of the network) it's in use, and under type says: unmanaged. But still no internet connection on that computer.
After some minutes, I was able to access the router via 192.168.1.1, but still no internet...
jtMessage Edited by jt001 on 04-03-200706:37 PM

Answer 1

Hello Klatch! Thanks for your reply!
Well, thing is that it used to work before. Of course, I'll definately check if an update is available
All these issues began maybe a month or 2 ago. Everything was working flawlessly. One time, I lost my connection and that's where everything got messed up.
My main problem is that I get this "Unidentified Network" in the network and sharing center that seems to be causing the problem, as far as I know.
I connect the router and get the Unidientified Network icon, plus another one. I deleted one, but it was still there. Even if I try to merge them, nothing happens.
I even connected the modem directly and could not connect to the internet for some time, because Vista was still looking for the previous setting (back when the router was working). I had to unplug the modem several times, reboot, etc. I tried so many things that I lost track of what made the computer work again :lol.
I tried to connect the router last night and nothing. The only thing that seems to work is unplugging the router for a long time/resetting it, then Vista will make the connection, but if I restart, the internet it's gone.Message Edited by jt001 on 04-05-200705:31 AM