Usually you have to set up a pin for your router before you can start sending a signal from the router,which then must be entered into your laptop to receive the signal.the first connection from your modem should plug into WAN input,the next connection shouldbe lwan out ,and plug into the ether net connection on your home computer.Your home pc should then recognize the new hardware and start prompting you to set up the wireless router,Hopefully it will find the drivers and such to help you complete the set up.You also want to mark the router as private so only you and your's can receive the signal I hope this helps good luck!!!!!
(If all else fails maybe try a couple different cable's as sometimes they are bad as well)

they have easy to follow instructions online. here's the link to the model you listed.
http://www.linksys.com/s...Common%2FVisitorWrapper

Aacks, some good advice already stated.

My addendum advice is

1. push in the reset button and hold it in for at least 15 seconds and then release. That will clear the nvram, essentially restoring the router's internal settings to default.

2. Modem in WAN port, and desktop on one of the LAN ports.

3. get on desktop. If you use Windows, click on the start menu and click on run. Then in the box that pops up type in cmd and then enter.

4. you should have a DOS prompt. Type "ipconfig /release" without the quotes and then hit enter. Then type "ipconfig /renew" and hit enter. You SHOULD see a confirmation saying you were assigned a IP, probably it will be 192.168.1.100

5. If that went according to plan, see if internet is working. It very well might be.

If it still is not:

6. From a webrowser enter 192.168.1.1 in the URL bar, hit enter, and when it asks for login and password, leave login blank but put "admin" (without quotes) in password. that is the default for Linksys routers.

7. Should be in the router config now. Look for a screen that lists the WAN IP. Should be a release and renew button there. Click release and then renew. Try internet again.

If it is still not working, we need more info from you. What kind of broadband do you have? what provider? If it is DSL you might have PPPoe authentication, which means you would need to set the connection type to PPPoe in the router configf and enter your ISP login and password. If you have cable it is possible your ISP is one of those who uses MAC address filtering. Which means that they lock your service to the address your original connected NIC had (probably your desktop I'm assuming). If that is the case you can get around this by finding MAC cloning in the router and clone your desktop address, or call the ISP and ask them to reset this to the new MAC. Some DSL companies do that as well. Sometimes you can just wait a period of time and it'll automatically update.

Once you have the internet working, then tackle other issues:

1. Change the router password. Most people don't do this. Be secure!

2. Okay set a SSID for your wireless network, that's the name of the network it announces to the world... A lot never change this either.

3. Do you want your wireless to be open or locked down? I don't recommend open as it also exposes your computers via the network to the world too. But it's your choice.

4. If you DO want to lock it down, setup encryption--WPA or WPA2 preferably. With WPA you can set a password that only has to be at least 8 characters. You will then need to enter that password on the authentication process on your laptop.

5. Default wireless channel is 6, and as you can imagine 6 is always crowded because most people don't change defaults. If your router has a wireless survey function, run it to see what channels are being used around you. Then pick the one least used for yourself. In the US we have channels 1-11. But the recommended three to use are 1, 6, or 11. Because being spaced out like that it avoids cross bleeds.

6. Some would further advise to lock down by hiding the SSID (usually an option) and enabling MAC filtering, and you could do that. BUT I don't even think it's worth bothering. Hiding SSID announcement mainly will only cause you headaches with reconnecting to the network. And MAC addresses are stupidly easy to spoof. IE: anyone determined to get into your network for whatever reason, probably would not have any issue leaping past these two "deterrents". WPA will keep you safe.

BUT let me say this, before locking down the wireless if you're going to, MAKE sure it is working in the first place before doing so or it will be a headache trying to troubleshoot if you have issues. IE it should give you nett access unsecured first before securing.

Good point, I forgot about that. I read aacwks sentence about "ethernet cable" and "modem" and my mind jumped to the conclusion of "cable modem". If you have DSL, it might need a little more tweaking. It would also help if you tell us what manufacturer and model your modem is. If it's DSL, the PPPoE might be stored in the modem or in your computer.

Good point also about holding in the reset button for 15 seconds on the router. If it's a returned or refurbished router, it might still have some settings in there that need to be cleared out. Even though you tried the reset button, you may not have held it in long enough.

Yep, didn't mean to step on your toes or anything, you already gave good advice. Just wanted to add to it, and well I can't help but be thorough sometimes, even if it's repeating things.

Good point on the modem!

For me, computers are like cars. They are awesome when they are running great - but when they break down, I'm clueless as to how to make repairs. Sometimes, I feel like chunking my PC out the window!!!!