Please bear with me - I'm unclear about much of the terminology used in home networking.
The scenario:
I would like to set up a wireless network.
I live in a shared house where internet service is provided for free but the person in charge of its maintenance provides no technical support. In other words, all I have is a live LAN (correct terminology?) plate in my room. I do not have a working cable plate/outlet.
Left over from my last apartment I have a perfectly good Motorola SBG6580 cable modem/router.
I can connect to the internet using this configuration: wall plate<-- Cat 5 cable-->router/modem<-- Cat5 cable -->laptop. There are four unlabeled ports on the back of the modem/router so it seems to be acting as a switch (correct terminology?).
The cable modem/router appears in the list of nearby wireless networks and using the password on the bottom of the box I can connect to it and navigate the settings at 192.168.0.1 in my browser.
It seems like I have all the ingredients for a wireless network recipe, however, upon connecting to the wireless network, I cannot get online. My browser just tells me it cannot connect to the internet.
This doesn't seem to be the typical "bridging" situation since I want to use the router I already have. And my situation isn't quite like this one since that OP has access to the cable for his cable modem/router. And I'm not sure if this is the same situation since the OP is using a DSL modem and isn't explicit (enough for my limited knowledge) about his configuration.
Any ideas?