re-setting up my system... help?

[cmtpt]

I am totally inexperienced at this. I got the system set up, then something went wrong. I FINALLY got a phone # to call and the help was pretty poor. So I have this rounter, I can use the "guest" that I set up, but not the regular one since I have no idea what stupid simple password I set on it.  Now I get a message that I need to update the firmware and remembered that this is not working correctly. I made a mess of it when I was trying to leave for vacation or something.  I am not dumb, but I have no idea where to start to get this working correctly. 

[Babylon5]

The process for logging into the router settings and the passphrase for WiFi are two separate things.

So your first step is to log into the router, typically this is done via a web browser e.g. Firefox and entering something like http://routerlogin.net or http://192.168.1.1 (try clicking those links).

This should take you to the router login screen (defaults are user = admin, password = password). If you changed those defaults then enter the password which you set. If you can’t remember this then your only option is to factory reset the router to return settings to defaults, then re-run the setup process.

If you can log into the router then you should be able to go to the wireless section and enter a new password, this will then also need to be set at any wireless client devices (computers).

If you are completely lost as to what to do, then a factory reset followed by a re-run of the setup might not be such a bad idea.

What is the model number of your router?