So I finally got around to trying all this Tuesday. Everything worked, then I had to go screw it up again. Now my problem is truly bizarre.
So I bought an ethernet cord to connect the AEB and 2Wire. I reset the AEB and let it start up. My MacBook Pro automatically detected it and I set it up according to plan: this time I extended my network to include the AEB, not replace the 2Wire, and put it in Bridge mode; I also chose to create a new, separate network for the AEB that I would run my laptop on using 802.11n technology, while keeping my little brother on the previously existing 2Wire network to run his old laptop using the 802.11b/g technology.
And it worked, and everything was fine. Except the name of the new network. I had named it "Andy's AEP 802.11n Network": the "p" clearly the typo. Yes, I'm that anal. I tried to change the name in the Advanced System settings in the Network pane of System Preferences, but I couldn't. So I deleted the network, and tried to reset the AEB again to mulligan everything I'd just done. And that's where all my problems began.
I don't know why it messed everything up, but now, my computer isn't even recognizing the 2Wire. My computer remembers the 2Wire network, but it isn't actually connecting to it. When I boot up, it automatically connects to the 2Wire (at least that's what it says it does). I see four bars up in my taskbar. But when I go into Network settings, I see that it's self-assigning the IP address for the 2Wire. And I can't surf the internet. So I tried deleting the 2Wire network, now, too, and tried resetting the 2Wire router. I even tried a hard reset when I held the button down for 15 seconds, then had my little brother plug it in while I continued to hold it down. It didn't seem to work: my little brother's internet didn't stop working once it booted up, so it's like we didn't have to recalibrate everything and set up the network all over again. It didn't work out of the gate the first time we set him up on the 2Wire.
And that seems to be the problem, now. I can't delete these networks. They keep coming back. I even deleted the "Andy's AEB..." network with which I replaced the typo network, then did a soft reset of both routers. It comes back and works perfectly. It shouldn't do that. I should have to set it up again. So you know, I have deselected the box in the Advanced Network settings tab that says "Remember all networks I have joined." I did that before deleting them and resetting the routers.
So the bizarre state of my computer now is that I can't surf on the 2Wire because my computer isn't actually communicating with it, but I am surfing right now on the new "Andy's AEB..." network. But only if I'm in the same room as the base station. Originally, before I got anal, I was switching with equal ease back and forth between the 2Wire and AEB networks. And I was doing it in my room which is above the room where we hook in the routers. This room isn't far at all, just one story up. Now it won't detect the base station unless I'm literally in the same room. It has like a 15-foot range that only works in the lateral plane.
And, what's more, when I try to open the Airport Utility if I have the "2Wire" network selected by my airport, it won't even recognize the the Airport base station is there. It says, "No Apple Wireless Devices in range". But if I have the "Andy's AEB..." network selected, it does recognize the base station, and tries to take me through the setup again. And when I come to the step where I tell it that I'd like to extend my wireless network by connecting the Airport via ethernet to another device, the options it brings up are: 1) 2Wire928 "Wireless Network", 2) Andrew's Airport Extreme "Previous Base Station Configuration", 3) Andy's AEB 802.11n Network "Previously Used Network".
At this point, I just want to start over from scratch. Should I delete system files? I can't access the "gateway.2wire.net" from my computer, but I can from my little brother's computer, and I remember having to do that when I first set up the 2Wire. I had to change something in there so my Mac could surf on the 2Wire; there was some extra step I had to take to get my Mac working that we didn't have to take with his PC and with the Xbox 360. It seems like I'm back in that place I was when I first was trying to get the 2Wire working. It feels like I didn't achieve a hard reset on the 2Wire, but a soft reset that didn't disrupt my little brother's surfing, yet took my computer back to a square one that I need to get past again, now. I wouldn't care, I'd be fine on the Airport Network, but whatever disabled the 2Wire network for me seems to be affecting my AEB network range.
So again, what do I have to do to start over from scratch?
