Somewhat OT: Wireless Router Problem

[Charles, Joshua Micah (UMKC-Student)]

Hello all,
 
I apologize for the off topic posting, but I've been working on this problem for a while now, and I 
can't come up with any solutions.  Perhaps one of you all have an idea what's happening, or at 
least has ran into it before.
 
I have a Belkin Wireless router (from the Comp USA sale advertised a couple months ago - thanks for 
the tip, whoever posted that ), and up until last week it was working perfectly.  Then I had some 
problems with the battery on my notebook, and I had to send the notebook in to get it fixed.  When 
I got it back yesterday, the first thing I noticed was "Hey, no wireless network available? wtf?"
 
As it turns out, it get's a signal when the laptop is within a few inches of the router.  Then, as 
I move it farther away, the signal disapears all together after about two feet.  As you can 
imagine, I find this unacceptable.
 
So I've experimented, searched google, and hey even RTFM, and still, I can't figure out anything.
 
Here is a somewhat shortened list of what I've tried:
 
Changed the signal for the router for each one 1 - 11
Reinstalled the drivers and software on the laptop (several times now)
reinstalled the entire OS
 
 
Any ideas?
 
Thanks,
Josh