broken piece of crap Linksys WRT54G router, replacement not an option

[icanhasclearCPU]

I currently have a major dilemma.

There are 2 desktop computers in the household, mine and the family computer, hooked up to an old Linksys WRT54G v8.20.3 router. It's currently breaking down. When both computers are hooked up, the family computer gets the signal at its normal speed, whilst my computer loads things as slow as dial up, maybe even slower. I play Maplestory, and administrate a chatroom. Plus I roleplay on instant messenger. Before the router broke down, I could do all 3 things at once. Now I can't, as the chatroom never refreshes, Maplestory lags and even boots me off, and the instant messenger occasionaly signs out because of the bad signal. And the thing is, it usually happens when my brother is on, running youtube and 20 chatrooms at once, plus at least 2 flashgames. My parents have limited him to one tab open at a time, because it is also rough on the computer itself, but it still causes horrendous lag. The reason we can't get a new router is because "we don't have the money for it right now". Yeah, that's because the money for the router is being used to pamper my mentally retarded sister. We can't boot my brother off because "everyone is allowed to use the computer". Why should I be booted off my own computer as well? Even when I have nothing but basic text pages open, navigating them causes lag as well. Is there any way I can fix the router, or somehow allow it to more evenly prioritize its tasks between the 2 computers? It's at the point where I wish to manually disconnect the upstairs computer from the internet for good, since I get the best speeds late at night, when the family computer is off. Both computers are directly connected via cable to the router, and both of them are virus free. The family computer is 8 years old and is really slow with both online and offline processes. The computer I use is fast with online and offline processes. Well, WAS fast with online processes until the router broke

[johnwill]

Some things you can try here, listed in the order you should try them.

1. For wireless connections, remove all the stored wireless profiles and search for networks. You'll have to enter the encryption key again, which is sometimes the issue for connection problems.
2. For wireless connections, change the channel on the router, I like channels 1, 6, and 11 in the US.
3. For wireless connections, try moving either the wireless router/AP or the wireless computer. Even a couple of feet will sometimes make a big difference.
4. Update the network drivers (wired and wireless) on your computer to the latest available.
5. Update the firmware to the latest version available on the manufacturer's site.
6. Reset the router to factory defaults and reconfigure.

Many times these measures will resolve a lot of intermittent issues.