Linksys wrt54gs problems?

I have a linksys wireless router and i have 2 problems, one i cant remeber my old pword and cant seem to set up a new pword for my network so i leave it unsecured which i know is not a good idea and second, it always goes out and says it cant detect my signal so i have to restart it or unplug it, the last time i did that it started all over and i have to reconfigure it and my computer says its connected to the name of my network but the linksys advisor says its trying to configure the router and cant pick up an internet signal when the computer says its already connected to the signal, am i gonna just have to buy a new one and start all over? its sooooo frustrating