Laptop won't connect to home wifi but will connect to work wifi

About a week ago, our cable internet connection went out. Before I had a chance to reboot the modem & router, my 11 year old decided to completely reset the router to factory settings! Ugh! This caused several issues: my home network is now gone, only a unsecured factory network is available. When I try to plug my laptop into the router via ethernet cord (in order to login to router and setup secure network) my computer will not recognize the router and won't connect to internet. I tried troubleshooting with my cable provider and they say it's in my computer (IP address will not reset) and he recommended I replace my network card. However, today when I brought my laptop to work, it will instantly recognize the wifi at work. So is it really my network card that is causing issues? Please help, I'm desperate and not tech too tech savvy!

Details:
Linksys wireless router
Charter cable modem
Hp pavillion dv6 laptop with Windows Vista OS
 
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