Hi, I'm running a multiboot WindowsXP/98 system under HyperOS boot control and have 10GB spare space for a Linux Distro. The distro's I have are Redhat 9.0 2Cd publishers edition (Linux for Dummies) and a Mandrake 9.2 3Cd magazine freebie.
The modem is attached to a USB2.0 PCI card with a Via 82586b controller chip.I am accessing the internet by a 150KBps narrow band to Tiscali. The Redhat book does not cover USB modems, and Mandrake is documentless until installed.
I have installed Mandrake in the past but could never get it to work with my PCI dialup modem, on account of not knowing its make. I had it running under windows with a copy driver set on a Cd, but windows update drivers never worked with it and I had to stick to the unknown drivers on the Cd.
I would like to instal Linux and get onto the internet with it, which distro do you think I should go with? Why? and what should I look out for?
I know it's a big ask, but my wife bought me HyperOs as a christmas present, as I kept having to re-install windows, due to my multi-boot and magazine cover software experiments.
Therefore I would like to instal without totally screwing up again.
Thanks for your help.

I can't give specific advice for that particular modem, other that to ssay if it's USB, it may configure as a 'Winmodem'. In which case, you're going to have to build a module in Linux. To do that, you must install kernel headers, and development packages, when you install. As you Mandrake set has 3 cd's, these you may have, but I don't know if you have these with your Red Hat discs as you only have 2 cds. It would be a good idea to get hold of a full distro set, on cdr [plenty advertised cheap] and then with Mandrake or Red Hat you would also have a documentation cd. In the meantime, why don't you suck it and see - try one of the sets you have, and see what it can handle when installed with what you have. If you need source code for the modem driver, do some research now and see if someone on the internet has compiled it for that modem.
Hope that helps

Does this (for an earlier version of Red Hat) help: http://www.webconexion.net/speedtouch/index.php ?

Thanks I knew guys I knew someone would have a clue, will let you know how I get on (looks like a sunday job during that dead period in the afternoon)

I gave up looking for Linux support for my ADSL modem and got a modem/router and network card instead! The consensus for 56k dial-up seems to be that Linux is happiest with an old-style external (serial port) modem.

Hi thanks to you all I went with Mandrake 9.2
The only file I had to copy to a floppy was mgmt.o and then let Mandrake install it during installation.
Just to compare WindowsXP installation asks for the following disks to be inserted:
Printer Drivers
Modem Drivers
Nvidia Drivers
Sound Card Drivers
Scanner Drivers
ADSL Drivers
Web Cam Drivers

So far the only driver asked for by Mandrake 9.2 is the mgmt.o file and I am on the net with Mandrake.
The install was a breeze.
Now going over to GRC.com to test firewall.
Cheers guys