Q Try as I might I cannot get my modem working in SLED 10. It keeps asking me for an Ethernet card, which I don't have, and saying that it is not connected. I know the card is not damn well connected because I don't have one! How do I configure the modem to work? I am on dial-up, I do not have broadband.
A When you installed SLED, you should have seen a screen listing your networking hardware (Ethernet/DSL/modem) with options to configure each. If you have an Ethernet connection in your computer - and most motherboards have one built in nowadays - this will be used as the default if you didn't select anything else. (Remember that SLED is an 'Enterprise Desktop' distro, so its native habitat is a PC connected to a LAN.) I suspect this is what has happened here. The default setting for a network card is to use DHCP to ask the network for an address and other connection details. Because your network card is not connected, this request fails, giving the error message you see. You need to disable the Ethernet connection and enable your modem. Both these tasks are done in the Control Centre. Select Network Cards, highlight your network card and press Delete. The card will still show up, but it is now listed as Not Configured. Now go back to the Control Centre and select Modem. From here, you can choose an ISP and input your connection details.