thanks guys. I did install RH before- but unfortunately it didn't detect my modem (it's a US Robotics internal PCI- which after a bit of research I've found that linux seems to have a bit of a problem with these). I was thinking about a 3COM external- just have to have a bit of a snoop around on ebay, but is USB definitely a no-no? I thought support for USB was pretty good these days- It did manage to detect my optical USB microsoft mouse after all....

thanks again