If I connect to the modem directly, everything is fine and I can connect to the internet. However, if I connect the modem to my cable router and my computer to the router, I can't do anything. The router's config page says that it's connected to the internet, but unfortunately mandrake doesn't detect it. Is there anything special I have to do to get on the internet through my router? I'm connecting through my built-in ethernet adapter (at eth0), and as you can probably tell, I'm not very experienced when it comes to networks.
Thanks, Curtis.

well i know where i am from .. when you use cable internet, they keep track of the users through MAC addresses ... so if you change your network hardware (i.e. network card, router, etc...) then obviously it will have a different MAC address then the original connection (in your case the NIC you used to plug directly into) ...
so i am willing to bet that if you call your cable company's support, and tell them you put a router in, and now your internet will not work, that they will change it over the phone so that your router is the primary connection device, and it will be working in minutes ..

Thanks, I'll try that.

Why do we always just assume that it's the ISP's fault and chuck all the troubleshooting?

Why not at least post the output of "ifconfig eth0" and "route." Also, what's the ip address of the private side of your router? Can you ping that address?

i am not assuming anything ..
i am telling him how it is ...
with the information that he has given, it sounds like the problem is
what i said ... and that is why i recommended what i said to him ...

the only change he made (according to the info) was unplugging the cable from the NIC and putting it in the router and then of course from that to the NIC ... he says that his machines knows there is a connection but there is no internet ...
and again with what i said, and with his information ... it is a classic example how cable internet works around here ...

so i didn't feel the need to tell him about troublshooting anything, again with the facts at hand ... i dont' feel i should explain myself, but you make it seem like i am trying to give a simple stupid answer ... which i am not, thx ....

I did not mean to make it sound as though you were giving a stupid answer, and I am sorry if that's how it came across. What you told him could definitely be the answer.

What I meant is that this type of a forum is best used to distribute knowlege. A thread like this can be used to fix many problems, not just the one affecting the person posting the issue. So many times I see people that just make a suggestion without describing any troubleshooting steps. If we as a community start to post good troubleshooting methods; perhaps the newbie's in the community will learn from it. Then they will be able to pass on that knowlege.

I'm not a coder, I'm not even that good at working with Linux yet. I am, however, a very good network technician. I feel that my way of giving back to the linux community for what they have given to me is teaching about networking.

Sorry again if I offended you.

MrKnisely