The martian startup script /etc/rc.d/init.d/martian will create /dev/ttySM0 but kppp (configure > device) does not list it. If I add Device=/dev/ttySM0 to the file ~.kde/share/config/kppprc then kppp will list it but cannot dial. The message is "Unable to create modem lock file" (if started from a terminal it shows at this point "Opener: received SetSecret")

If I set the kppp device as /dev/modem and create the symlink ln -s /dev/ttySM0 /dev/modem it will work fine.

Tried messing about with /var/lock creating a new group, chown to the group and so forth but got nowhere.

I do not want to manually create a /dev/modem symlink every time I boot. The computer is being set up for a friend who is not savvy. If some advice could be offered, either how to get /dev/ttySM0 compatible with kppp, or a simple script to create the symlink late in the bootup, I would be grateful.

computer - thinkpad 600x
distro - mandrake 10.1 (severely pruned!)
desktop - icewm
kppp - 2.1.4
martian-full-20061203.tar.gz (martian is a development of ltmodem and is used with lucent/agere winmodems)

And the problem is...# vi /etc/rc.d/rc.local

Add following line at the end of the script:
ln -s /dev/ttySM0 /dev/modem

kppp does not list device /dev/tty<stuff> and mandrake devfs makes it impossible to create permanent link in device file folder.

Thanks Simon that fixes the problem

Cheers.

You've been participating: helping others out when you could.
This sort of thing is the payback.