Hey there,
I've just installed the Slackware 9.1 Linux distro in my PC, and managed to configure my modem correctly. Then configured a connection to my ISP using KPPP, and tried to connect. But after 5 seconds or so, I get an error message saying that the pppd daemon died unexpectedly, and clicking on Details, I get the following message: "Cannot determine ethernet address for proxy ARP". I'm a total linux noob, and I guess my network is not configured properly. Can anyone help me sort this out?
Thx

I just got home and went sniffing around a little more. What's really bugging me is why the hell is it looking for the ethernet address of anything since all I want is a dial up connection? It doesn't even need an ethernet adapter. Anyway, I tried to configure my adapter, but didn't work. Then I looked in the file /etc/ppp/options and found the proxyarp command, and #ed it so that the system stopped trying to add the ethernet address to the arp table, but that didn't work either. Now I don't know what else to do.
Help me please.

The purpose of PPP is to make the fact that the connection was dialed transparent to the machine. The point, is so that applications detect a valid, connected protocol stack, and can use it accordingly. Your error states that your adapter (modem) is unable to determine the proxy arp ethernet address - in english - this means that the server to which you are dialing is either
A) Using a different form of authentication/handshaking than your PPP adapter is configured to use, or
B) Is malfunctioning, and not providing a MAC addy by which it can be reached.

The purpose of proxy arp, is that the router to which you are connected will, and should provide it's own MAC address as the MAC of all hosts not residing on your subnet. This allows all packets destined for a remote subnet to reach the router to be routed.

Try connecting to a different POP - and see if that helps. If it doesn't, call your ISP, and find out exactly what encapsulation their equipment expects of your modem. You could be running SLIP, and not even know it......

So I should try another kind of authentication? Will try that, but the authentication succeeds, the connection fails about 5 seconds after it's established..
I'll see what happens and post it here later..
Thx

Just another thing? What do you mean by POP? Sorry for the newbie question... hehehe

POP = Point of Presence - the ISP phone number that you are dialing.

OK, I tried to change the kind of authentication, and another error ocurred.. It says something about a timeout waiting for config request, or something like that... Then I contacted my ISP to ask about the handshaking sequence the server waits for, and they told me the only support they can give me for Linux is supplying the DNS numbers.....
This is starting to piss me off...

Do this.

This is obviously a Ma & Pa shop, so, tell them that you need the instructions to setup a Windows machine - just to create the dial-up connection. Post it here, and we'll translate into *nix.....

What do u mean? What data do u need?

Thank you for your help, PenguinPwrdBox, but I've managed to find the solution for my problem... I found in a brazilian forum a thread where some guys were having the same difficulties with the same ISP (it's a free one hehehe) and they had the answer... Now I'm surfing with Linux.....
Thx again

it would be nice if you post the solution!. you'r not the only one with problems around here