Yes, if your interface is not configured this is correct.

The lack of a network interface causes only the loopback (127.0.0.1) to be required so that X can function.

The problem is that it seems that once your interface is configured it still keeps getting changed back.

If you have properly configured the interface and named your machine properly this should not happen.

Per somebody's advice on Freenode (IRC) I tried a knoppix install. It worked fine. Since I'm trying to expand my horizon's I isntalled Fedora Core 2, and its working fine. In Mandrake ans FC2 Theonly name I gave it was the network name. Thats what confuses me. I do have it named properly.
Thanks for the help, I appreciate it.

"Theonly name I gave it was the network name"

If this is true your machine is not properly named.

Ok, now I'm confused. Are you talking about the hosename? Where are you referring to?
Would this be the reason my DNS servers are changing?

The "network name" is a domain name.

The hostname is what appears before the network name.

e.g.

myhost.mydomain.com

Each interface (usually) has a unique FQDN associated with it.

Linux also supports zeroconf naming, wherein your router recognizes the "name" presented by the machine from the zeroconf field, so that it can assign the machine an IP.

Usually the presented FQDN entered in zeroconf gets your router to spit out an IP and configuration information to your machine.

X windows utilizes the FQDN of the machine, which can vary from the FQDN of the interface, when authorizing the X display client.

So if the Xwindows installer can't determine the machinename, it resorts to using the localhost entry AFAIK.

Ah ha. So, what should I call it? Anything I want?
I'm missing the machine.domain.com name, right?

Probably.

You should be able to ping the machine by the FQDN it's shortname and also via localhost.

X utilizes these to enable security.

During the install I do remember putting the same name into both parts. Yet I sitll had the problem. Anyway, I'll check it out, and get back here.

Bump

Ok. I've reinstalled Mandrake after a brief stint with FC2.
During the install I gave the PC the network name of Prometheus and drake.localhost.localdomain.com
Where am I not naming it properly? As soon as I cat resolv.conf...

[root@drake etc]# cat resolv.conf
search localhost.localdomain.com local
nameserver 127.0.0.1
nameserver 192.168.1.1

# ppp temp entry

the 127.0.0.1 comes back. For thelife of me, I don't see where I am naming this PC incorrectly.