So, oddly enough, of all the distros I tried on my old PC, Linspire was the only one that actually installed and worked.

My problem is that I only have a Winmodem, and finding another modem compatible with Linux is hard and expensive. So, CNR is out of the picture. And I don't know how to instal software on Linspire through a CD or a floppy disk. Any ideas?
Agari

Not using CNR is risky business. Linspire makes a lot of small improvements that impact dependencies. These changes require changes in dependencies for calling software. Aptget can cause some of these Linspire modified libs to be replaced by unmodified versions. The result can be a non-operating system. A while back the help files for modems had some errors in them regarding configuration. I'd verify that their directions are correct. In my case if I hadn't read the directions the modem would have connected. The other point is that Win-modems are very cheap -- I think I've seen them for as little as $6.

Also note that Linspire is a BROADBAND O/S so they advise to have at least some broadband internet access to use it (xDSL, Cable, ...) Offcourse you can do without.
Also what makes you think that a non-winmodem that works on Linux is hard to find and expensive ?
I never used a modem on Linux but most external (serial) modems should just work (since they are not winmodems) offcourse they are a bit more expensive then the PCI Winmodems but not that much are they ?

"Also note that Linspire is a BROADBAND O/S so they advise to have at least some broadband internet access to use it (xDSL, Cable, ...) "

Can you show me where they advise this? All I see is this
"Linspire-compatible 56 Kbps hardware modem, cable modem, ......"

Of course I find it strange the poster said it "installed and worked" yet I guess it should say PARTIALLY worked ?
Does Linspire have a hardware compatability list and if so is it up to date and guaranteed in any way? Does it list any serial modems?

Well I don't know if it's printed anywhere on the site, but ever since LindowsOS 3.0 was released (their first release) the People at Linspire always stated that it's a Broadband OS and that bradband internet access is advised. But not mandatory.

There should be a Hardware Compatibility List somewhere but I don't know where (There used to be the LFriendly site but I hear it got discontinued because the information is/was outdated).
The problem with a HCL is that people actually NEED to submit their working hardware to that list for it to be useable. Now I think they use the Diagnostic script in Linspire to provide that information.

Oh, just found their HCL :

Modems

Well I do agree that broadband with that distro is certainly a good idea, as often as it loves to try and update/connect and so forth.

But the boxed edition does have the CNRexpress cd with it, of course you still have to be connected for it to 'phone home' and verify that everything is cool. Strangely though the CNRexpress cd does not have the GPL license on it but as far as I know it is all GPL software so I assume you could make copies to give out and that way even people using broadband would be able to install the packages using the cd. Might save a bit of time on a reinstall or soemthing....

This is interesting statement though:
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Disclaimer: The information in this list is compiled from several sources including reports from our users concerning devices that have worked for them. However Linspire makes no guarantees of any kind as to whether a specific device will work for any given user. This information is intended to be a guide to help you determine what hardware has worked in the past with Linspire. However due to the rapid rate at which devices are revised and/or changed Linspire has no way to verify that the hardware currently in the store will function in the same manner as a device contained in this list.
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So even if it is on the HCL it still doesnt really mean anything? Is there any list that shows truly GUARANTEED working hardware for that distro?

EDIT

You know of one for ANY other Distro ?
I doubt any distro is gonna claim a certain piece of hardware is working 100% Guaranteed on their distro. There are to many varables here, it's possible another device will conflict or that a certain motherboard has a weird chipset that's not fully supported. Even in windows there is no 100% Guarantee that it will work (Driver conflicts and stuff like that).
So offcourse they are "covering their ass" by saying that it might not work for everybody, AND the argument that it might be diffrent hardware is true, just take the LinkSys Wireless PCMCIA cards for example There are reports of the 2.5 and older versions working on Linux but the 3.0 doesn't (well maybe it does now but there was a time that there were problems with this version). thus was due to a diffrent chip they used for the WiFi and/or diffrent firmware ?

You might be correct that this HCL may not be of any value but at least it shows what hardware is reported to work (at least for some people) so maybe if it doesn't work for you, you can just ask someone who has it working.

Unless I am mistaken Red-at use to have a HCL for each release and it listed stuff in categories such as: known working, reported working by user, possibly working, known NOT working or something to that effect....
Of course a LOT of hardware isn't a problem now as long as the distro includes the tools to get it setup and working like a compiler, isapnp(if needed), the old sndconfig tool does great on ISA sound cards, modconf, etc..... Just seems that some companies do not include a lot of stuff like that. And make it overly difficult to get some harware working.