I used knoppix 3.7 install to hdd for the simplest linux install I knew of, just to begin with linux (literally my first time messing with it asside from on the live cd.) All worked fine on the cd, I was able to configure an old belkin wifi card quickly using wlcardconfig then netcardconfig, it found the network and hopped on no problem. I looked some stuff up, the installed to hdd. I rebooted and ran the config again so I could save the settings on the hdd, and it worked just fine.

I rebooted the first time after running from the hdd, and on boot it says it found the pcmcia and configuring, however when I get into the shell it says no pcmcia controler found in the info center. This leaves me unable to see, much less configure the wifi card. The settings are still in wireless.opt in etc/pcmcia so I guess it's not forgetting.

Any advice on how to get it back online and keep it there? Thanks a lot in advance.

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Well, I noticed at school when i booted it the system saw the pcmcia and found both slots empty, when I got home I plugged the card in after boot and it was able to utilize the card after configing it again...is this just something you have to do?

Edit-- Forgot to list the pc

Dell Latitude c600
750mhz p3
512mb ram
mobility rage 16mb (i think)

Check to see if hotplug is installed. If not, install it.

You should also have dhcpcd installed if your card is to be configured using dhcp instead of a fixed IP.