I am writeing this for a freind that recently installe dMandrake 9.2 on his box .. he's got everything set up but his internet conneciton. We both a extremly new to Linux and need some help.

a) modem = U.S. Robtics PCI modem

b) Bellsouth dial-up connection.

c) Mandrake Linux 9.2

We're not sure if 1) it's a com port issue 2) a dirver problem or anything else!

open a terminal and type

kppp

if it's not installed, install it with

urpmi kppp (as root)

on the kppp ui there is a Configure button. THis calles up a dialogue box where you can enter account etails and setup the modem.
On the Modem tab there's a Query Modem button - fairly self explanatory. On the Device tab you can specify where the modem is if doesn't show up where it's expected.
When I used a modem (an external serial modem) it showed up an /dev/ttyS0 and not the default /dev/modem. so in order for the "query modem" to work I had to specify /dev/ttyS0.
Also, worth having a look on the Hardware list (probably on the "Control Panel" somewhere) to make sure the modem has been recognised.

Hope this helps.

>> a) modem = U.S. Robtics PCI modem <<

Is that an internal soft-modem (Winmodem) or an internal hardware-modem? - if it's a soft-modem did you install any drivers for it?

>>We're not sure if 1) it's a com port issue 2) a dirver problem or anything else!<<

Is it not recognised at all? or - Did you configure the connection through kppp - if so, presumably there are errors when you try to dial in?

tried to install urmi kppp with no luck ... the kppp command us "unrecognised" my freind is running Mandrake 9.2 .. we;re extreme newbies to Linux this is my freinds only computer (as windows was giving him fits) would Mandrake 10 offer easier setup?

if the modem was not recognized how do we get it to?

try the command (as root)
lspci or cat /proc/pci

and post what output this gives u. these command should give details of all pci hardware u have installed. In which case u should see something about ur modem.