Well, my new situation...I have puppy Linux 3.01 installed as a supper floppy to my toshiba 2.0 usb stick. I now have a bootable copy of linux that doesn't run from a cd! Woo!

The way I see it now is that I need to get my modem working. This will let me play with my pup online...I'm eager to teach it new tricks. Yes...stupid joke. Anyway, I'm clueless about how drivers are installed through any Linux OS.

My modem was not detected in a 'probing' and I downloaded the HSF package from Linuxant.com's site. They were for a Conexant 56k SoftV92 Data Fax Modem with SmartCP, which is an HSF if I read the list correctly. The site also says that the package is for Pentium processors...crud.

I use an AMD Sempron +3000, 64 architecture if I read right when first looking up linux...Anyway, the site then proceeds to say "Some systems may require kernel recompilation with special ACPI patches." Well...I downloaded the patches from the link. This is all in the HSF download readme file, by the way.

What I'm about to tackle sounds like something a newbie shouldn't even think about doing...I always keep my old spare parts...so I'm sure I have another 56k modem card laying around. Is it avised that I down grade my modem from newer to older? Or, should I attempt this kernel recompilation?

Honestly, I say go for it. The only way to learn how to do it is to do it. Kernel recompilation can be pretty intimidating at first, but after doing it many, many, many times, you'll start to feel very comfortable with it. There are LOTS of guides to kernel recompiling out there, so I would say read up on it first.