Hello! I'm a newbie and I use Mandrake 10.1 distro, KDE and Mozilla.
I have an internet connection (ADSL) that works fine, but I want to set up other alternative connections I can use from places where I have other facilities (namely: I need a couple of dial-up connections to be used from places where I only have a normal tel. line).
Now, this does not seem to be an easy thing to do, as it is in Windows. If I try to create a new connection using the wizard in Control Center>networks and Internet>New connection, then the new connection I create destroys the previously existing one (and most of the time does not even work, but this is a different problem: let's tackle one thing at a time!
I can hardly believe that such a simple and useful feature is unavailable in the world-widely celebrated Linux OS (or Mandrake distro)! It must be that I am somewhat... slow!
Can anyone of you experts help? That would be great. Thx!

There are two ways that I can think of to do this.

1). It it's dial-up only connections that you need to set then you can use the KDE modem dialer application (KPPP) and setup multiple connections there very easily using different accounts.

2). Under the Mandrake Control Centre, create a different profile for each location. I use this method for using my wireless card at home and at uni, although I have not discovered a way of booting into a particular profile before the machine loads (I may start a thread about that). This method is probably of use to you if you need to change network card (wireless or wired) settings. Of course you can also use this to save other settings to a profile, not just the network ones.

HTH

Thank you for your advice, CragStar! I used KPPP and it worked out fine. Very easy indeed.
Unfortunately, I seem to have problems with my modem, now.
The system detects a modem (there is already a symbolic link to it (/dev/modem). It even detects it "too much"! I mean, it detects a modem on any of my 5 ports (ttyS0 to ttyS4)! Only ttyS0 and ttyS1 are usable, however: if I select one of the other devices, I get a message "modem is buisy" (awkward, because actually I dont thik there is any modem there, whether buisy or free...). Anyway, when I try to connect, the KPPP message window displays briefly "modem is ready" and then gets stuck at the next step ("initializing modem"). Initialization string is "ATZ". Then, nothing happens... I tried (somewhat random) several settings and different modem commands, but it wont work...
Can you or anybody help? Could it simply be that I have a hardware problem (I dont know what modem type I have...).
Thx again.

There is a 'query modem' button in KPPP that should allow you contact the modem and find out what it's responce is to AT commands. What happens you try running this on your modem?

Serial modems are connected on device ttyS0 to ttyS3 - and you say that your not sure how the modem is connected? Do you have an external modem? If not, I'm guessing that you have an internal modem, or a laptop with a modem built in?

You need todo two things:-

1). Find out if the modem is detected by your machine? Use MCC and setup a new network connection using your modem (MCC --> Network & Internet --> New connection). This should hopefully tell you what type of modem you have (if it can be detected) and also confirm that you can use it.

2). If the modem works, find the device it is using (e.g. /dev/ttyS0) and use that in KPPP.

I have a sneeky suspicion that you have a winmodem though.