Thank you all for your input. I really appreciate your guys' help. Unfortunately, I can't attend the InstallFest on 4/12/01, as I will be out of town on spring break. :-( I do have experience installing various distros, so at least I'm not totally clueless. :-) I figure that I'm going to go with a non US Robotics external modem, cause I got screwed over by US Robotics (and a Best Buy tech) when I got a US Robotics 56k ISA specifically for Linux. The modem claimed to be a real modem (Along with the service tech), however, upon closer examination of the drivers, I found it to be using vcomm.dll, a classic hallmark of the dreaded winmodem. /me beats his head against the wall several times for being so easily suckered. As for that pool about how long it will take the new guy to switch to Debian, whoever guessed that I'll install it by Easter (Or as soon as I can get my hands on the cds, whichever comes second) won the pot :-). I had been considering Debian for a while, cause it's supposedly the most svelt and secure of the distros (/me prays that his statement does not start a distro jihad). I tried to duel boot slink on a win98 machine, but I just ended up trashing the debian install to the point of utter unworkability. Hopefully, since I'm going to dedicate my whole hd to Linux, this will not be a problem. In the meantime, I'm about to install a version of slackware that runs on top of Win2k in order to get a feel for Linux before I commit my computer to it. BTW, any of you guys know of a place around the Dakota county area where I can get 2.2r2 binaries for Debian? (I have a helluva slow connection and don't want to spend the next 2 months downloading debian.) Anyway, I've probably rambled on long enough. Thanks again for your help. You guys are great. Now for the hardest part of any Linux installation: Getting my windows-addicted family to learn how to use Linux without constantly complaining about it. =) The Fishy One's Infinite Wisdom #28: "Life is anything that dies when you stomp on it." _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com