Pppd died unexpectedly? (external modem) Solved!

[e2k]

Hello!
I just got the newest (V3.4-2004-05-16) knoppix on my laptop. It works perfectly besides the fact that I can't connect to the internet with my external modem. The modem is configured and answers at the Query modem just as it should.. This is what happens on an attempt to connect;

OK
ATM1L1
OK
ATDT(NUMBER)
NO DIALTONE

I don't understand what I've done wrong? A friend of mine advised me to change the ATZ in Initialization string 1 to ATX3, but that just made the connection stop in "Initialising modem", where it stayed until I pressed Cancel..
Any thougts? Thanks for any help!

[turbine]

Check your rj11 cable going from the modem to the phone jack in the wall. If you can, connect a phone to this line, unplug from the modem and connect to a phone, and attempt to dial out from the phone. If the phone cannot work then the problem could be in the cable or the jack itself. The connection from the computer to the modem seems to be working fine because you get responses to the commands that you issue.

[e2k]

I got it.. I changed the ATZ to ATX3, and increased the Post- and Pre-init values, and now it atleast gets a little further.. Now I've got a new problem.
The new problem happens after;

ATDT(NUMB)
CONNECT 57600

And below that there's: Starting pppd...
Suddenly this errormessage pops up:

The pppd daemon died unexpectedly!
Exit status: 2

Then I pressed Details, and this is what i found there:

Cannot open any of the following logfiles:
/var/log/syslog.ppp
/var/log/syslog
/var/log/messages

What should i do now?

[e2k]

I got it working by starting kppp with sudo kppp, in other words I gave it full rights (by the way, might there be any risks in this? )

[dmallery]

i have the same problem of pppd not being to open the files in /var/log.

i realize that you can sudo your way around it, but why can't we use the vanilla kppp method? Why have it if a non root user can't use the dialer?

it must be that pppd is not started with root. i have already tried putting the user into groups dialout and dip, but that is no joy. (that should work).

i have wasted over a full day on this and would REALLY appreciate some assistance.

thanks in advance

dave mallery

[dmallery]

now a further problem:

i tried the sudo kppp and got thru the logging problem only to find that there is no PPP0 device. MAKEDEV refuses to make anything more than /dev/ppp . . . no ppp0.

but that's what pppd is asking for!!!! not ppp.

so my connection fails cuz of no ppp0.

last time i did ppp, there was a ppp0. someone changed makedev and didn't tell pppd.

i've been proseltizing linux and knoppix in particular. to everyone. but i can't even dial in to an isp!

frustrated beyond...

dave mallery