I can't really help you with your problem with it hanging, unfortunately.

what are the advantages of 2.6? might I have more luck on 2.6 setting up my external USB ADSL modem? (askey ALE 130)
Just did a bit of snooping around and found this. So you should be able to get it working in 2.4. How you'd actually get those drivers into Linux is beyond me, since I've never really done any of that yet . Especially since you're booting off the CD. I guess you'd have to reinstall them each time you boot... Which might get a bit irritating.