I am also fairly new to this and have the same (or similar) problem to you. I have an Alcatel USB ADSL modem and I cannot get it to work from my HDD installed Knoppix. I have been here:

http://sourceforge.net/project/showf...group_id=68502

Which appears to have all the info. we need, I followed the instructions and still my modem doesn't connect. The last thing the script echoes is "The modem lights will flash for 20secs" but the lights stay solidly on. I have to keep re-booting back into Windoze to re-connect to the internet to look for more help. I haven't yet figured how to get support on the above link, but I think that may be the best source for help.

Good Luck to you two, post back here if you make any progress.

Cheers "H"