[Nottingham] A newbie speaks... nervously

[Matt Hurst]

Apologies if this has appeared twice... I'm pretty certain my first
attempt didn't work.

I'm just dipping my toes into Linux using Knoppix, which actually runs
nearly fine off CD - eventually (ie come payday) I'm going to bung a
second hard drive on the PC and do a dual boot. However - and you may
have seen this coming - a few questions:

1. Am I right in thinking Knoppix is based on Red Hat? If so, given
   Knoppix seems to find almost all my hardware and run fine, is that
   going to be the best distro to go for? In which case, RH9?

2. Knoppix seems to have problems with my sound card. XMMS runs, but nowt
   comes out of the speakers, and the test config only produces eerie
   silence, claims to have installed the card fine (an AC97), but in fact
   doesn't work. I've checked the cables, and the mixer. Any thoughts?

3. I'm on ntl cable broadband, using an external modem (one of the silver
   ones) through my USB port, and Knoppix is a bit iffy about it.
   Sometimes it'll function flawlessly. Sometimes it's okay for a few
   minutes then drops the connection. Is there a known Linux driver for
   these things? What's the best way round it, because the absence of a
   net connection really is the deal breaker when it comes to Linux.

All wisdom much appreciated.

Matt
All thoughts and wisdom gratefully received!

Matt