I am running my computer with Windows ME and Red Hat Linux 7.1. The cable modem works fine in windows, but it will not work in Linux. Linux has detected and setup my NIC correctly. I have an static IP address from my ISP. I have
entered this, the gateway, and my DNS servers into Linuxconf, but it still doesn't work. Any help is greatly appreciated.

what output do you get from ifconfig eth0 if you only have one ethernet installed ?? also, i wouldn't trust linuxconf to do everything for you.. might want to check your config files to see if they are correct there for settings.

When I run ifconfig eth0 i get:
Link encap: Ethernet HWaddr 00:50:BA:42:7F:DD
my ip address, bcast, and netmask (all correct)
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 metric:1
RX packets: 3515 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets: 0 errors:0 dropped:0 overrun:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen-100
Interrupt:9 Base address:0x2400

I checked the DNS and gateway numbers and they are all there.
When I try to ping or access a website it brings up the message host name look up failure or network is unreachable.

if your ISP isn't using dhcp for some daft reason, then you'll not automatically get their DNS numbers. you'll need to find some and put them in /etc/resolv.conf

this is assuming you can ping by ip number...?

I'm in the same boat. I can't figure this thing out to save my life.

are you checking the actual config files like resolv.conf or just the linuxconf.. ??

AMDpwred:

Here is my setup for my linux box on a linksys router.. with a static ip from the router..

IP: 192.168.1.5
NetMask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.1.1
DNS: 24.93.35.32
Secondary DNS: 24.93.35.32

If you have that setup and your nic is working and loading properly, it should work if you setup a static with whatever IP you setup.. and if all settings are correct in the linksys setup.. you should get connected that way.. also to add.. use your hostname of your computer. .and your domain .. which you can usually just not have.. might have to check with your windows boxes if they have those in your winipcfg, and use them from there for you domain settings for network..

Tell us what kind of cable modem you have.

I had the same problem with my leased 3Com "Shark fin" cable modem and every distro I tried. I also have a 3Com 900b NIC card and knew that wasn't the problem because it worked fine in *nix with my previous cable modem. The "send" light would light up but got no return response so I knew it was probably not my setup. I assumed it was something about Linux networking not recognizing the ISP's DHCP setup. I played around with different configurations, searched for answers through every forum I could find, but never had any luck and gave up in frustration for a while. I can't get rid of the modem because it's leased and my provider gives no support if I roll my own. So, like trickykid, I figured if I could find a router that had its own internal DHCP server maybe I could get Linux DHCP to recognize that and play nice with my modem...

I ran out and bought the Linksys Etherfast 4 port cable/dsl router for $79. It took roughly 2 minutes to install and configure... I powered everything up and the usually annoying, but this time heavenly beep tone sounded on my modem signifying I had made a successful connection. Yay! Works like a charm with Mandrake 8.1. As an added benefit, it acts as a firewall with NAT and allows for 253 computers to be networked onto the same IP with additional hubs. $79 isn't cheap but I couldn't find any help and I was tired of 'nix without net. They also make a 1 port cable router which is cheaper than the 4 port.

Hope this helps...