Network

[MO'D]

I've been tearing my hair out for a week with Ubuntu. I can get eveything to
work fine if I don't expect my computer to go online ever again. Therefore
no repositories and links to http sites. Anyway, I have bypassed the
ethernet card in case it wasn't working properly and used USB into the cable
modem. The machine has detected and lists the modem correctly as a connected
device.

I have used two different cable modems, have uninstalled Firefox, and have
attempted to run numerous commands which 'don't exist' after I have been
asked for my password and/or used a "sudo" prefix. The list of commands and
files and tools I have tried and numbers of terminal windows I have opened
is amazing as I have scanned the help directories and manual contents. This
is akin to owning a new economy car which one must peruse a telephone or BBS
exchange to find someone who has a lug wrench so you may change a tire. Is
this the magic of open source? I have examined Suse and Red Hat and read
1200 pages in books on Linux the past three weeks and decided to try Ubuntu.
I am not a professional systems analyst or software engineer or a writer of
code.

The machine of which I am writing has no other OS installed except Ubuntu,
now, so no partitions to worry about. It has fine sound, video etc.
Unfortunately the "eth0" and network configuration tools and commands to
ping various DNS, gateway and IP addresses all indicate that the network
connection is fine, but there is a "problem finding a page" or connecting
with a server when you open a browser. I have installed  email clients
before and have fooled around with changing out old and new drives and cards
and even installied delicate electronic controls with a soldering iron on
digital musical equipment, but this experience with Ubuntu and the internet
is bizarre. What was once a functional desktop running an aging Windows OS
has now tuned into a CD player with a screensaver.

The configuration setup application says it can't find any "concentrator"
activity on my ISP. This is not covered in any manuals or help files I have
been able to uncover in the software installation. The 8 year-old Windows OS
which I wiped off the hard drive on thie desktop PC found the very same ISP
through the same cable modem with no trouble. I have another computer which
finds the same modem(s) which I  have tried with both USB or ethernet cable.
If they are unplugged, shut down and reconnected the PC finds the network
and resets automatically, as this one did before I installed Ubuntu as the
only OS on the hard drive. I have therefore been unable to register my
Ubuntu installation on the machine in which it resides nor use it to connect
to the web. I have no routers or other devices upstream from the modem  and
am not using wireless of any kin. The high speed internet connection on
another 5 year old machine running Windows times out at almost a T1 speed in
an connection speed test.
Thanks
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