Hi Ron: Questions are good. Then we know what to tell you. Lets tackle the kernel first. You will want a kernel source from kernel.org or somesuch place that looks something like linux-2.2.14.tar.gz. Don't get the 2.3 tree unless you're particularly adventurous ... oh and if you don't want speakup to work <grin>. Kernels prior to 2.2.7 won't work with speakup either so unless 2.2.15 has come out by the time you go to get it, it's best to get 2.2.14. If you know how to use bzip2 and have it installed, then you can get the bz2 file, otherwise get the tar.gz file. It will be aproximately 14 meg. Untar it into your /usr/src directory, such that it creates a /usr/src/linux directory. You will also need to grab speakup-0.08.tar.gz from ftp.braille.uwo.ca/pub/linux/speakup so that you can patch it into your kernel. For reading matter, take a look at the README in the kernel source. Also take a poke around in the Documentation subdirectory, and if your super-caucious like I was, you can even read the entire configure.help file there too which lists all the help text for the kernel configuration procedure. It's a good read if you don't know what you must have. There is also a kernel howto on the linux documentation project (www.linuxdoc.org) which you might also want to read. Also check out the hardware howto plus any others that pertain to your hardware. Untar the speakup patch into /usr/src which will make a speakup-0.08 directory. Then issue the command (from /usr/src): patch -p0 <speakup-0.08/speakup-0.08-patch All hunks except the MIPS one should take. If you get more errors then, to paraphrase Linus, either you or I have gotten something wrong. Go into /usr/src/linux and type "make config". Set aside some time to do this, as you will be asked a plethora of questions. You will be prompted about network hardware and you should be able to find your card. If you plan to use the ALSA sound drivers (recommended in my opinion), say "yes" to sound support but don't say "yes" to any other sound questions. After you've answered all this, type the following: make dep make clean make bzImage (note the capital I) make modules make modules_install What you do next depends on the way your distribution does things and which university you went to. I personally type "make bzlilo" and am done with it. Others move the resultant image by hand. Still others do other things that I can't think of at present. Perhaps other people using your distribution can comment on this. OK, you should be ready to reboot. Hold your breath and type "restart". I've gotta run so I'll answer the rest of your questions later unless someone beats me to it. Geoff.
