Saqib, Thank you so, so much for taking time to answer these questions. Yes, I have been reading Linux Documentation project information, and your response clarified much of what I have already read. So are you saying that a module is the same thing as a device driver and that this driver can become part of the kernel (if it is compiled with the kernel)? And are you also saying the same module also can be external, that is, a user can choose to have it running or disabled? If I have finally got it right, then much of what I've been reading suddenly makes a whole lot more sense. You are correct about my motives; I don't want a fully working system, because I do want to solve problems. My only frustration was in not being able to find information about some very basic details. There is plenty of beginner-oriented material about UNIX out there, but it typically shows you twenty ways to display the date, and tells you nothing about how to get a system working. More advanced docs tell you about system internals, assuming you already know the basics. --Debee