Hi, I am trying to insatll Debian linux on a 4 year old laptop

I downloaded and burnt a net install CD,
all ok untill I found that my network pcmcia card was not listed.
Found one only on the net and downloaded it.

I think it needs compiling, which is new for me.
Tried find and whereis for make and gcc

What do I do now?, as you can probably guess from the above
I am lost, Any help appreciated.
Cheers
Phil