Can't set up my internet.. :(

[phalaris_trip]

Hi everyone.. I'm new to the forum..
I've been using PCs for a long time.. I'm an engineering student and I do a bit of programming as well.. but I'm a total noob when it comes to any OS other than Windows, and even more so when it comes to anything related to the internet or IT in general..

Anyway I just finished formatting my PC with a dual XP-Linux boot. It took me quite a while to understand and configure all the partitions so I could install them, and I thought that would be the "hard bit". I got it working eventually but now I can't get connected to the internet no matter what I try.. I would appreciate any help you can give me.

Info:
I'm using openSUSE10.2/KDE and I have cable broadband involving a modem plugged into the wall, a Netgear router and a Netgear USB wireless network adapter.. (that's as far as my networking knowledge extends and I'm reluctant to give more info incase I get something wrong and mislead you.. feel free to ask me for additional info if you need to)..
Everything works fine in XP SP2 which I'm using right now.

What I tried:
This USB network adapter is installed with the right drivers in openSUSE as the hardware information reveals. It is explicitly detected there as a Netgear USB network adapter so there were obvioulsy no problems with the installation/drivers/etc..
I tried to go into YaST and configure network adapters.. I chose the automatic option and it did not detect the USB adapter.. it detected some Dell network adapter (presumably something built in to my motherboard, but I really don't know..). This gets configured without any problems (the ticks appear one by one, the last one being "run KInternet". It finished the configuration and Firefox/Konqueror does not open any pages..
I also tried to set up DSL.. I chose Ethernet -> PPPoE.. again it prompted me to select my adapter.. I chose USB as the source of the adapter.. it changed the setting to "bus-usb", prompted me to insert the SUSE CD to retrieve some package or other.. then it once again ran than checklist and everything appeared fine and working.. but once again trying Firefox or Konqueror doesn't work. Network manager icon appeared in the system tray, but clicking on it brought up a little popup menu that said "network manager is not working"..
I've checked the openSUSE documentation and the KDE documentation and after several re-reads I'm pretty sure it should have detected my USB thing automatically, without me tinkering at all, but it detects nothing..
I tried setting up DSL/Network Card manually, and systematically tweaking all the settings, trying nearly all possible options but it either doesn't work or it freezes at the "configuring network connection" stage of the checklist and I have to reboot.
(Sorry about being so vague, but I'm writing this from memory since I'm currently on the XP part of my computer..)

I've searched for, and read numerous so-called "newbie guides" but most of them are written by people who relish and show off their knowledge of Linux instead of making it accessible to noobs like me.. maybe I'm retarded or something, and it's certainly demoralising when, at 20 years old, I can't set up a simple internet connection, but the learning curve sure seems steep in the Linux world..
I've been doing this all weekend and the last two days too, and I've made an honest effort before posting this, but I really can't get it to work. I really appreciate any help you can give me,

Thanks,

phalaris

[sxealex]

I have had similar problems with installing suse... Network devices wont work after being set up properly? One of the times I noticed Kinternet was NOT installed by default...
Does anyone have any advice for the best config... from which connection manager to dhcp and host setting ideas?

[phalaris_trip]

I should have posted it here from the start.. sorry, I'm new.. this other guy needs help too I guess so what the heck..

I really appreciate it.. cheers..

Edit: threads merged, then moved to Suse Forum.