router problem

[Gerhard Magnus]

My DSL Gateway modem (Actiontec) developed hardware problems recently.
In the meantime, I've rented another DSL modem from the
phone company.  As the rented DSL modem has only a single Ethernet port,
I've connected a router to it and then connected my two boxes to the
router.

My two machines are dual booting Windows and Linux.  With Windows running
on both boxes I was able to use the CD that came with the router to
configure it.  I now have Internet and local network access on both
machines running Windows.  I'm assuming this means that the new modem and
router are both configured correctly.

I have been unable to make the same connectivity work with Linux.  Some of
this may be due to settings I made to the Linux software and then lost
track of during the lengthy process of troubleshooting the problem with
the first (broken) modem.

During system initialization on one of the boxes (PuteA) I get this
message:
Starting lpd 2004-11-20-15:10: PuteA Get_local_host: 'localhost' IP
address not available.

When I try to ssh to another system from the command line I get this
message:
temporary failure in name resolution

I can't ping the modem (192.168.0.1) or the router (192.168.1.1).

When I shut down the system, I get this message:
Stopping lpd failed.

Any advice on how to proceed?

I'm also curious about why the Actiontec modem failed -- if it was
something I was doing then I'd like to avoid it happening again.  As
people from the outside (my ISP, the phone company, tech support in
India) were able to access the modem, Internet connectivity was working.
The concensus seems to be something failed with the router-side of this
device.  Has anyone had similar problems?  What are my chances of getting
the modem repaired?  (I've had it since 4/03 and the warranty was
expired.)  And if I should be looking for a replacement does anyone have
recommendations?  And just how fragile are these things?

Thanks for the help!
Jerry Magnus