Dialup

[Thomas W. Cranston]

Paul Howarth wrote:

> Thomas W. Cranston wrote:
>
>> Hi
>>
>> I am Linux newbie. I am A+ certified (I know-big deal)
>>
>> I just installed Fedora Core 3 2004-11-03. I used System Settings - 
>> Network - Query - entered Password for root - Network Configuration - 
>> My USR internal hardware Modem shows up as ppp0.
>>
>> Nothing happens when I activate it. Its volume is set at very loud.
>>
>> I can get out on the web using that machine, running Damm Small Linux 
>> (DSL)form the CD player and RAM, so that tells me that there is not a 
>> hardware problem.
>>
>> I do not see any way to select authentication methods from the 
>> Network Configuration. (PAP, Chat, or CHAP) I do not see an option to 
>> configure my modem to .......S4 (comm 5) Where USR Modems usually 
>> configure to. This is where I place it when running DSL. I find it 
>> odd that a lot of Linux distros automatically configure the modem to 
>> .....S0 (comm 1), as most hardware modems are USR (at least in this 
>> part of the world), and they configure to ....S4. How do I make these 
>> choices?
>>
>> Now comes the big question
>>
>> I tried tail -f /var/log/messages, and got permission denied.
>>
>> I am assuming that I have root permissions, as I created a root 
>> password during the installation, as well as a User name and a 
>> password. I use my root password to use the network configuration 
>> application.
>>
>> How do I log on as root?
>>
>> I do not see anywhere to log on as root. After I boot up, I am asked 
>> for my user name, and then my password. I do not see anywhere to log 
>> on as root.
>
>
> You can log on as root by using the username "root" instead of your 
> own username, and then enter root's password. However, this is 
> generally a bad thing to do because it's easy to do lots of damage by 
> making mistakes when running as root.
>
> Instead, you could open a terminal window in your regular session and 
> enter the command "su -"; when prompted for the password, enter the 
> root password. This will switch you to root for just that terminal 
> window. You'll be able to run "tail -f /var/log/messages" in that window.
>
> You could also try the command-line program "wvdial" as an option for 
> setting up an Internet connection.
>
> Paul.
>
I tried wvdial, and get Modem not responding.

The modem is automatically configured to /dev/ttyS0. It needs to be 
configured to ttyS4. How do I do that?