Can't activate NIC on Linux

[Phedis]

I just bought Linux 8. I installed Linux on an older Dell that I had around. It has a P3 processor, 128MB Ram, ATI Mach 64 video card. I am using the graphical interface instead of the text interface.I installed a NIC after setting up Linux. The NIC shows up in the Network Configuration box, but it wont let me activate it. What am I missing here?


Now I am new to Linux. I bought a huge 1200 page book on it. So maybe I am just stupid and not seeing the obvious. But if anyone has any ideas please let me know. Thanx

 

[WarmAndSCSI]

You'll need the terminal for this:

Find what kind of NIC your comp has. After you do, search on Google for the corresponding Linux module you need to use. After you find it go into the terminal and type "insmod ModuleName.c". This should install the module for your NIC and auto-config the hardware params, etc. See if it works then. If not, try using the command "ifconfig eth0 up" which will attempt to manually enable the ethernet interface. Also make sure to doublecheck the IP settings and make sure they are all there before you freak out.

Hope this helps!