I'm back on my external serial modem with Ubie again. Reinstalled
Ubuntu 5.04 Breezy Badger this time instead of Feisty Fawn.

I printed some relevant documention about dialup modems and
configuring them. I note one reference to " a problem with the modem
dialing during bootup". I think it is related to setting the modem as
the default route to internet.

I think I can pretty much rule out any problems with cable and wiring
connections. IOW, we're talking a software problem not a hardware
problem. You should always try to pinpoint networking problems as
being either a hardware or software problem and work from there. At
least you can eliminate some unknowns that way.

What I need is a "rollback" feature so I can lock all my software
settings at this point and when this problem re-surfaces, I just wish
I could do the 'system restore' thing, like you can do it in XP.

Other than that, I'll keep my fingers crossed for good luck and I will
avoid upgrading to Fiesty for the time being.