I want to drive a tank

I like Linux. I am pro-Penguin. I am a Linux supporter, but I am not, as yet, a Linux user. Now, I am not a techno-neophyte and I have successfully installed Red Hat onto one of my machines, thus converting it into a dual-boot system. However, there are two things preventing me from becoming an actual Linux user.

1) I set up three drives. One for a) Windows 2000, one for b) Linux and one c) to be shared. Windows recognizes a) and c), but Linux recognizes only b). Anyone have any suggestions?

2) In order to access the Internet, I have to get my Linksys USB working. I’ve downloaded a few files which purport to be Linksys drivers, but the instructions are terse to the point of total incomprehensibility. I’ve read one-page, one-sided motherboard manuals in broken techno Koreanglish that were more informative.

But I’m not giving up. I just re-read Neal Stephenson’s unspeakably brilliant In The Beginning Was The Command Line, which has again inspired me to make another effort to escape the evil Gatesian empire. One way or another, I WILL be a tank driver!

Any information or suggestions with regards to either issue would be most appreciated.