No network

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I'm a Win expert, but Linux noob and can't get my network to work. I'm not certain that my network card works properly since I built the PC from collected bits and pieces. Asus MB with Pentium 3 and 3com PCI nic; everything seems to work perfectly, 6.10 installs without a hitch, nic lights up, switch port blinks for a couple of seconds during each boot, but no network available. I've read some of the other comments here and will try some things tonight (lshw...), but can't atttm. How do I make linux (Gnome) recognise my nic after i've installed and it's running? Another very noobish question, how do I enter the commands (sudo lshw...), in terminal? Thank you in advance for any help, I'm impressed with how nice linux has become. I've always been afraid to get my feet wet, now I wish I'd done it sooner.