Booting fedora

["Sérgio Neves" <mailpgrupos@netcabo.pt>]

Hello,

My name's Sérgio Neves and I live In Portugal.
I am a beginner on using linux.
I downloaded the four cds of modified fedora distribution and I want to 
thanks people who made this distribution possible.
I have an apollo synthesizer.
I guided fedora installation process by the instructions on page

http://www.linux-speakup.org/ftp/disks/fedora/HOWTO_INSTALL.html

I choose the portuguese language and pt latino keybord map.
I choose server installation and when it prompts me to install packages I 
selected everything option.
My problem is that when I booted linux, speakup stops talking.
I changed linux system boot to text mode with the command
/bin/sed -i 's/id:5/id:3/' /etc/inittab
as the manual says,
but it didn't solve the problem completely: when I login as root, after more 
or less 30 seconds of login, apollo stops talking, but linux continue to 
work.
I restarted computer and when it prompts me to enter in interactive boot by 
pressing the "i" key, I did it.
I make many experiences, starting some services and not starting other.
I understood that the cause of speakup's stop is the network service (the 
8th or 9th service it ask me if I want to load), but I don't know why it is 
happening, because apollo stops talking only when I login.
I thinnk, with my poor knowledge, that it is very strange, but maybe the 
network service causes a conflict, i imagine.

When I started network service, it says that one cable is disconnected and 
to verify it.
I have internet by usb modem, and I have one network card that I use in 
windows xp for connecting my desktop to my laptop, and in fact, this cable 
is not connected to laptop at the moment.

Can anybody help me? What's the fuction of network service? And which could 
be the relationship between network service and this problem? Is there a way 
to solve it?

Other question: what is the easiest way to see if my sound card is working 
on linux?
I have more doubts, but this email is too long.

Thanks for the attention

Best regards

Sérgio Neves