Glad your trying Linux and especially Mandrake- the best of any distro and User Community..
I too have a Creative Modem Blaster- good modem, especially since it IS controller based. Only differences between yours and mine- mine is ISA (not PCI) and V.90 (not V.92).
Your issue of Mandrake NOT recognizing this component is frustrating I'm sure. However, Mandrake has NEVER failed to recognize mine ... :D ONLY difference is that my Modem Blaster operates in two (2) modes:
1) PNP-Enabled: this is controlled by on-board dip switches and provides an "ease-of-use"?? aspect for Windoze environments
2) PNP-disabled, COM/IRQ settings fixed: Controlled by adjusting DIP switch settings to your choice (COM1, COM2. etc.) with associated IRQ relationships. For mine- I utilize COM1, etc.
If your Modem Blaster is similar (could be..!) then I strongly recommend you undertake option #2 (PNP-disabled, fixed COM/IRQ settings), which should be described in the latter sections of your User Manual (was in mine...).
This approach has never failed- either for Windoze or Mandrake (Linux).. Good luck..
