a newbie....... i guess

[rdlong <rdlong kent edu>]

ive been using redhat for some time now, but now i am at home trying to get 
online.  my parents use MSN for an internet provider and im trying to get my 
linux box online.  i have Internet Connection Sharing set up on the WinXP box 
(my parents) and the two computers connected via crossover cable.  i am having 
some troubles getting eth0 to work the way i want it to half the time it 
doesnt even initialize.  im trying the card in another pci slot with a fresh 
install of redhat 7.1.  can anyone give me any advice as to where i may be 
going wrong?
-ralph