> > I recently upgraded to 2.4.21.  

Speaking of 2.4.21 I was thinking of upgrading my debian system to this
kernel. Is there a good site that explains how to do this?

I have never done this before so would need a failry detailed explanation on
how to do it.

I am hoping the new kernel will detect my lan and sound adapter. I have been
wanting to move to Linux but am stopped cold by my hardware not being supported. 

Maybe a new kernel will support it.