I got it to work, at 3am no less.
1) Go to http://www.dell.com - 2) Click on "Technical Support" or type http://support.dell.com/support/index.aspx?~ck=pn
3) Click on "Support for Home Users" or type http://support.dell.com/support/index.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs if you an individual.
4) Click on "Drivers and Downloads" or type http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/index.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs
5) You now have a choice of entering a service tag, if you are lucky enough to have one, or enter "Choose A Model."
6) Follow the prompts for "Choose a Model." for the C600 click on "laptops," "Latitude," "C600." The window will ask you to confirm your selection.
7) This will take you to the drivers and downloads for this specific laptop. Others with different laptops may follow similar steps.
8) Select your O.S. In the case of the original author and my case that would be Windows 2000. For category select "Communications".
9) Now you need to know your make and model of modem. In my case it is the 3com 10/100 & V90 Lan Mini-PCI.
10) There is a zip file called UKD 14-20 beta which will identify the "Unknown Devices" One can Google it to find a web site where they can download it. A web site at http://www.download3k.com/Antivirus-Report-Unknown-Devices.html ran this zip file with Bit Defender, Kaspersky and NOD 32 and found it free of viruses but have your own anti virus installed and operating.
11) Once the modem is identified then download all the software available. Save them where you can easily find them.
12) The files are self extracting. Very Important click on the TITLE, or the item the driver "Applys to." This will take you to a new window where the "Level of Importance," "Compatibility," "Fixes and Enhancements," and "Installation Instructions" are located. Follow the installation instructions exactly for each download. For the 3com 10/100 & V90 Lan Mini-PCI application; following the installation instructions is critical. They will ask you to change the default path from C:\Docume~1\<user name>\Locals~1\temp to “C:\DRIVERS\COMMS," If everything goes correctly the files will unzip in their correct folders.
13) The instrutions then state to navigate to the User Manual. If, when your computer boots up, it states "A PCI Communications Device Found" then follow the instructions in the manual but instead of providing the directory path to a C.D. you should direct the operating system to the C:\DRIVERS\COMMS\DRIVERS\xx folder, where xx is the appropriate folder name for the device (modem or LAN) and operating system that you are installing the drivers on.
14) In my specific case the message "A PCI Communications Device Found" did not pop up so instead I right clicked on "My Computer." Left clicked on "Properties" then "Hardware" then " Device Manager."
15) I located the " ethernet controller" and "PCI Simple communications controller" that had the question mark on them and left clicked on the first one. You may also right click on each on and then click "Install."
16) I clicked on the button that says "Reinstall Software."
17) I arrived at a screen that asked me to locate the *.inf file which is the driver. I clicked "Browse" then navigated to the "C:\DRIVERS\COMMS\LAN\Win_W2K" as this hardware services the "Local Area Network," or LAN for Windows 2000. I then clicked "OK."
18) A miracle occurred; The driver installed and the question mark dissapeared from "Device Manager."
19) I repeated the process for the second item with the question mark.
20) I connected the ethernet cable and had fun browsing FINALLY!!!
